This week I had a song pop into my mind that I haven’t sung or heard in quite some time–Walkin’ on the Heaven Road (or Walkin’ on Heaven’s Road, as some sing it). I believe it was originally written as a sort of gospel hymn by Norman Starks. I learned it as a sing-along type chorus song, usually accompanied by guitar. Our youth group sang it, and it was still being sung as a chorus song as I went to college. After a while, I went to different places in life and stopped hearing it. I am not sure why it came back to me this week, but it is a joyous song with a great message. It helps us to keep looking ahead with the proper faith and attitude. I don’t know how many might be familiar with it, but the lyrics are below, followed by a recording. I pray it is a blessing!
Verse 1
Who’s that walkin’ down the road
Carryin’ such a heavy load?
Sinner, lay your burden down;
‘Cause we’re walkin’ on the heaven road.
Chorus 1
And when you’re walkin’ on the heaven road
Gonna lay down that heavy load.
Jesus said He’d walk along with me,
Praise God, glory hallelujah!
Chorus 2
I’m singin’ all the way, got sunshine in ev’ry day;
PRAYER & CALL TO WORSHIP — Psalm 59:16-17 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
Offering
GRACE & ASSURANCE —1 Corinthians 1:28-31 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
PRAYER & CALL TO WORSHIP — Psalm 96:11-12, 1-2 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
GRACE & ASSURANCE — Psalms 33:18-19, Colossians 1:13-14 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Have you ever found yourself in trouble because you messed up? Maybe you misjudged a situation or didn’t fully understand it. Possibly you were panicked and driven to act through self-preservation. Was your trouble caused by sin? As humans we have the ability to choose our actions. We can make wise decisions or poor ones. We can follow what we know to be God’s will and guidance or ignore it.
Jonah is a perfect example of a follower of God who chose to ignore His direct command. As a result, he found himself in the belly of a great fish. I don’t believe any of us has ever sinned in a way that has brought about being swallowed alive by another living creature as punishment. Despite being inside a great fish Jonah was rescued by God. Jonah’s experience with his sin teaches us several points that can help us deal with our own problems.
1- Jonah’s trouble was caused by his own direct disobedience
Jonah wasn’t simply sitting there alone, minding his own business. God gave Jonah a direct command to go to Nineveh and preach against it. Jonah’s response:“But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” (Jonah 1:3)
Is it possible our own troubles are caused by disobedience to God’s will and teaching through the Word? Do we allow sin to take control of us at times?
2- Jonah claimed his allegiance to God and acknowledged His greatness
Despite his being in a situation caused by his own actions he didn’t forget that he still belonged to God. He recognized that God was in control of the world, above and beyond himself. “He answered, ‘I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the god of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.’” (Jonah 1:9)
Do we forget that God is still in control, and that we are subject to Him? Do we lose sight of His power?
3- Jonah didn’t blame others for his predicament; he realized it was his own fault
Jonah could have blamed the weather for the rough seas that the ship was experiencing. Worse, he could have blamed God directly. Instead, he accepted the blame: “’Pick me up and throw me into the sea,’ he replied, ‘and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.’” (Jonah 1:12)
Do we blame others for our problems? Do we blame God?
4- Jonah prayed to God for deliverance from his problem, and trusted Him to answer
Jonah was in just about as bad a situation as you could imagine—still alive, and inside the stomach of a huge fish. I think most people would just figure their life was over and just lie there expecting to be digested by the fish. Jonah didn’t give up.
“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: ’In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.’” (Jonah 2:1-3)
When we are in a dire situation do we turn to God first for help? Do we turn to others, or try to think of a way out ourselves? Would we just give up and believe it was all over, and nothing could be done?
5- Jonah received and recognized God’s answer, and changed his life and behavior
“And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” (Jonah 2:10)
“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’ Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.” (Jonah 3:1-3a)
Jonah was freed from the fish and he knew that God had answered his prayer. In his prayer he promised to God that he would proclaim Him. When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh a second time, Jonah went. As a result, God’s plan was accomplished in Nineveh.
Do we recognize God’s answer? Do we allow it to change our lives and behavior? Do we notice the results of following Him?
Although we are saved believers, we are still humans living on Earth. We are subject to sin, or at least overestimation of ourselves and poor judgment at times. Even when we have good intentions, we often fall short. Our human bodies and their attendant weaknesses and sicknesses wear on us and bring us problems. When we are in trouble I pray we can follow Jonah’s example: 1) recognize that we might be the source of our trouble; 2) remember that God is in control; 3) don’t blame others, or God; 4) pray for God’s help and trust Him to answer; 5) receive and accept God’s answer, and change our behavior in order to avoid similar trouble in the future.
There is no problem He can’t correct, and no sin that He can’t forgive!
PRAYER & CALL TO WORSHIP — Psalm 29:1-2, 10-11 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
GRACE & ASSURANCE — Psalm 25:6-7, Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Frogs are unusual looking creatures. I have heard some people say, “Eeww, frogs are gross!” I have also seen videos where people have mentioned being afraid of them. Why are they made the way they are? Many people believe they are a creature that had survived a more primitive evolutionary state, caught between living on land and water. I believe that they were created by God as a finished product. The Bible doesn’t really explain why they (or other creatures, by and large) look, act, or function as they do. Genesis gives us a basic account of God’s creation of creatures:
“So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 3:20-21)
“And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beast of the earth according to their kinds.’ And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:24-25)
So then, on which day was the frog created, on day 5 with the sea creatures or on day 6 with the land creatures? I don’t know, and honestly it doesn’t matter. The important thing about the frog is that it gives us a chance to examine God’s consideration and planning. He didn’t invent creatures (even man) to be isolated, standalone examples of His craft. He meant for them to be an interactive part of the world He created for us. While we don’t have direct explanations of a frog’s purpose, we have learned a lot about them. They grow from eggs to an intermediate tadpole stage before they mature into adult frogs. Especially at the tadpole stage they tend to eat algae and small plants but will also eat tiny insects like mosquito larvae. Adult frogs become omnivorous, with some types eating plants, but most types eating almost anything they can fit into their mouths: insects, small fish, smaller frogs, small birds or mammals, or decaying matter.
In turn, frogs serve as sustenance for other larger creatures. Fish, birds, reptiles and mammals all depend on the availability of frogs as food to help them survive. They are a link in the food chain that God created to help maintain balance in His world. He carefully planned Earth to be self-sustaining. Our moon, seasons, water to land ratio, and plant and animal populations were all designed to maintain a balance to keep everything in check. Mosquitoes will not overrun the world with the number of creatures that depend on them for their survival. Likewise, frogs will not overrun the world because they are designed for a very particular sort of environment, and other creatures keep their population in check.
Considering the care and planning God had in designing the earth to maintain plants and animals, He had much more purpose in mind with us.
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)
Frogs can’t walk because of the way they are designed. Their legs let them move on land only in jumps, but they can propel themselves quickly through water. Their wet skin may be slimy for us to touch, but it helps to maintain the level of moisture they need when they are out of the water. They may have unspectacular coloration, but it helps them remain hidden from both prey and predators in their environment (as seen in the picture of the bullfrog above). They may have a large disproportionate-looking mouth, but it helps them catch their prey.
With all of God’s design evident in making frogs, Genesis 1:27 becomes more impressive in consideration of His making humans. Not only do we have more complex physical bodies with a wider set of abilities than the animals, we are made in the image of God. Being made in His image means we have an eternal spiritual nature beyond our earthly physical bodies. We will live forever, and one day have an eternal physical body. We also have many of His abilities and tendencies, admittedly to a lesser level. We are tasked with managing our world’s plants and animals. We love and appreciate beauty and harmony and have a drive to create things within our means. We appreciate relationships, and as believers crave a close relationship with Him and His Son.
Lord, thank you for your care and design in creating frogs. We may not fully understand them, but we appreciate the evidence of Your handiwork. We don’t fully understand human beings either, but thank you even more for your care and design in creating us. We look forward to eternity with You!
PRAYER & CALL TO WORSHIP — Psalm 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
GRACE & ASSURANCE — Titus 3:4-6 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
COMMUNION
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
~ Matthew 26:26-28
SERMON
“The Lord is the Strength of His People” – Psalm 28
This past Sunday brother Jim shared with us a message focused on the importance of the Word of God in our lives. He stressed the trustworthiness of the Bible, noting that it has historic attestation and preservation unique among all writings throughout history. It was written by many writers through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, ensuring a consistent, cohesive message throughout. God’s workers and representatives that we learn about in the New Testament, men like Peter, Paul, Luke, and John, preached the Gospel as God’s word, and knew that their words spoke for God. As Peter looks ahead to the day of final judgment, he reminds us of the importance of Scripture in keeping our thoughts and behavior Godly:
“Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.” (2 Peter 3:1-2)
Peter recognizes the importance and status of what they are writing in their time:
“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:15-16)
As brother Jim explained, the word prophecy doesn’t always mean “foretell” in the predictive sense (as some misunderstand). Years ago I remember a teacher saying that it means “forth-tells” more often than it means “foretells.” In other words it is giving God-spoken truth for any time, present or future. Peter recognizes the importance on Paul’s writing in their present time and credits it as God-given. His comment about some distorting Paul’s words “as they do the other Scriptures” could also be taken as prophetic in the foretelling sense, considering the future development of our New Testament.
The discussion about the words of the Bible having an active role in our sanctification brings to mind lyrics of a song from not too many years ago. I didn’t know it well and had to search for the lyrics to find the song. Thankfully, I was able to find it. I have heard many songs that talk about certain verses or Scriptures, or talk about the character of the Bible. I can’t think of many songs like “Ancient Words,” which more specifically address the role and purpose of the Bible in our lives. Written by Lynn DeShazo, it recognizes the history and preservation of God’s Word, and talks about its role in shaping and changing our lives. Here are some of the lyrics:
Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world,
They resound with God’s own heart
Oh, let the ancient words impart.
Words of life, words of hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where e’er we roam
Ancient words will guide us home.
Ancient words ever true
Changing me and changing you.
We have come with open hearts
Oh, let the ancient words impart.
Holy words of our faith
Handed down to this age.
Came to us through sacrifice
Oh, heed the faithful words of Christ.
The ancient words have been preserved and handed down for a specific purpose—to change us and guide our walk through this world to bring us to our eternal home. The words of the Bible are those of God and of Christ, passed through the experience and lives of Godly men. It’s unfortunate some pray for special guidance or words from God, thinking He hasn’t given them any. He’s given us many! Read the Bible!
Take heart and be encouraged!
Please listen to Ancient Words, performed by Michael W. Smith:
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