Blow the Trumpet in Zion

JOKE:  How many trumpet players does it take to change a light bulb?  None, because the world revolves around them!

SCRIPTURE:  Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand.  Joel  2:1

OBSERVATIONS: Got a cool trumpet part in one of our songs this week.  I wish I had a trumpet player to play it instead we are using track for that part. Trumpets are fun and loud instruments.  It takes a lot of practice to get good sound out of it.

• To announce- to take notice
• To blow the trumpet takes force and intention
• Call to action – to sound the alarm
• Certain message
• If no one hears – then no one can respond
• Certain people
•  Zion – the people of God - The church
• Loud
• To be heard
• intention
• Immediately at God’s bidding
• Playing specific instrument, place and people
• Not my own horn – it’s not about me

USED FOR:  Made of silver or rams horn, there are at least 55 verses about trumpets in scripture

• Calling to assemblies, procession. sacrifices, and ceremonies
• Calling to set up and tear down camp
• Assembling the people to war
• Sounding for a memorial from battle
• Proclaiming kings
• Sounding alarm in cases of danger
• For the priests to play
• The feast of trumpets
• The jubilee introduced by trumpet call
• The second coming of Christ

APPLICATION:

• Make sure I am not tooting my own horn
• How seriously am I taking the need for people to hear the gospel?
• What am I shouting out loud warning or announcing?
• What should I be?
• What can I do better?
• Whom or when?

BONUS:

AGUR

SCRIPTURE

The words of Agur son of Jakeh, [man of] Massa The speech of the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: "I am brutish, less than a man; I lack common sense. I have not learned wisdom, Nor do I possess knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hand? Who has wrapped the waters in his garment? Who has established all the extremities of the earth? What is his name or his son's name, if you know it?" — Proverbs 30:1–4
 

OBSERVATION

• Agur ben Jakeh: compiler not the author of a collection of proverbs found in Proverbs 30 which is sometimes known as the Book of Agur or Sayings of Agur.
• Agur: maybe it was a another name for Solomon or… the compiler; the one who first gathered,  the one who is brave in the pursuit of wisdom
• The son of Jakeh:  the one who spat out, despised, he who is free from sin, one who obeyed
• le-Ithiel:  the words of God he who understood the signs"
• ha-massa:  the burden, he who bore the yoke of God

“Remove falsehood and lies far from me” (Proverbs 30:8). Integrity is a key to living without anxiety. When we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. Deceit enslaves; honesty liberates.  “Give me neither poverty nor riches—feed me with the food allotted to me”(8)  Contentment springs from trusting God as our supplier and gratefully accepting what He provides. Agur said of the Creator that He “established all the ends of the earth. . . . He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him” (4-5).  Integrity and contentment are riches of the soul that are available to all. Our Lord is pleased to give these treasures to everyone who asks. 3/12/13 ODB

Agur's question We don't know anything about this man, where he lived or even when he lived, why he wrote or why his writings were preserved in the best-selling book of all time Agur most know for:  "What is his name or his son's name, if you know it?"

APPLICATION

• Seek wisdom, collect import stuff 
• Be known and ask God for… integrity, contentment and understand the signs
• Ask big questions of God and search for the answers
• Read one chapter of Proverbs each day
• Choose someone to become your ‘Proverbs Partner’
• Discuss what you have read each day

BONUS

Agur:  Sounds like Ogre.  Name means: gatherer. No saint has ever been named Agur.  No village has ever been named Saint Agur.  However it is a is a blue cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk from the village of Beauzac in the mountains of France. In Spanish the word means: good bye !

 

 

Cling On

SCRIPTURES

·     Psalm 63:8  I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.

·     Romans 12:9  Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

·     Jeremiah 8:5  Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.

·     Psalms 56:3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You

THOTS

Taking kids to the doctor’s office was always an interesting experience. The waiting room was filled TV, toys and magazines.   Getting that far with them was no problem. But as soon as I picked them up to carry them into the appointment, everything changed. Suddenly the fun turned into fear as the nurse approached with the needle for the needed shot. The closer they got, the tighter they hugged my neck. They would cling to me for comfort, probably hoping for rescue, not knowing that it was for their own good.

APP

Why do I often cling to the wrong things? 

Why is it so hard to let go of them? 

Why is it harder to cling to the right things? 
Hold on tight - Trust - Get near

God can be trusted.  in the midst of this trouble He is doing something that in the end is for our best, even if it hurts.  Like my children, the tougher it gets, the tighter we should hug His neck. Trust Him. His love never fails!  Cling to your heavenly Father; He is your only hope.

Cling Free – not as in not clinging at all but as in willingly staying close

PRAYER   Remind me of You’re presence and faithfulness and of the fact that You hold me in Your loving arms.  Help me stay close and hold on

BONUS

Which one of the following pics is the “cling-on- grip” (Klingon) ?