Prayer Service 9-13-23

Adoration

Veracity

Lexham Survey of Theology (God’s Veracity)

The attribute of veracity refers to God’s truthfulness—that is, his identity as the source of all truth and the unfailing conformity of all divine action and revelation to this identity.

Lexham Survey of Theology (God’s Veracity)

The Bible portrays God not only as a unimpeachable truth teller but also as the source of truth itself.

Lexham Survey of Theology (God’s Veracity)

In other words, God’s Word is true not because it conforms to some external reality called “truth,” but because his Word is an expression of the truth itself—namely, God’s own essence.

Lexham Survey of Theology (God’s Veracity)

This is why the Scriptures insist that God “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), for such would entail God’s denial of his very self—an impossibility.

Titus 1:1–3 (ESV)

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,

2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

Lexham Survey of Theology (God’s Veracity)

Christian theology often appeals to God’s veracity in two particular areas.

First, God’s veracity speaks to God’s faithfulness and consequently to the assurance that believers may have on the basis of God’s promises.

Secondly, God’s veracity is related to the divine inspiration of the Scriptures and their consequent infallible truthfulness.

An unlikely affirmation in Balaam:

Numbers 23:16–20 (ESV)

16 And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.”

17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”

18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor:

19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

20 Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.

Remember the Context:

1 Samuel 15:1–3 ESV

1 And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”

1 Samuel 15:12–16 ESV

12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

1 Samuel 15:19–20 (ESV)

19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

1 Samuel 15:24–29 (ESV)

24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.”

26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.

28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”

Ezekiel 24:1–2 ESV

1 In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

Ezekiel 24:14 (ESV)

14 I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.”

Here’s the issue:

2 Timothy 2:11–13 (ESV)

11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Remember what Jesus prayed?

John 17:15–17 (ESV)

15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Trinitarian implications:

John 14:5–9 (ESV)

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 15:23–26 (ESV)

23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.

24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

Our Hope for Salvation:

Hebrews 6:13–20 (ESV)

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,

14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.”

15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.

16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.

17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,

18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Prayer of Adoration

Supplication

Those affected by the earthquake in Morocco.

The Legges and co-workers as they minister in the aftermath.

Other Christians in the area

The outpouring of the Gospel in Morocco.

Thanksgiving for Clean Bill of Health for Barb Cutrara!

Hugh Webster: Healing of Mind, Body, and Heart.

Salvation and Healing for Hugh

Peace of Christ for her mom as her foundation is crumbling

Mark Hill, Danny Williams, Hope Sanders: Liver Failure, etc.

Other ongoing Medical needs in our prayer list

That we (individually and corporately) would be conduits of God’s truth to the world.