worthy – Jim Gallagher

Praise Him

November 23, 2015November 23, 2016pjimgallagherLeave a comment

Revelation 15:3-4
“Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”

While the tribulation continues on earth, John’s attention is drawn once again to the scene in heaven. The contrast alone should be enough to persuade us to surrender to Christ. Earth is experiencing the wrath of God, while heaven is being filled with sweet and continuous praise. Those who have been rescued from the tyrannical reign of the Antichrist stand before the throne and worship.

One of the evidences that a person has met Christ and been set free from sin is a desire for worship. While it is not required to fall on our knees, lift our hands, or even sing loudly, it is hard to imagine a person who has been impacted by the love and mercy of God who will not offer the loudest praise. Just the other night in our worship service, I noticed one young lady who humbly turned, faced her chair and knelt in worship. She has been growing so much in her relationship with Jesus of late that she could not resist the desire to bow in worship. I think we can learn a lot from the praise song of the redeemed found here in a Revelation 15.

““Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!”

Their praise stemmed from focusing upon the works of God. As they stood before the Lord, they recalled the way in which they had been redeemed. Since these are tribulation saints, we know they had neglected the things of God for most of their lives and ignored the gospel. Still, the persistent love of God hunted them down and won them over. They, like we, could look back to the cross, where the love of God was poured out to redeem them from sin and give eternal life. Reflecting upon the work God has done is vital to a life of praise.

“Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy.”

As important as it is to look back upon the works of God, it is also vital that we look up to the person of God. He is worthy of the highest praise for what He has done, and also for who He is. Their praise stems from remembering three things about the nature of God. First, He is just; second, He is the king; and third, He is holy. All of the judgments of God are just. We often accuse Him of being unfair, however when His judgment is finally meted out upon a Christ-rejecting world, we will see how mercy and truth have met one another, and how righteousness and peace have kissed.

“For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”

Finally, their worship includes an understanding of the promises of God. The judgments that the Word of God has warned about are finally coming to pass. Peter speaks of those who mock God because He waits so long to execute judgment; failing to recognize it is His mercy which holds back His judgment. One of the best ways to increase a heart of praise is to focus upon the promises of God. Too often, in dire circumstances, we look only to our surroundings, instead of looking into the promises of God. The saint who trusts the promise over the circumstances he faces, or the emotions they stir up, is the saint whose life will be filled with the loudest praise.

Pastor Jim

Great Is The Lord

July 9, 2015January 8, 2017pjimgallagher1 Comment

Psalm 147:5
“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.”

Bible writers use a variety of adjectives to help us better understand God. The Psalmist chooses the word great. Great is a word with vast meaning. It can indicate size; one dictionary defines it as “very large and imposing.” It can also mean important, distinguished, superior and preeminent. It is clear, the Psalmist is declaring God is above all His creation. One way he chooses to express the greatness of God, is to refer to His infinite understanding. There is nothing God does not know. The Psalmist declares,

“He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.” Psalm 147:4

Scientists have been fascinated with the heavens for as long as man has been on the Earth. In the third century B.C., Aristarchus accurately measured the distance of the moon from the Earth by looking at the shadow of the Earth on the moon, during a lunar eclipse. Technological advances have enabled scientists to look with greater detail into the vastness of the universe. The closest star to planet Earth is the sun, which sits 93 million miles away. The sun is just one star in a city of stars we call the Milky Way Galaxy. Our galaxy is so big, even at the speed of light, it would take 100,000 years to transverse. Beyond our own galaxy lies a vast expanse of galaxies. Astronomers estimate there are actually billions of galaxies, each one containing billions of stars. If we multiply the number of galaxies by the number of stars, we get over 10 sextillion stars in the universe; a number too large to fathom. Let’s take a number we are more familiar with, one billion. Counting non-stop, at one number a second, it would take almost 32 years to count to 1 billion. That does not even cover the stars of one galaxy. If we were to raise the number to one trillion (which is a thousand billion), counting at the same rate, it would take approximately 32,000 years. That is a lot of stars, and yet does not scratch the surface of the number of stars in the universe. The Psalmist tells us, God has not only numbered them, but He knows them by name.

It seems, naming stars would be a job big enough to occupy anyone for all of time, yet the Psalmist declares, in the midst of counting the stars our great God also,

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

How amazing is our God? He is so great He can span the universe, yet so loving He knows the things that break our hearts, and is ready to come to the aid of His saints who cry out to Him. The One who counts the stars, is the one who gazes upon you.

“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.”

Pastor Jim

Worship

May 19, 2015May 16, 2019pjimgallagher1 Comment

Psalm 45:11b
“Because He is your Lord, worship Him.”

This is a Messianic Psalm, meaning that it is speaking prophetically of Israel’s coming Messiah. In it, the Psalmist is describing the glory of Jesus, our King, and the beauty of His Bride, the church. After describing Jesus as the King of Glory, girded with a sword, overthrowing wickedness, ruling in righteousness and reigning in glory, he speaks of the proper response from His people.

“Because He is your Lord, worship Him.”

The word “worship” is a translation of the Hebrew word “shachah”, which means to “bow down before and to give homage to.” It is a word that would be used of a person who was entering the presence of royalty and giving the proper honor. The Psalmist is declaring that the child of God is expected to enter the presence of King Jesus bowing and expressing worship.

Sometimes, it is surprising to me how some people misuse a time of corporate worship. Some treat it like the previews at the movie theater. For them, the real show does not start until the Bible study. So they regularly wander in missing most of the worship time. Others, look at worship as a concert. If the rendition of the song was done in a style they like (the volume was not too loud or too quiet, the performance did not drag on too long) then it was good worship. Still others treat worship like watching their favorite sport. If their team is doing well, their emotions rise up, and they express it with cheers. If their team is losing they are slumped over, sad and quiet. In other words, worship for some is based completely upon emotion. If they view their current circumstances as positive, then they are filled with expressive praise, but if things are not going the way they want, worship stops. The psalmist has an entirely different view of worship.

“Because He is your Lord, worship Him.”

To him, worship has a lot more to do who God is, than with us. He calls us to worship because of the glory of our Lord. I think we need to place less importance on musical style, and personal experience, and more upon the nature and character of our God. Regardless of what struggles you are facing today, the proper response is,

“Because He is your Lord, worship Him.”

Pastor Jim

Kindness

May 16, 2015May 17, 2017pjimgallagher3 Comments

2 Samuel 9:8

“Then he bowed himself, and said,’What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I.”

Years ago I heard the phrase, “There are three of you: the you you think you are, the you others think you are, and the you God knows you are.” I think this is fitting as it relates to Mephibosheth. He was a young man who had a difficult life that caused him to devalue himself greatly.

Mephibosheth was the son of Prince Jonathan, and had Saul’s dynasty continued, he would have been in line to be king. Sadly, because of his grandfather’s disobedience, and the rebellion of his uncle, Ishbosheth, Mephibosheth became a fugitive. He was a child when Ishbosheth took the throne, and was forced to flee in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, under the cloak of darkness, he fell and injured himself. From that point on, he was crippled in his feet. Living as the handicapped grandson of a fallen king, caused Mephibosheth to put a pretty low price tag on his life. By his own admission, he considered himself to be like a “dead dog.” David had another view of Mephibosheth. David looked at him, not as a cripple, but as the son of Johnathan, and treated him as the prince he believed him to be. Mephibosheth was adopted into King David’s family, ate at the king’s table, and was given the wealth and property that once belonged to Saul.

Often, we look at ourselves through the lens of weakness or personal failure. We consider ourselves to be of little worth because of our bad decisions, or the way others have treated us. It is important that our value system be based, not upon accomplishment or the expression of others, but that we see ourselves as God does. To Him, we are of infinite value. He bought us with the blood of His only Son, adopted us into His family, and has given us the riches of Christ.

The kindness of David would forever change the way Mephibosheth viewed himself. The kindness of God should cause us to no longer sell ourselves cheaply. We matter to God and we should seek to live like it.

Pastor Jim