BIBLE STUDY

Diane Avenue Church of Christ Psalm 71:20Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.

1BIBLE CLASS Good Morning

Last week with talked about a portrait of a man who during the time of Isaiah walked with those who were in sin and committed idolatry, He was disobedient and put the world around him before God.Of course God was really speaking of a nation not just one man, but it was typical of the times during which they were so deceived that they couldnt see the lie in their right hand .

2Divine RestorationIsaiah 44:20 read - 20He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

Had we read further God again demonstrates his continuing grace and love for his people?3Divine RestorationIsaiah 21-28 - 21Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.22I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.23Sing, O ye heavens; for theLordhath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for theLordhath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

4Divine Restoration 24Thus saith theLord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am theLordthat maketh all things; that stretched forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;25That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;

5Divine Restoration26That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:27That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:6Divine Restoration28That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

God will restore or for the purpose of this lesson lets say renew all those who will ask for forgiveness but more importantly repent.7Divine RestorationAs Christians we need to understand endurance, we dont need to be like everyone else.What did Jesus want us to understand about his cross? And why did he "endure the cross, scorning its shame" because of the "joy set before him" (Hebrews 12:2)? It was because Jesus knew that when he would be "lifted up" he would draw all people to himself.8Divine RestorationHebrews 12:2 reads ; 2- Looking unto Jesus the (1)author and finisher of our faith; who for the (2) joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 9Divine Restoration1. author, finisher it means beginning and completer of our faith who went ahead of all believers.

2. Joy set before: His glorification at his Fathers' right hand, actively ruling with God as Lord over all.As with Christ the humiliation of our present suffering is outweighed by the prospect of our future glory.10Divine RestorationSolomon 2 Chronicles 7:1411Divine RestorationIn 2 Chronicles 1-7 we are shown the development, construction and dedication of the temple built by Solomon to God.Chap. 1 Gods Wisdom (came with a vision at Gibeon)Chap. 2 Temple PlansChap 3. Temple BuiltChap 4. - Temple FurnishingsChap. 5 - The Ark of the CovenantChap. 6 Prayer of Dedication 1-42, a prayer for restorationChap. 7 The Glory of God; It is here where we see the prerequisites of restoration12Divine RestorationIn a series of requests, Solomon petitions the Lord to forgive him and the people of their sins if they are willing to repent and return to faithfully serving Him (2 Chronicles 6:21-31;2 Chronicles 6:34-39). God basically promises them that He will restore to them (as He did to David) the joy of thy salvation (Psalm 51:12). 12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. (This is said to the prophet Nathan after King David committed adultery with Bathsheba) 13Divine Restoration 2 Chronicles 7:11-13 (NIV)The Lord Appears to Solomon 11When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12the Lord appeared to him at night and said:I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.13When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,14Divine Restoration 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)14if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

15Divine Restoration Let us look an analyze these prerequisites of restoration in the light of other passages and then make application of them in our lives.1) Humble OurselvesThis is also a prerequisite of Christ (Matthew 18:3-4;Matthew 20:27;Matthew 23:11-12) and of God (James 4:6; cf.Psalm 138:6;Proverbs 3:34;1 Peter 5:6)16Divine Restoration Matthew 18:3-4 (NIV)3And he said: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

17Divine Restoration Matthew 20:27(NIV)27and whoever wants to be first must be your slaveMatthew 23:11-12 (NIV)11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

18Divine RestorationOn Being Humble

The purpose of acquiring this attitude is for:(a)The giving of grace (James 4:6).(b)Us to be exalted in due time (1 Peter 5:5-6).(c)Teaching us Gods way that we might go down a plain path (Psalm 27:7-11).19Divine Restoration James 4:6(NIV)6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:God opposes the proudbut shows favor to the humble.20Divine Restoration 1 Peter 5:5-6(NKJV)

5Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves toyourelders. Yes, all ofyoube submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble.6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

21Divine Restoration Prayer

22Divine Restoration2) PrayWe should note from scripture the frequency of our prayers to God.(a)The Psalmist said that he prayed Evening, morning, and at noon (Psalm 55:17).(b)The apostle Paul states that we should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).(c)We are to pray always making supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18). 23Divine RestorationSeek his Face24Divine Restoration 3) Seek Gods FaceThe idea of seeking Gods face is:(a)To seek an audience with God (Psalm 20:9).(b)To seek the favor of God (Proverbs 29:26).We are told to seek God with all our heart and soul (Deuteronomy 4:29; cf.2 Chronicles 15:4).

25Divine Restoration Turn From Our Wicked Ways26Divine Restoration4) Turn From Our Wicked Ways(a)It is a requirement of God (Acts 17:30).(b)It is a requirement of Christ (Luke 13:3, 5).(c)It is a requirement of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30-31; cf.Psalm 78:32-41;Isaiah 63:10;Acts 7:51).(d)It is a requirement of the apostle of love (1 John 1:9).Turning from his sins was Davids attitude and desire (Psalm 51:1-4, 7-14). We should display the same attitude and desire as well. 27Divine Restoration Acts 17:30 (NIV)30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.Luke 13:3 (NIV)3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.1 John 1:9(NIV)9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

28Divine Restoration When we as Gods children fulfill the four restoration prerequisites enumerated above, then God will (according to2 Chronicles 7:14):(a)Hear from heaven.(b)Forgive our sins.(c)Heal our land.Our fellowship with God will then be restored! What a marvelous promise from our Heavenly Father even to His children today.29Divine Restoration AsaphWho is Asaph?

Remember Gods commands humble, pray, seek his face and turn from your wicked ways.30Divine Restoration Question:

How do you view the world around us today?

1. Do you think we live in a very wicked world where it's very easy to become discouraged.If yes why?

31Divine Restoration Have you ever been disillusioned with people? Have you ever had life just not work out the way you expected it to?Have you ever wondered why it seems the faithful suffer while the wicked prosper?Have you ever questioned God when it seemed like He wasn't keeping His promises?

32Divine Restoration If so, you will want to learn about one of the great men of faith in the Bible who faced all of those tests and asked all those questions. His name was Asaph. Most Christians do not even recognize his name. Even those who do, do not seem to recognize his importance.33Divine Restoration We can choose one of two paths:a. The path of worldly thinking that will ultimately end in despair.b. The path of godly thinking that will allow us to see truth and hope.(Romans 8:6) - 6The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.34Divine RestorationAsaph found himself facing this decision in the context of Psalm 73. Who is Asaph? - The Psalms of Asaph are the twelve psalms numbered 50 and 73 83 of the Book of Psalms. According to the Chroniclers, the sons of Asaph, Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah, were assigned by David to prophesy "to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals" (1 Chr. 25:1-2). As such, Asaph would be one of David's chief musicians35Divine Restoration Lets turn our Bible to Psalms 73:Psalm 73:1(NIV)BOOK III

Psalm 73A psalm of Asaph.1Surely God is good to Israel,to those who are pure in heart.36Divine Restoration I. The Wickedness of the World (v. 1-12)A. Asaph observes the various sins of the people,1. Arrogance/Pride (v. 3, 6)2. Violence (v. 6)3. Evil thoughts - (v. 7) (Gen. 6:5)4. Mocking (v. 8)5. Sins of speech (v. 9, 11)We must guard against these sins.37Divine Restoration B. What troubled Asaph so much was that the wicked still enjoyed so much.1. God often continues to bless people who are in sin or so it may appear. (Why)2. Asaph became envious and was tempted to give up his righteousness.(v. 2, 13) We must not simply give up because of the wickedness of the world!38Divine Restoration II. The Reaction of the Righteous (v. 13-17)A. Anger1. There are two ways we can be angry at the wickedness of the worlda. We can be angry because they're prospering and we're not. This is selfishb. We can share God's anger at the fact that they are sinning!(Eph. 4:26)39Divine Restoration Eph. 4:26 - 26In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,B. Confusion1. This is a natural reaction from a physical point of view2. It sometimes appears that doing the right thing is useless/vanity.(Ecc. 2:14-15)40Divine Restoration Ecclesiastes 2:14-15(NIV)14The wise have eyes in their heads,while the fool walks in the darkness;but I came to realizethat the same fate overtakes them both. 15Then I said to myself,The fate of the fool will overtake me also.What then do I gain by being wise? I said to myself,This too is meaningless.41Divine Restoration C. Turning to God1. Thankfully, Asaph turned to the right place in his anger and confusion; he turned to God!2. Coming into the sanctuary of God will help us put things into the proper perspective, (v. 17)2. This proved to be a turning point for Asaph, as he saw things in a far different perspective once God was in the picture.42Divine Restoration III. Putting Things into Perspective - Learning to Trust in God (v. 18-28)A. Seeing the disaster of a wicked lifestyle (v. 18-20).1. The first thing Asaph notes after his realization is the horrible situation that the wicked find themselves in.

2. This also helps him to see the brevity of life (Psalm 39:4-6)3. Ultimately, the disaster of the wicked comes with the wrath of God!(Romans 1:18)43Divine Restoration B. Seeing ourselves and our emotions properly in this conflict (v. 21-24)1. Sometimes we may seem senseless before God when we think from a worldly perspective, (v. 22)2. But God is still with us, even in the midst of our anger and confession (v.23)3. If we trust in Him, God will guide us through these times, ultimately to asafe and glorious end in heaven! (v. 24)44Divine Restoration C. Seeing the infinite goodness and love of God! (v. 25-28)1. When we see the world as it truly is, our desire will be for God, andHim only! (v. 25)2. When we trust in God, He will be our strength even when our earthly strength may depart. (v. 26)3. We must learn to see things from the proper perspective and make God our refuge.45Divine RestorationConclusion: How do we view the world around us?1. In spite of the wicked world we live in, God is still in control.2. God wants us to seek Him and find him in the darkness of the world.(Acts 17:26-27)3. Are you ready to face reality with the proper perspective? 46Divine Restoration Acts 17:26-27 (NIV)26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

47