Sound Truth Radio

Scripture is an incredible gift of revelation and guidance. It points us towards Jesus, revealing His righteousness and the incredible grace and love, He extends toward us. At the same time, it reveals who we are. We're lost, broken, selfish, and destined for destruction if left to our own devices. Fortunately, as Pastor Malcolm will remind us in today's message, Jesus Christ has acted as our high priest once and for all, offering Himself as a sacrifice, so we can be saved from destruction.

In today's passage from the book of Psalms, the coming Messiah is ordained as a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Who is Melchizedek? Something of a mystery. He comes up a few times, and is clearly revered, but we're not given a thorough explanation of exactly who he is. Some think he was Christ, manifested in an earlier form. Scripture doesn't confirm this. Today, Pastor Malcolm will dedicate much of our study to examining what scripture tells us regarding this figure.

God is on your side. His enemies are the devil, and the forces of evil that lead men astray and cause destruction. God went to incredible lengths to bring you out of darkness and offer you salvation. He won't just cast you off for falling back into temptation. Today, Pastor Malcolm will encourage you when you find yourself giving in to your flesh and forgetting who you are in Christ, remind yourself that you are no longer condemned. You are righteous in Christ, and He frees you from sin.

Often, our distress is brought on by our own poor decisions. This is especially true on a national level, as we see demonstrated throughout the history of Israel. How we respond in those moments is important. Will you humble yourself and seek the Lord, or will you embitter yourself towards Him, blaming Him for the trials you're facing? Today, Pastor Malcolm will encourage us to call out to the Lord in humility. And when we do, He'll hear us and provide peace and safety.

Your sinful nature and the new nature Christ instilled, are incompatible. One must die for the other to thrive. But that nature is a stubborn, prideful one, and it doesn't go down without a fight. That fight will last through the rest of your life. But as Pastor Malcolm will point out in today's message, whenever that old nature rears its head, your new nature should motivate you to flee from it. You won't desire to remain in that place once your heart has experienced new life in Jesus Christ.

The sin of pride is one of the most dangerous. Many other sins can often be traced back to it. As Pastor Malcolm will point out in today's message, this sin can infiltrate the individual heart, and it can easily overtake the soul of a Nation. When people determine that they don't need God or that God needs to fit into a specific mold of their making, they're essentially placing themselves in His position. As Pastor Malcolm will warn in today's message, this ultimately will lead to collapse and destruction.

None of us wants to experience hardship or suffering. As Pastor Malcolm continues our study in the book of Psalms today, he'll draw our attention to the redemptive nature of our God. He not only redeems the hearts of men through his Son Jesus, but He also redeems situations and circumstances. We see this time and time again throughout scripture, like the story of Joseph. If it weren't for the unimaginable sin of his brothers selling him off to slavery, he would not have ended up in his position in Egypt.

It's hard to imagine what the angels must see when they observe us humans in this broken world. We don't give a lot of thought to the angels that are often referenced in scripture. But they play a key role in God's kingdom, and are actively engaged in spiritual warfare all around us. Even as you hear these words, some may hold a somewhat fantastical view of them, like elves or leprechauns, but they're very real, as we'll be reminded in today's message from Pastor Malcolm.

Depending on your background. It may be hard to see God as a father. Perhaps your earthly father was a poor reflection of what God designed them to be, or maybe they just weren't there at all. Many believers struggle to see themselves from God's perspective. Yes, He hates sin and the destruction it brings, but He dearly loves His creation. You are His creation. As Pastor Malcolm will remind us today. God is ready and waiting, anxious to hold you with pride, compassion, and kindness in His eyes.

We've all known a Martha, haven't we? If you've been around the church for a few years, you might know a few. Perhaps you take on a similar mindset at times as well. As believers, all of us experience the temptation to judge other believers on their level of commitment or the quality of their service and worship. But as we'll be reminded in today's message from Pastor Malcolm, as soon as our focus shifts onto what our neighbor is doing, we've lost sight of Jesus, who should be the center of our focus.

That is a common misconception in the church, isn't it? We think that the Holy Spirit will only come if we sing some songs and prepare our hearts, and the mood is just right. But it's Jesus who has done the work of purifying our hearts, and His spirit comes in because of that work. As Pastor Malcolm will clarify in today's message, our singing of praise songs and any physical actions or heart postures we take are in response to His presence, not to coax Him into our place of worship.

What a profound and life-giving promise. As we continue our study of the book of Psalms, a book full of praise for God, whether in moments of victory or sadness; Pastor Malcolm will remind us of the importance of continual, faithful worship. God is worthy of our praise. He rewards those who come call on Him. Those rewards are greater blessings than any career or the smartest financial planning can secure. God will bestow His peace, joy and hope on you, offering you eternal access through Christ.

The Psalms are so honest, and that's a big part of why they resonate so deeply with us. As we read through them, we find moments of great triumph, where the praise easily flows from the heart, and then we find moments of despair, as in today's passage. We find a moment of great questioning. Where are you, God? Where is your goodness? Yet even in this moment, as Pastor Malcolm will point out, the psalmist concludes their lament by submitting praise to God, knowing that ultimately He is good.

There's a reason the Church holds the cross so dearly. This was an instrument of death, perfected by an oppressive empire used to torture and kill the Son of God in one of the cruelest ways possible. You might think we would avoid the thought of it. But as we will be reminded in today's message from Pastor Malcolm, the cross was where mercy and justice met. This tool that represents the worst of what we can do was taken up by Christ as He bore the weight of all our sin, securing our redemption.

Worship is such a powerful weapon for the believer. It requires a conscious choice to submit to God in faith and gratitude, trusting that He'll provide just as He's provided in the past. As Paster Malcolm continues our study in the book of Psalms, we'll be reminded of this beautiful truth. When we walk through dark times, it may be hard to see a way out. We may struggle to remember the mountaintops we've been on. But we can choose to lift our eyes to God, and we'll find joy as we sing His praise.

That can be a fine line to walk, can't it? Discerning whether someone's behavior, attitude or lifestyle is a violation of God's design; or whether they only offend your personal convictions or values. There are things we consider inappropriate in certain settings or for certain age groups, but that doesn't mean they're wrong or sinful. As Pastor Malcolm will point out in today's message, we need to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit as we seek to set boundaries and limitations within the Church.

When something horrible happens in life, it's natural to question how God could have let it. But this question can also be incredibly ironic. For many people, they want little or nothing to do with God, ignoring His existence and directly disobeying His commands and rejecting His design. But as Pastor Malcolm points out in today's message, when those same people experience some kind of misfortune, they often throw it in God's face, wondering how he could be so cruel or uncaring.

If you have kids, then you know that they copy everything you do. Even if you're not trying to teach your kids something, somehow they pick up every little movement and saying, usually you don't know they've gotten something from you until they show you. But wouldn't it be awesome if your kid followed Jesus because they saw you following Jesus? Today, Pastor Malcolm says you must share the gospel with the next generation, so they have the chance to receive the good news of Jesus.

Have you ever watched a sports game that went down to the wire? Maybe it was a game where it went into multiple overtime periods or a last-second shot. In Those moments, no one ever knows the outcome, and yet those are the times people remember forever. Doesn't life feel like those moments sometimes? Today, Pastor Malcolm says, sometimes God doesn't always tell you why situations are happening in your life. So He can provide more abundantly, and so you remember His faithfulness.

Billy Mays was an old telemarketer who could sell anything and convince people to buy anything. Yet what made him unique is how he managed to take the spotlight off himself and make people focus purely on the product he was selling. In today's message, Pastor Malcolm says we should never try to capitalize on the gifings God's given us for our own gain. You see, like a telemarketer and their product, in your life, you must put all the spotlight on God and not on yourself. He must be who you live for.