Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200031S
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:13 Forgive my squeaky voice, 01:14 but it's the end of a long week. 01:17 And we're so excited that the Sabbath is rolling in, 01:21 and we want to thank you 01:23 for joining us for this Family Worship. 01:26 Honey? 01:28 It's wonderful to be here 01:29 and it's wonderful to hear your little squeaky voice. 01:32 Something is coming out of it. 01:33 So... 01:35 You never know. 01:36 You never know what's gonna come out. 01:38 We're just surrounded with two of our good friends, 01:40 two people that I just love teach the Word. 01:45 And we're just going to take this opportunity 01:47 to be around the table and just say 01:48 what comes to our heart and glean from that. 01:52 Yes. 01:53 And I just wanted to say 01:55 that tonight what we decided to do 01:58 is we'd call this confident trust in the Lord, 02:02 but we're going to examine Psalm 27, a psalm of David. 02:09 And it is a beautiful psalm. 02:11 And I think it's very relevant to today's times. 02:15 So you want to have opening prayer? 02:18 I certainly would. 02:19 Father, as we come together today 02:20 in the name of Jesus just want to thank you so much, 02:23 Lord, for the Sabbath. 02:24 We just Thank You, Lord, 02:26 that we have this time to concentrate on You 02:29 to put the things of this world to the side and, 02:31 Father, as we just go through Psalm 27. 02:35 Lord that to the aid of the Holy Spirit 02:36 that we will be able to learn things 02:39 that perhaps we hadn't looked at before. 02:42 But, Father, main thing 02:43 we just want to keep our eyes focused on You. 02:45 Be with us, Lord, 02:47 take care of each person that has ears to hear. 02:49 We ask this in the name of Jesus. 02:51 Amen. 02:52 Amen and amen. 02:53 Has it been a difficult week for you? 02:57 Not a difficult week, but certainly a blessed week. 03:00 Busy week. How about you, Johnny? 03:03 It's been a busy week, 03:04 but the Lord has been helping us 03:06 through each and every part of the day. 03:08 Amen. 03:09 And if you haven't figured it out yet, 03:11 this is our Pastor Johnny Dinzey, Pastor Ryan Day. 03:14 Amen. 03:16 Both men of God, great teachers, 03:19 just love Jesus with all their heart. 03:22 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. 03:24 And just as a little side note, 03:26 the reason my voice is so squeaky 03:28 is during surgery 03:29 I had an injury to my vocal fold. 03:33 But I'm afraid to have the surgery to repair it, 03:35 because every time I have surgery 03:38 it seems that everything 03:39 that can go wrong does go wrong. 03:41 So just bear with me 03:43 and it'll get better in a minute. 03:44 Let's just dive right in to Psalm 27. 03:49 And what we're going to do? 03:51 We're gonna read through the Psalm first, 03:54 then we're going to come back and take it apart, 03:57 unpack it verse by verse. 03:59 And I think this is something you can do at home 04:04 when you're sitting with your children, 04:06 read through something, 04:07 then come back and explain it. 04:09 So it's not just a quick read through. 04:12 But this is a beautiful Psalm 04:14 and it's brought me a lot of comfort. 04:16 And let me explain this. 04:18 In the first in Psalm 27:1-6 04:23 what we find is David is talking to himself. 04:27 He's having a conversation with himself, 04:30 talking about the privileges of divine protection. 04:35 Then in verses 7-12, 04:38 he starts talking to the Lord about his problems. 04:43 And verse 13 and 14, he's talking to himself again, 04:48 and this time it's about perseverance. 04:51 So we're going to look at divine protection 04:53 and those privileges, 04:55 the problem, and then perseverance. 04:59 Johnny, why don't you read verses 1-6? 05:04 One through six? 05:06 And without comment. 05:07 We'll just go through first, read it, and then come back. 05:09 "The Lord is my light and my salvation. 05:13 Whom shall I fear? 05:15 The Lord is the strength of my life. 05:17 Of whom shall I be afraid? 05:19 When the wicked came against me to eat my flesh, 05:22 my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. 05:26 Though an army may encamp against me, 05:29 my heart shall not fear. 05:32 Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. 05:36 One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek. 05:41 That I may dwell in the house of the Lord, 05:44 all the days of my life, 05:46 to behold the beauty of the Lord, 05:48 and to inquire in His temple. 05:51 For in the time of trouble, 05:53 He shall hide me in His pavilion. 05:55 In the secret place of His tabernacle, 05:58 He shall hide me, 05:59 He shall set me high upon a rock. 06:02 And now my head shall be lifted up 06:04 above my enemies all around me. 06:07 Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy 06:11 in His tabernacle. 06:12 I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord." 06:17 Oh, that's beautiful. 06:18 He's talking about the divine privileges of protection. 06:22 But then, Ryan, 06:24 now he's gonna start talking to the Lord. 06:25 Why don't you read verses 7-12? 06:28 Absolutely. 06:29 It says, "Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! 06:32 Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 06:36 When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 06:40 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.' 06:42 Do not hide Your face from me. 06:44 Do not turn Your servant away in anger. 06:47 You have been my help. 06:49 Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. 06:54 When my father and my mother forsake me, 06:56 then the Lord will take care of me. 06:58 Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, 07:03 because of my enemies. 07:05 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries. 07:09 For false witnesses have risen against me, 07:12 and such as breathe out violence." 07:16 Okay, so there's his problems. 07:18 And I love this part. 07:20 I can't wait to unpack it, 07:22 especially about seeking God's face. 07:24 And then JD, verses 13 and 14. 07:27 Now he's finished talking to the Lord 07:29 and now he is going to convince himself to persevere. 07:34 Amen. 07:35 Verse 13, 07:37 "I would have lost heart, 07:39 unless I had believed 07:41 that I would see the goodness of the Lord 07:43 in the land of the living. 07:45 Wait on the Lord. 07:47 Be of good courage, 07:48 and He shall strengthen your heart. 07:51 Wait, I say, on the Lord!" 07:55 That's beautiful. So let's start unpacking this. 07:59 Verse 1, 08:02 "The Lord is my light and my salvation. 08:06 Whom shall I fear? 08:07 The Lord is the strength of my life. 08:10 Of whom shall I be afraid?" 08:13 Kind of reminds you 08:15 of Paul in Romans 8: 31-32 where he said, 08:20 "Hey, if God is for us, who can be against us?" 08:22 That's right. 08:24 You know, he who did not spare his own son, 08:27 how much more willing not give us all things? 08:29 So what's he talking about here? 08:32 How would you explain the Lord is, 08:35 His light and his salvation? 08:39 Well, obviously here the darkness represents... 08:43 In contrast to the light darkness would represent fear, 08:46 a time of despair, a time of danger. 08:49 And, of course, we know David experienced a lot of that 08:51 in his lifetime. 08:53 In fact, I'll talk a little bit more about it as we get through 08:55 to one of these other verses in just a moment, 08:57 but, you know, I love the trust 08:59 and the declaration that he has, 09:01 because he's likening God, His light, His salvation. 09:06 And, of course, light we know it. 09:08 It does away with darkness, it dispels darkness. 09:10 And so, you know, 09:12 as I was reading through this particular verse, 09:13 I thought of that scripture of also in Paul's writings 09:16 in 2 Corinthians 6:14, where he says, 09:19 "What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? 09:22 And what communion has light with darkness?" 09:24 Right? Yes. 09:26 And so, you know, 09:27 we know that light and darkness cannot coexist. 09:30 And in this case, 09:32 I think, David is acknowledging that. 09:33 He's living in a dark time, 09:35 he's living in a despairing time. 09:37 You know, his enemies are around him, 09:39 whether it's King Saul or whether it's, you know, 09:42 other enemies that are encamped around him. 09:45 He's living during a dark time. 09:47 But even amidst that darkness, even amidst that time of fear, 09:50 that time of danger, that time of war, 09:52 he's able to look to Jesus and recognize that if, 09:55 you know, He's my salvation, He's my strength. 09:58 He's my only hope. 10:00 And so I believe that is what he's declaring here that, 10:03 why should I fear about 10:04 all of this worldliness around me, 10:06 all that is encamped around me 10:07 when I've got the King of the universe on my side. 10:11 He will see me through and He will get me through. 10:13 And you know, I personally identify with that 10:15 just because of my recent experience, 10:17 you know, and you go through 10 months of darkness. 10:20 And the only thing that kept me going each day 10:24 was seeking the Lord as my light, praising God. 10:28 And that... 10:29 I'm not gonna say that 10:31 there weren't any times 10:32 that I kind of got a little bit down, we all do. 10:36 But as soon as I would recognize that, 10:38 I would just start singing out praises 10:41 to the God of my salvation. 10:43 And He would shine His light into my darkness. 10:47 That's right. 10:48 Boy, I'm telling you, we need that in this day. 10:52 It was obvious that David had a lot of wisdom, 10:56 you know, brought to just is how old is he about now? 11:00 I don't know. 11:01 He was called when he was 16... Yeah. 11:03 So I mean, so we're saying he's a young man, 11:06 but yet, what a gift. 11:08 You know, 11:09 what a gift that he could even use words like this, 11:12 because it just paints such a wonderful picture. 11:15 Because he said, you know, light up my world, Lord, 11:19 illuminate things 11:20 so that I will be able to see clearly. 11:23 He's looking for clarity at this particular time 11:26 and it's just absolutely... 11:29 You know, He is the strength of my life. 11:31 Yeah. Amen. 11:34 I would love to be able to pray like this, 11:39 just to sit down and, you know, and just, boy, 11:40 this is just poetry you might say, 11:43 and just sit down and just have this conversation. 11:46 And I love it. 11:47 You know, when I used to journal 11:49 my prayers, I would write. 11:51 And I mean, it would be like 11:52 you're writing a letter to the Lord. 11:54 And one of the segments that I would go through, 11:58 I always start my prayer with praise. 12:00 Right. 12:02 But I noticed 12:03 when I first started doing this, 12:05 after I read back through a couple of weeks, 12:09 my praise was pretty meager. 12:11 I mean, my words of praise. 12:13 So what I did was, I went to the Psalms, 12:17 I would read through Psalm 12:19 and then I pick out verses of great praise. 12:23 And then that's what I would write to the Lord. 12:26 Oh, Lord, You are my light, You are my salvation. 12:29 And I found that when you do that, 12:32 and that's a wonderful way to learn how to praise 12:34 is to go through the Psalms. 12:36 Right. 12:37 It's just one of those Psalms where David makes a declaration 12:42 and then guess... 12:46 Something that he's going to have or not have. 12:49 You have the Lord is my light and strength. 12:54 Yes. 12:56 Notice the... 12:57 Lord is my shepherd, yeah. 12:58 Yes. 13:00 That's exactly right. 13:01 I was gonna say The Lord is my shepherd, 13:02 I shall not want. 13:04 Here's he's saying, 13:05 "The Lord is the strength of my life. 13:07 Who shall I fear?" 13:08 That's right. 13:09 So when you have the Lord, all these things can go away. 13:13 Your fear of, wow, what am I going to eat, 13:15 what are we going to be able to wear, 13:17 where am I going to be able to stay. 13:19 That goes away, 13:20 because you know the Lord provides. 13:23 And for those of you that have a Bible translation 13:26 where they capitalize the L, the O, the R and the D, 13:30 please know that he is saying, Jehovah, Yahweh. 13:34 He's talking about the Almighty living God. 13:37 So he's making a declaration. The Covenant God. 13:39 Yes, the covenant keeping God. 13:41 That's right. Amen. 13:42 Ryan, you want to take verse 2? Absolutely. 13:44 Verse 2 says, 13:46 "The wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, 13:50 my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell." 13:56 If you don't mind, I'm going to read 13:57 verse 3 with it. 13:59 Sure. 14:00 There's a little bit more we can say about it, 14:01 but I want to kind of tie that with it. 14:03 Verse 3 also says, 14:04 "Though an army may encamp against me, 14:06 my heart shall not fear. 14:08 Though war should rise against me, 14:11 in this I will be confident." 14:15 And so, it's powerful to consider 14:18 what he's saying here, 14:19 because he's acknowledging the fact 14:22 that he is in an impossible situation. 14:25 I don't think people really understand 14:27 probably more than any other person 14:29 in the Bible, obviously, 14:31 different scenario than, you know, 14:32 Job and some others faced, 14:34 but probably no other person in all the Bible 14:36 faced more adversity 14:38 in the entirety of their life than that of David. 14:42 And so when he talks about 14:44 the wicked came against to eat up his flesh. 14:46 You know, it's nice imagery, 14:48 it's nice symbolism there, 14:49 where he's talking about 14:51 how his enemies are like ravenous wolves 14:53 or vicious beasts that are constantly at him. 14:57 And, you know, 14:58 it has been suggested that perhaps this Psalm 15:01 was written maybe prior to David being king 15:04 that very well may be a possibility. 15:07 But whether it was before or after he became king, 15:10 you can look at the story of David's life 15:12 and see just how much adversity he really went through. 15:16 And when he talks about his enemies, verse 3 there, 15:19 "Though an army may encamp against me, 15:21 my heart shall not fear." 15:23 When he talks about an army encamped against him, 15:26 if you consider the layout of Jerusalem, 15:29 you want to talk about an enemy coming against you. 15:32 He was literally encamped 15:34 on all sides by all of his enemies. 15:37 You literally head to the north of Jerusalem, 15:40 you had the Aramenes. 15:43 Okay, so the nation of Arab. 15:46 And then of course, to the east of Jerusalem, 15:48 you had the Ammonites and the Moabites, 15:51 to the south of Jerusalem, 15:53 you have the Amalekites and the Edomites. 15:55 And, of course, to the west of Jerusalem, 15:57 the Philistines. 15:58 Now that's looking at kind of post king, 16:02 like once he's been king onward. 16:03 But even prior to that, 16:05 I mean, he had Saul and his armies 16:08 against him day and night. 16:09 And if you look at the entirety, 16:11 he probably would have died 16:12 somewhere north of 70 years old. 16:14 But if you look at the bulk of that 70-year life, 16:17 more than 40 years, 16:19 potentially 45 years or more of his life he spent in war, 16:22 in running, in fighting, in battle. 16:25 And so to hear him pour out his heart 16:28 and talk about his enemies, his foes, 16:30 they stay all stumbled and failed. 16:31 Why? 16:33 I love this last part of verse 3, 16:34 here's "My heart shall not fear. 16:35 Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident." 16:40 Where is his confidence? 16:41 In God. Amen. 16:43 And most of us will never have to face 16:45 that much adversity in our entire life. 16:46 But this man knew, 16:48 no matter if my enemies are all around me, 16:51 God is on my side, as long as I looked to Him. 16:53 It amazes me when you think 16:55 he was anointed as king at age 14, 16:58 I mean, 16, at age 16. 17:01 And he didn't actually take the throne till he was 30. 17:06 So he had 14 years that solace after. 17:10 And, you know, we read these Bible... 17:12 As we read through the Bible, 17:13 sometimes we read these stories 17:15 and we're not putting a timeline with it. 17:18 And it is amazing to think about. 17:21 David, I see as one of the... 17:22 Sorry. 17:24 David is one of the Bible persons, 17:27 you know, sometimes you say Bible character, 17:28 like we think, a character in something fictitious, 17:33 but these are real people. 17:34 That's right. 17:36 He's one of the individuals in the Bible that you see 17:38 that talks about his feelings more than any other. 17:42 And it's a marvelous thing. 17:43 Here he identifies 17:45 one of the things that cripples people, 17:48 paralyzes people, fear. 17:50 You know, you talk about fear, 17:52 he talks about the necessities of life and fear. 17:55 Fear just literally freezes people. 17:58 They won't know what to do. 17:59 But he's identifying God 18:01 as the one that can make his fear disappear. 18:07 I like that. Make his fear disappear. 18:09 So I want to read to you from Psalms 46, 18:12 where again, he mentioned something about fear. 18:16 Now this is a, not a Psalm of David. 18:19 It says, this is one of the Sons of Korah. 18:21 But again, it's one of the Psalms. 18:22 It says, God is our refuge and strength, 18:24 a very present help in trouble. 18:26 Therefore we will not fear, 18:29 even though the earth be removed, 18:31 and though the mountains be carried 18:33 into the midst of the sea. 18:35 Though its waters roar and be troubled, 18:37 Though the mountains shake with its swelling." 18:40 And so through God 18:43 we can overcome our greatest fears. 18:46 And when we realize He is our light. 18:50 You know, it's wonderful the way he said, 18:52 He is my strength. 18:54 I don't have to rely upon my strength. 18:56 God is my strength. That's right. 18:57 The joy of the Lord is our strength, isn't it? 19:00 Now verse 4. 19:02 I love this. 19:03 This is one... Can't wait to get to this one. 19:05 "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek. 19:10 That I may dwell in the house of the Lord 19:12 all the days of my life, 19:14 to behold the beauty of the Lord, 19:18 and to inquire in His temple." 19:22 So what does it mean? 19:24 What is he saying 19:26 about dwelling in the house of the Lord? 19:30 Well, it's powerful to consider that. 19:33 This is in response 19:34 to what he said up to this point. 19:35 Yep. 19:37 He's been declaring to himself, God is my strength, 19:39 though I have all these enemies around me. 19:41 Now I said in recently one of my seminary classes. 19:45 I was taking a class on doctrine of the sanctuary. 19:49 And my instructor actually did a little lecture on Psalm 27. 19:55 And before he went into this verse though, 19:57 he asked us, he says, 19:58 if you could ask the Lord for anything 20:01 that you could desire, what would that be? 20:06 And there was this long pause on our class. 20:09 You think, you know, people would speak up. 20:11 We almost thought it was a trick question. 20:12 But we're listening. 20:13 He's like, you know, little seriously, 20:15 if you could ask the Lord for one thing right now, 20:18 what would that be? 20:19 And, of course, you know, 20:21 some people started speaking, 20:22 well, you know, when Solomon was asked this question, 20:24 you know, he asked for wisdom. 20:25 So I'd probably ask for wisdom and so forth and so on. 20:27 And as we were going through, 20:28 but it's interesting that right here, 20:31 David declares after saying all of what he just said, 20:36 and you would expect someone in David situation to say, 20:38 oh, Lord, if I could ask one thing, 20:40 it would be take out all of my enemies, 20:43 just wipe them all out, just push them, 20:44 push back all these forces of evil 20:46 that are pressing around me 20:48 and choking out the life from me and my family, 20:50 and the well-being 20:51 and all of this chaos I'm dealing with, 20:53 but he says one thing I have desired of the Lord, 20:55 one thing that I seek 20:57 is that I dwell in the house of the Lord. 21:00 And so obviously, 21:02 he's talking about here 21:03 and being in constant fellowship with God, 21:07 being as much as he could possibly dwell. 21:10 Remember, God said, 21:12 build me a sanctuary that I may dwell among you. 21:15 God desires to dwell among His people. 21:17 And, you know, 21:19 in response to that we should also desire 21:21 to be among Him. 21:23 And so, you know, 21:24 it's interesting here that he says here 21:25 also at the end here, 21:27 to behold the beauty of the Lord 21:29 as I read that, 21:31 to be in his house to behold God and His beauty. 21:33 I thought of Isaiah's conversion, you know? 21:36 Isaiah's conversion began with what? 21:38 It began when he saw God. 21:41 He beheld God high 21:42 and lifted up in all of His glory. 21:44 But then another thing here just to emphasize. 21:46 He says, I will... 21:48 This is toward the end of verse 5. 21:49 Here it says, "And to inquire in His temple." 21:53 What does it mean to inquire in His temple? 21:56 I love how he's really breaking this down here. 21:58 He says, not only do I want to dwell 22:00 in the house of the Lord 22:01 all the days of my life, 22:02 I want to behold His beauty 22:04 and I want to inquire of His temple. 22:06 Well, what does that mean? 22:07 So in the original Hebrew here, 22:10 it's the word bachar which means to consider, 22:14 to search, to seek out. 22:18 So he doesn't just want to walk in the temple and just, 22:20 ah, you know. 22:21 He wants to seek out and, of course, 22:23 what came to my mind is another Psalm 22:24 that he would write, Psalm 77:13, 22:27 "Thy way, O God is in," 22:30 where? "In the sanctuary." 22:31 So not only is he there wanting to be 22:33 and dwell in God's presence, 22:35 not only is he wanting to behold God 22:37 in all of His glory 22:39 and to behold His righteousness, 22:40 but he also wants to behold 22:42 and to inquire that is to learn, 22:44 that is to seek, 22:45 that is to search out his righteous way, 22:47 and his way is found in the sanctuary. 22:50 Amen and amen. 22:51 Okay, JD, verse 5. 22:53 Verse 5, 22:54 "For in the time of trouble 22:56 He shall hide me in His pavilion. 22:59 In the secret place of His tabernacle 23:01 He shall hide me. 23:03 He shall set me upon a high rock." 23:06 Amen. 23:07 So what does that make you think of? 23:09 Well, it makes me think that in the time of trouble that, 23:13 first thing that I think about it, 23:16 biblically speaking is the mama hand 23:19 with her babies under her wings, you know? 23:20 Amen. 23:22 That's what I've thought about. 23:23 Right. 23:24 And what a precious sight that is 23:26 and how protective that is. 23:28 And so... Let me interject right here. 23:30 There was a story told 23:32 and I'm assuming this is a true story. 23:35 But what happened was 23:37 a farmer had a fire in his chicken coop, 23:41 and he went out the next day. 23:43 And here's this mama hen with her wings spread out 23:47 and she was fried. 23:50 Fried chicken. 23:52 Anyway... 23:53 I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that. 23:55 That's okay. 23:56 The story was calling for it. 23:58 Go ahead. 23:59 Anyway... 24:00 And it's sad. 24:02 I don't mean to make light of that. 24:03 But he picks up the mama chicken 24:05 and out from underneath her wings 24:09 were several baby chicks that came out. 24:13 This mama had sacrificed her life 24:17 to save these baby chicks. 24:19 Now that is an amazing story, 24:23 but it's what our God did for us. 24:26 You know, it made me think of Matthew 23:37-38. 24:31 When I was reading this and you just made that point 24:33 about the mother hen 24:34 where Jesus said in His last week, 24:37 when He's gonna go to the cross. 24:38 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 24:40 the one who kills the prophets 24:41 and stones those who are sent to her! 24:43 How often I wanted to gather your children together, 24:46 as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 24:49 but you were not willing!" 24:51 Amen. 24:52 Amen And we have to be willing. 24:53 We have to be willing. 24:55 And it also tells us here in Matthew, 24:57 I mean, in Psalms 32:7 that 24:59 "You are my hiding place. 25:01 You shall preserve me from trouble. 25:03 You shall surround me with the songs of deliverance." 25:06 And you know that song? 25:08 I used to... 25:09 When I'd have trouble 25:10 that's what I would break into is, 25:12 You are my hiding place. 25:13 That's so beautiful. 25:15 All right, Johnny, verse 6. 25:18 "And now my head shall be lifted up 25:21 above my enemies all around me. 25:24 Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy 25:27 in His tabernacle. 25:29 I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord." 25:32 Hallelujah. 25:34 What does it mean for your head 25:36 to be lifted above your enemies? 25:38 You know, it's interesting that he makes his declaration 25:40 after he says. 25:43 That in the time of trouble the Lord will hide him 25:46 in his pavilion 25:48 and in the secret place of his tabernacle, 25:50 he shall hide... 25:51 He shall set me high up on a rock. 25:53 So he's really a high up on a rock on Jesus. 25:56 And because of this his head is above his enemies. 26:02 Were he to speak of himself then, 26:05 you know, he would be speaking of his own ability 26:08 and would not have the victory that God gave him. 26:13 So his head is lifted above his enemies, 26:16 because the enemy will try not only to destroy you, 26:19 but to shame you, and to bring you down, 26:22 and there's nothing more than they would enjoy to see you 26:25 crying out and saying, 26:27 you know, 26:29 that things that you're giving up on God. 26:33 But here, 26:34 David is saying 26:35 that God is going to lift him up above his enemies. 26:37 In other words, 26:39 He's gonna give him the victory over all his enemies. 26:40 Amen. 26:42 And it makes you think of 2 Corinthians 2:14 26:45 where it says, 26:47 actually, that God leads us in triumph with Jesus Christ. 26:53 And I mean, it is amazing to think about that. 26:57 Now I want to get on 26:59 'cause we got to get to his problems 27:00 and then the solution. 27:02 And our time's... 27:04 We could spend four hours on this. 27:06 It's amazing. 27:07 But just remember this, 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, 27:11 "Thanks be to God, 27:12 who gives us the victory in Christ Jesus." 27:17 So these first six verses, 27:20 this is David just talking to himself, 27:24 reminding himself of the divine privileges 27:28 or the privileges of divine protection. 27:31 Now there is a little switch. 27:34 Now he is going to start talking to the Lord. 27:39 And I'm going to take verse 7 27:41 just because this is one of my favorite verses. 27:44 Verse 7 says, 27:45 "Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! 27:50 Have mercy also upon me and answer me." 27:55 And then he says to God, 27:56 "When You said, 'Seek My face,' 27:59 my heart said to You, 28:01 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.'" 28:06 I believe that there are many people who, 28:11 if we were to say, 28:13 we're running the race of faith and here's Jesus, 28:17 the author and finisher of our faith, 28:19 I believe there's many people 28:21 who are going in the right direction, 28:24 but they're looking back over their shoulder. 28:27 And, you know, 28:28 once the Lord really told me that's what I was doing. 28:33 And he said, 28:34 "Seek my face." 28:37 This is to seek God's personal presence. 28:43 And it's something that 28:45 God's been doing in me recently. 28:48 I mean, I learned in the year 2000, 28:51 how to really press into His presence, 28:54 how to seek His face. 28:57 But something that God's been doing recently is interesting. 29:01 It's been fascinating. 29:03 It's happened in the last few months. 29:05 I was listening to someone pray, 29:08 oh, Lord, be with so and so in the hospital, 29:11 be with so and so 29:14 on their trip, be with, be with. 29:17 And suddenly in my mind, you know what I heard? 29:20 I am with you, I never leave or forsake you. 29:26 If you will acknowledge my presence, 29:31 you'll become more aware of my presence. 29:34 And something that I've always done. 29:36 When I know someone is going through a difficult time, 29:39 what I do is I pray, 29:41 "Oh, Lord, give them a divine awareness, 29:43 a super natural awareness of Your presence." 29:48 Oh, Lord, let them, you know, help them to seek your face, 29:52 help them to feel your arms around them. 29:56 And when the Lord spoke that into my heart, 29:59 "I am with you. 30:01 I never leave you or forsake you." 30:03 This was something that 30:05 suddenly I started crying out to the Lord, 30:08 give me a divine awareness of Your presence. 30:12 And you know what? 30:14 Yes, every morning, I wake up and I pray. 30:17 And I say, "Lord, fill me again with Your Holy Spirit, 30:21 'cause we're leaky vessels." 30:23 And then I ask Him, 30:25 "Lord, give me a divine awareness." 30:27 I've been spending a lot of alone time. 30:29 JD is at work, 30:30 I've been working remotely as I've been recovering. 30:33 And all of a sudden, 30:35 when I'm writing to encourage somebody, 30:38 and I'm saying, I'll pray for you about such, 30:41 it's like I'm talking with the Lord at the same time. 30:43 I'm praying right at that moment. 30:46 He's giving me the words at the time. 30:49 And all-day long, it doesn't matter where I am, 30:53 what I'm doing, 30:55 I've just got this 30:56 constant stream of conversation 30:59 going on with God. 31:00 Because I mean, I know He is inside of me, 31:03 but His presence has become so real. 31:06 It's like He's sitting right next to me. 31:10 And I want to encourage you to pray that, 31:13 ask God for a divine awareness. 31:15 He's always with us. 31:17 We're just not recognizing it. 31:19 You know, I want to take that a step further 31:20 what you just said, 31:22 because pressing into His presence is essential. 31:25 But it's ironic that, 31:28 that David is praying out here 31:31 and he's stating the fact 31:33 that he needs to seek the face of God. 31:36 But from Moses perspective, in Exodus 33, 31:40 you know, Lord, show me, I want to see you. 31:43 I'll let you see my back, 31:45 but I can't let you see my face, 31:46 because you can't live if I show you my face. 31:50 Pressing into the presence of God is absolutely essential. 31:53 And that's essentially what this means, 31:55 when we're pressing into seeking God's face. 31:57 But I want to take just a little step further 31:59 and highlight the fact that 32:00 when you're pressing into the presence of God, 32:02 God doesn't just want you to be in His presence, 32:04 He wants you to acknowledge His righteous glory, 32:08 His bright, shining face of light. 32:11 It represents His glorious righteousness. 32:13 I'm thinking of other scriptures 32:15 in Psalm such as Psalm 4:6, 32:17 lift is what he says. 32:18 He says, "Lift up the light of your face upon us." 32:20 Yes. 32:22 Psalm 31:16, 32:23 "Make your face shine on your servant, 32:25 save me in your steadfast love!" 32:28 Psalm 44:3 says, 32:29 "Not by your own sword did they win the land, 32:33 but your right hand and your arm 32:35 and the light of your face." 32:37 There's many references of the Psalm 80, 32:39 "Restore so God let your face shine 32:42 that we may be saved." 32:43 And, of course, Psalm 89:15, 32:45 "Blessed are the people who walk, O Lord, 32:47 in the light of your face." 32:49 So when we are... 32:51 And I just want to take this a step further, 32:53 because there's a lot of people that want to spend time 32:56 in the presence of God, 32:58 but they don't want to follow God. 33:00 That's right. 33:01 They desire that. 33:02 I want to be in Your presence, 33:04 Lord, I want to sit in Your presence. 33:05 Lucifer is a perfect example of that. 33:07 Lucifer was closer to God 33:09 more than any other angel, 33:10 but yet, how can someone be that close, 33:14 just encompassed 33:15 and completely drowning in the glory of the Lord, 33:19 but yet still allow that heart, 33:21 that that evil selfish heart to rise up. 33:24 We need to press into the presence of God, 33:26 but even more than that, God says, 33:28 "Look, look up on My glorious righteous face 33:30 and seek My righteousness, 33:33 seek My ways, 33:34 seek the path that I have laid before you 33:36 that you might be saved." 33:38 A verse that the Lord... 33:41 Really caught my attention with was Jeremiah 29:11-13. 33:46 And I want to read that real quickly, 33:48 because it's interesting what the Lord is saying here, 33:52 He says, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, 33:55 says the Lord, thoughts of peace not of evil, 33:59 to give you a hope and a future. 34:02 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, 34:06 and I will listen to you. 34:08 And you will seek Me and find Me, 34:12 when you search for Me with all of your heart." 34:14 Now let me just stop for a second. 34:17 God is sitting here saying, 34:18 "Hey, I've got a plan for your life, 34:21 and it's a wonderful plan." 34:24 But then, after He says that, 34:26 He says, then you will call on Me 34:30 and seek My face. 34:32 When? 34:33 I mean, it almost seems like that's out of order. 34:37 It's when we recognize God has a plan for our life. 34:42 That is when we come before him. 34:45 Because even when you're in ministry, 34:48 you can get going under your own steam, 34:51 and not be doing the Lord's will for the day. 34:54 But when you recognize every day, 34:57 God's got a plan for my life and you seek Him as Jesus did. 35:03 And Jesus said, 35:04 "I only do what the Father tells me to do. 35:07 I only speak what the Father tells me to speak." 35:10 So it's what motivates our heart 35:15 to seek God 35:16 is when we really understand He has a good plan for life. 35:20 And I would say, every day of our life. 35:22 There's a difference. 35:25 There's a difference in seeking God. 35:28 Some people seek God because they're having trouble. 35:30 I'm having trouble, somebody's got to help us. 35:32 We tried this, we tried that. 35:34 Oh, maybe the Lord can help us. 35:36 Like, they've tried everything they can, 35:39 but oh, we've exhausted everything that we can do, 35:42 maybe God will help us. 35:43 David crossed this obstacle 35:49 that you're seeking the Lord 35:51 because you want to be in the presence of the Lord, 35:54 you want to know Him. 35:56 One thing I have desired of the Lord 35:57 that I may dwell in His house, that I may behold. 36:00 That's why God... 36:02 When you look at the Psalms, 36:03 you see David making declarations 36:05 of wanting to be in the presence of the Lord, 36:08 the Lord is my shepherd. 36:09 The Lord... 36:10 He had a, we call it, a relationship with God. 36:12 He recognized that God is a personal God. 36:16 There's a time when Jesus said to His disciples, 36:20 these people honor me with their lips, 36:23 but their heart is far from. 36:26 Yes, praise God, but praise Him with your whole heart. 36:30 And this is a wonderful scripture that you read 36:32 that says, you know, 36:34 and you will seek Me and find Me 36:36 when you search for Me with all. 36:38 The assurance is given. 36:40 When you search for me with all your heart, 36:42 you will find Me. 36:43 Absolutely. 36:44 And so this is something that 36:46 I hope the people listening will say, 36:49 God is willing to be found, all I have to do is... 36:52 Seek Him. 36:54 With all my heart. Yes. 36:55 You know, I just want to make a point. 36:57 As you were saying all that it reminded me 36:59 back to what I was saying, 37:00 first of all, we had to keep in mind, 37:02 what did he say he desired more than anything? 37:04 To be in the presence of the Lord. 37:06 I want to be in God's presence, I want to be in His tabernacle, 37:10 in His temple, in His sanctuary. 37:12 In seeking the face of the Lord, 37:14 what David is essentially saying is, 37:16 the courtyard is great, 37:18 but I don't want to stay there. 37:19 That's right. Amen. 37:21 Lord, I want to be in Your presence 37:22 even in the holy place, 37:24 but, Lord, that's not good enough. 37:25 Yeah. I wanna look up on Your face. 37:27 The only way we can look up on the face of God 37:29 is if we're having a most holy place experience. 37:32 So you can see David's heart pouring out, 37:34 Lord, I desire to not just be just around You, 37:38 I want to be right next to You. 37:39 And, Lord, I know that Your righteous face 37:42 is in the most holy place. 37:44 So you can see, 37:45 you can almost sense a progression in David's life 37:48 as God has taken him from that courtyard 37:50 into that holy place experience 37:52 and then into that most holy place experience, 37:54 which is what we also must experience. 37:55 Amen. 37:57 And this would be a fantastic object lesson 37:59 right here for all the parents 38:01 those who are teaching their children 38:03 that God does have a plan. 38:05 And you will call, you will go, you will find. 38:09 That's right. 38:10 Amen. 38:11 All right, honey, verse 9. Yeah. 38:13 Verse 9, "Do not hide Your face from me. 38:16 Do not turn Your servant away in anger. 38:18 You have been my help. 38:20 Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation." 38:24 And verse 10. 38:25 "And when my father and my mother forsake me, 38:28 then the Lord will take care of me." 38:30 Wow. 38:32 You know, there are people... 38:34 My father was killed when I was six years old. 38:37 He was a pilot, he was killed in a plane crash. 38:40 And my mother married an alcoholic. 38:45 It wasn't very pleasant at home. 38:48 And then my mother developed some problems. 38:55 She was bipolar. 38:57 And often, I came to this verse, 39:01 and said, Lord, when my father and my mother forsake me, 39:04 'cause sometimes you can feel abandoned. 39:07 And, you know, in this current climate 39:10 we look at what's going on in our world. 39:14 There's so much fear, but there's so much animosity, 39:17 and it's gotten to the point 39:19 that when we even express an opinion 39:23 that is different than somebody else's. 39:26 Rather than sitting down 39:27 and having this civil conversation, 39:31 sometimes people just abandon you, 39:33 they don't want to be your friends anymore. 39:34 If you don't believe the way I believe, 39:36 you're not gonna vote the way I vote, 39:39 I don't want anything to do with you. 39:41 And it's like what's going on in this world. 39:44 But I just want to encourage those of you at home, 39:48 who feel like you have been abandoned, 39:51 God is always there and He will always comfort you 39:58 and seek him as a friend. 40:00 It's not... 40:01 He is not a slot machine up in the sky. 40:05 When you pray and praise God, and just tell Him, 40:09 I want to sense Your presence, I want to be in Your presence. 40:16 Lord, I want to know You. 40:18 Jesus said in John 17:3, 40:20 this is eternal life that they would know you 40:23 and the one whom you have sent. 40:25 This is an intimate knowledge. 40:28 And I'll tell you what? 40:29 God is a lot of fun to know, if I can say it that way. 40:34 All right, let's get to verse 11. 40:37 I would like to share something before we get to verse 11, 40:40 because it's interesting to me that verse 10, 40:44 he makes a statement concerning fathers and mothers. 40:47 Yeah. 40:49 You know, sometimes people trust in friends 40:52 and brothers and sisters, 40:54 but when he makes a declaration 40:56 about when my father and mother forsake me, 40:58 he's saying you would expect that 41:01 everyone will leave me except my mother and my father. 41:04 But He here, 41:06 and I want to praise the Lord for mothers. 41:08 They pray for their children, they stick to the very last. 41:12 But here God is making a declaration... 41:15 David is making a declaration that he knows 41:17 that God will never leave nor forsake him. 41:20 The Lord will take care of me. 41:22 He says, "The Lord will take care of me." 41:24 You know, I saw something interesting. 41:25 I think it was last night. 41:27 And somebody made an interesting statement, 41:28 the first part I liked, because it's biblical, 41:32 because the Bible tells us. 41:33 I think it's Psalms 1:46. 41:35 Don't put your trust in princes, 41:36 nor in the sons of men. 41:38 Don't trust in people. 41:39 We're supposed to trust in God. 41:41 But this person made, don't trust people. 41:44 Don't put your trust in people, 41:45 because even your shadow will leave you 41:48 when you're facing, when you're in darkness. 41:51 Well, that's kind of funny, because it's true. 41:53 The shadow cannot be there when you're in darkness. 41:55 But the fact is that in our darkest moments, 41:58 God is there to help us, 42:01 to strengthen us, to encourage us, 42:02 and give us that peace that we need. 42:04 That's right. That's right. 42:05 All right, 42:07 we're coming up on a couple of really great verses here. 42:09 So, JD, you want to take verse 11? 42:12 "Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth paths, 42:16 because of my enemies." 42:17 Okay, what is a smooth path? 42:19 A smooth path is a levelled ground. 42:22 You can see the beginning, you can see the end. 42:24 You go to New Mexico, and my goodness, 42:27 you can see for miles away. 42:29 You go to Colorado and you see the next mountain. 42:34 And you love both places. 42:35 But we're talking right here, 42:37 you know, about teach me Your way, 42:39 leave me on a smooth path, 42:40 because the smoother the path, 42:42 you would assume the easier it is to carry that backpack. 42:46 Amen. Yes. 42:48 I mean, it's tough putting the backpack on 42:50 and climbing a mountain. 42:52 He is been there and done that, I know. 42:55 So why don't you read Hebrews 12:12-15? 42:58 Because when we're talking about a smooth path, 43:03 it's something that what David is praying, 43:08 "Lord, teach me Your way." 43:10 This reminds me of Psalm 143:10 43:13 that I pray all the time. 43:15 He says, "Oh, Lord, teach me to do Your will, 43:19 lead me by Your good spirit." 43:22 You know, sometimes even when we're in the church, 43:24 we think we know God's will, 43:29 but we need to learn to depend on God. 43:31 Did you know that's what salvation is all about? 43:34 Right. It's total dependence. 43:35 That's His plan of salvation by grace through faith, 43:38 its total dependence upon Him. 43:41 But when we ask God make a level path for our feet, 43:47 there's something that God does to pave the way. 43:52 But then I love what Hebrews 12:12 says, 43:55 because it shows us that 43:59 when God opens the door and paves the way, 44:01 there's something we need to do. 44:03 JD? Now this is really neat. 44:05 "Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, " 44:08 or you can just see sometimes when you're depressed, 44:11 you know, you just walk around 44:12 and your hands are hanging low 44:13 and you have feeble knees. 44:15 He says, "Therefore, strengthen that situation. 44:19 And make straight paths for your feet, 44:22 so that what is lame may not be dislocated, 44:24 but rather be healed." 44:26 Thank you, Jesus. 44:27 "Pursue peace with all people and holiness, 44:30 without which..." 44:31 Don't swallow holiness. 44:33 Pursue peace with all people and holiness. 44:37 Thank you. Thank you for the... 44:39 Thank you. 44:40 "Without which no one will see the Lord." 44:43 Without holiness, you do not see the Lord. 44:45 That's right. 44:46 "Looking carefully lest anyone fall short 44:49 of the grace of God." 44:51 So I guess sometimes you'd be going so fast 44:54 that it just... 44:55 That's right. 44:56 But you know to me what this says in part? 44:58 And then I'd like... 45:00 I know we still have 45:01 a couple of really important scriptures to get to. 45:03 But what this says in part is, 45:06 I mean, this is something 45:09 that we are being told 45:11 to do strengthen your feeble knees. 45:13 Yes. 45:14 Put your shoulders back, let's get on with this. 45:18 But I think when you have a straight path, 45:21 it's interesting. 45:22 Pursue peace, 45:24 you're not gonna have a straight path 45:26 if you are always the one who is trying to stir the pot. 45:31 Can I say it that way? 45:32 You got it. 45:34 And pursue holiness. 45:37 Be careful not to fall short of the grace of God. 45:40 So when God opens the way for you, 45:43 and like David said, 45:45 you know, give me a smooth path, 45:47 but then here, 45:48 the writer of Hebrews is saying, 45:49 you've got a part in it, 45:51 you've got to put those shoulders back, 45:54 you've got to stand up straight, 45:56 but don't go out there and be a pot stirrer. 46:01 I'm gonna let him finish reading. 46:03 You got to the grace of God, 46:04 there's a couple lines left there. 46:06 "Lest any root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, 46:10 and by this many become defiled." 46:14 You know, as I'm reading this here, 46:16 there's something we can learn from David. 46:20 If we didn't get anything else out of this passage, 46:24 I would hope we would certainly not forget verse 11. 46:27 Not that 46:28 there's not another important verses in this passage, 46:30 but verse 11 really speaks to me. 46:34 "Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, 46:37 because of my enemies." 46:38 Teach me God. 46:40 We live in the day and age, 46:41 we live in the land of Teach me O, Pastor. 46:46 That's good. 46:47 Teach me O Book that I can go buy at a store somewhere 46:51 and read commentary on other things in the Bible. 46:53 And we live in a day and age 46:56 where people are more allegiant 46:59 to their pastors and to their church systems 47:01 than they are to the Holy Spirit 47:03 that wants to guide them to the truth. 47:04 Amen. 47:06 And I love the humility. 47:07 You can see the humility of David here. 47:09 This man has been anointed by God, 47:12 he's been told at a young age, you're my man. 47:14 That's right. You're gonna... 47:16 I'm gonna raise you up, 47:17 you're gonna be the king of the most powerful nation 47:19 in the world one day. 47:20 This young man could have let this get to his head, 47:22 you know, oh, I'm the king, I'm the anointed, 47:25 but you can still see the humility of him here. 47:27 Amen. 47:28 Teach me God, 47:29 because I still have lots to learn. 47:32 And it reminds me 47:33 of what Jesus says to us in John 14 47:35 and also John 16. 47:37 When he talks about 47:38 when the Spirit of truth has come, 47:41 he will lead you and guide you into all truth, 47:44 He will bring all things to your remembrance. 47:47 And this particular very small, 47:49 but significant verse speaks to me 47:51 because in our lifetime, we may gain a lot of knowledge, 47:57 but the mistake that 47:58 a lot of people make is they gain so much knowledge 48:00 and they're so blessed by all the knowledge 48:02 that God has given them 48:04 is they hit the pause button or they hit the power button, 48:06 and they turn off that divine connection 48:08 that the Holy Spirit wants to continue to have with them, 48:10 because they think they've reached 48:12 a sufficient amount of knowledge 48:13 enough to get them through, 48:15 so they can just slide into home plate 48:17 or slide into the kingdom of God 48:19 on the rest of their own knowledge. 48:20 And I love the fact that this anointed man of God 48:24 who is going to lead an entire nation of people. 48:29 He's saying, "God, I still need You to teach me." 48:32 To me that's significant. 48:34 We need to constantly always be in a state of humbleness, 48:38 humility and say, Lord, 48:39 as much as I know, praise God, 48:41 but Lord, I still need You to teach me. 48:43 And if there's anything that I need to unlearn, 48:45 help me unlearn it, 48:47 so that I can know Your way and not my own. 48:50 When God called me to full-time ministry 48:53 in December of 1999, 48:57 I started off the New Year praying. 48:59 And I was praying, 49:00 "Lord, if You're calling me to full-time ministry, 49:04 what do You want me to teach? 49:06 Show me what You want me to teach?" 49:09 And the Lord clearly when you say... 49:12 Sometimes people say, oh, you can't say the Lord said. 49:16 Yeah, He said it. 49:17 You've had thoughts that you knew weren't your own. 49:19 And what thought came to my mind immediately was, 49:23 forget what you think you know, 49:25 come sit at my feet and I will teach you. 49:28 That's right. 49:29 And you know what? 49:30 It wasn't anybody 49:32 who led me into the Seventh-day Adventist Church 49:35 other than the Lord, 49:37 because what He did when I sat at His feet, 49:40 I had to unlearn so much. 49:43 And I wasn't looking at commentaries, 49:46 I wasn't going by what anybody else said, 49:49 what I did was, I was going from Genesis to Revelation, 49:53 letting the Lord lead 49:56 and He wants to teach us His work. 49:59 He taught me the truth 50:00 about the Ten Commandments in the Sabbath. 50:04 I remember when I came down and told JD 50:06 I've been woefully wrong about the Sabbath, 50:09 'cause I preached against it. 50:11 But God will teach you and... 50:15 Oh, our time is just nearly up 50:17 and I have to get to this point. 50:19 Let's look at verse 12. 50:20 And that's the end of this segment, 50:23 where he's talking to God about his problems. 50:26 He says, "Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries. 50:29 For false witnesses have risen against me, 50:32 and breathe out violence." 50:34 Okay, such these people are that. 50:37 But now he's talked to himself 50:40 about the privileges of divine protection, 50:43 now he's finished talking to the Lord, 50:45 now he's going to talk about perseverance. 50:48 Listen to this, "I would have lost heart, 50:52 unless I had believed that 50:54 I would see the goodness of the Lord 50:58 in the land of the living." 51:00 What does that mean, JD, in the land of the living? 51:03 It was where the dead aren't. 51:05 Where the dead aren't? 51:07 Are not. Yeah, it's okay. 51:08 So the land of living is in contrast 51:11 to the realm of the dead. 51:14 So what is David saying here? 51:17 You know, as all of his problems and... 51:20 Oh, boy, I will tell you. 51:21 This is something that I have claimed this, 51:24 saying Lord, I would have lost heart 51:26 if I didn't believe. 51:28 You were gonna bless me while I was still alive. 51:30 Amen. 51:31 In the land of the living. 51:33 He was confident, 51:34 God was going to get him through this trial, 51:36 but here's the great verse. 51:39 Wait... This is verse 14, Psalm 27:14. 51:43 This is David, I can hear him. 51:45 He's talking to himself, 51:46 he's building up his confidence. 51:48 And he says self, 51:50 "Wait on the Lord. 51:52 Be of good courage, 51:55 and He shall strengthen your heart. 51:57 Wait, I say, on the Lord!" 52:02 Amen. 52:03 That is a place 52:07 I wrote and had a message 52:10 about being in God's waiting room. 52:12 I am beginning to see, that's where we all should be. 52:17 We all need to be waiting on the Lord. 52:21 And this word in the Hebrew, 52:24 it's talking about anticipation. 52:26 And it can mean a tense anticipation 52:29 where you're like, O Lord, get me out of this. 52:32 But it also is an eager, 52:35 an expectant anticipation 52:38 that we know of God's goodness. 52:40 I mean, here David was anointed at age 16. 52:44 He didn't take the throne till 30. 52:46 So for 14 years, if anybody knew about waiting, 52:49 you know, he waited patiently for the Lord. 52:53 But when you're waiting, 52:55 it doesn't mean you're just sitting back, 52:58 got playing a game on. 53:00 You know, this isn't waiting on the Lord, 53:03 waiting on the Lord is to seek His face, 53:06 to seek His will, 53:08 to say, Lord, teach me. 53:10 And that's a position we're all in. 53:14 It's perseverance. 53:16 That's why Jesus said 53:17 those who persevere to the end shall be saved. 53:19 I think of Moses going up that mountain, 53:21 he's up there for 40 days. 53:24 And you can imagine the people after a week, 53:26 you know, like, man, 53:28 Moses been up there a week, 53:29 and what he probably got to do up there for a week, 53:31 a whole week. 53:32 I know he went up there and died. 53:34 He's not coming back down. 53:36 Two weeks, yeah, he's not coming back. 53:37 Three weeks, yeah, he's for sure not. 53:39 You know, all of this time went by, 53:41 they had been given the word of the Lord, 53:42 but they didn't trust in the word of the Lord. 53:44 That's right. 53:46 And to me that's where a great factor comes in. 53:49 In order for us to wait on the Lord, 53:51 we must first come to grips with our trust in God's word. 53:55 And if we believe in what He has said, 53:57 for instance, I will come again. 53:59 I go to prepare a place for you, 54:01 I will return again, 54:02 and I will gather you into myself. 54:04 That's why there's, you know, 54:05 Bible speaks of scoffers in the last days. 54:07 Where's the sign of His coming? When is He coming? 54:09 And we're seeing even in the church today, 54:11 God forbid, God have mercy. 54:13 We're seeing this, 54:14 but we're seeing in the church today 54:16 people who are, they have lost hope. 54:19 They're... 54:20 Oh, I know, there's a God I believe, but, you know, 54:22 their life tells the story of someone who has lost hope. 54:25 And those who persevere, wait on the Lord, I love that. 54:28 Wait on the Lord, be of good courage. 54:31 Those who persevere to the end shall be saved. 54:34 And some roads are long. It is. 54:37 You know, Lord increase my faith. 54:39 If you got that information and everything, 54:41 you got it tucked away in that teaching, well, 54:46 Lord, give me the patience. 54:47 This man taught me too. 54:50 What he prays every day is, Lord, increase my faith, 54:53 Lord, increase my humility, Lord, increase my courage. 54:57 And that's a good way to pray. Yes, it is. 54:59 But Let me read this real quickly 55:01 'cause our time is almost gone. 55:03 He says in Psalm 33:18-22, 55:07 I want to show you there's a blessing 55:09 on waiting on the Lord. 55:11 Psalm 33:18-22. 55:15 I'm reading this from the Amplified. 55:18 "Behold, the Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him." 55:22 This is those who revere and worship Him with awe. 55:27 "Those who wait for Him 55:30 and hope in His mercy and His loving-kindness, 55:34 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. 55:38 Our inner selves wait earnestly for the Lord. 55:43 He is our Help and our Shield. 55:47 For in Him does our heart rejoice, 55:51 because we have trusted, we've relied on, 55:54 we're confident in His help and in His holy name." 55:58 Now listen to Psalm 33:22. 56:02 "Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, 56:06 O Lord, be upon us, in proportion," 56:13 in proportion, 56:15 "to our waiting and hoping for You." 56:19 Quick comment. Got a minute. 56:22 This Psalm 27:14 where it talks about be of good courage, 56:27 he is talking about taking hold of the Lord. 56:31 That's really a connotation of that. 56:33 And then he shows strength in your heart, see. 56:38 So we have to speak words 56:41 positive and be in encouraging the Lord 56:43 because we have to talk faith. 56:45 Amen. Amen. Amen. 56:47 We got to hold on to the word of the Lord. 56:49 It is enduring. 56:51 And we have to believe as 2 Corinthians 1:20 says that 56:55 "All of the promises of God 56:57 are yes and amen in Christ Jesus." 57:01 He is a covenant making, covenant keeping God 57:05 and He keeps covenant. 57:06 The Bible says with those who keep covenant with Him. 57:10 Well, gentlemen, 57:12 we could have probably spent several hours on this, 57:16 but I want to thank you, Johnny, for being here and, 57:19 Ryan, and, of course, Honey, 57:21 it's always good to be with you. 57:23 Amen. 57:25 Our prayer at home for you is that the grace of our Lord 57:28 and Savior Jesus Christ, 57:30 the love of the Father 57:31 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:34 will be yours always. 57:36 Wait on the Lord. 57:39 Amen. Amen. 57:40 Amen. |
Revised 2020-11-02