For those who have chosen to love and trust in the Lord; truly realize that in our lives there can be no turning back; no thought of falling back to any plan “B” of who and what we depend upon. It truly must be that we love the Lord, therefore we are fully persuaded, the safest place for us is in His will! So, we begin with reading two of Novella’s poem’s to set the atmosphere for today’s teaching.
Overcome With Praise
When the cares of this world
Are weighing you down
And the enemy’s attacks
Seem to have you all bound
There is something Christ gave you
That will change all this
It’s all within your power
and it cannot miss!
This thing that I speak of
Is done in many ways
It is good and so comely
It’s a weapon called PRAISE!
You can sing it or shout it
You can lift up your hands
You can even use your feet
To do a holy dance.
Every creature God created
Every plant, every tree
Whether living on the land
or in the vast sea.
The birds of the air
And the beasts of the field
The angels in the heavens
All PRAISE the Lord still.
To maintain the victory
And turn away strife
Lift your voices to the Lord
and keep PRAISE in your life
I Love You Lord!
Sometimes my heart is overwhelmed
At the love, I feel for you
I feel your presence ever near
And it comforts me through and through.
I think about your majesty
And all the things you are
Caring, loving, righteous and just
So near though you seem so far.
I love to praise and worship you
I desire Lord to do thy will
You are too wonderful for words
The desires I have you fulfill.
I find such joy in knowing you
And your spirit Lord, like a dove,
Has made my life to be complete
And has filled my heart with love.
Oh, Joyous Wonder Lord You are
Such peace I have never known
You are so much a part of me
Such wondrous love, you have shone.
You are only but a prayer away
You are all I could need and more
I praise your name for all you’ve done
You’re the one Lord I’ll always adore.
You are ever faithful to your own
I glory in thy holy name
For though I may be up or down
Lord Jesus, you’re always the same.
God is still on the throne & prayer changes things!
Beloveds learning to truly rejoice in praise out of a grateful heart that recognizes all the Lord’s many, many benefits, is such a powerful kingdom key and principle. And it behooves us to understand as we even think to begin to utilize it we totally perplex all that is evil and present with us; in any form it takes!
We all have so much to rejoice and to praise God for every single day of our lives. The Word is filled with examples of praise and rejoicing I can teach about; of times God’s people see His power released in what are life-changing miracles they experience.
Even waking up in our right mind is an absolute privilege and miracle. We take it for granted, yet the truth is told; we don’t control it at all! The enemy tries to take that from us as well with things like dementia! People wake up every day with memories gone! Remember to praise while we can; for our God never forgets us; regardless of how it looks or feels! Isaiah 49:15-16
This kingdom key of rejoicing in praise recognized and utilized enables us to hide ourselves in Him; knowing our security and abundant life is wrapped, tied and tangled all up into Him. Acts 17:28 expresses it as; in Him we live, move and have our being!
Unbidden rejoicing in praise also signifies that being all in; fully persuaded trusting, thus believing God is all we need hope in and even the more for us; even when my heart might feel overwhelmed. Praise is the rudder that keeps our heart and mind stayed on Him.
Now as we turn towards our teaching for today consider; God truly works all things together for our good, according to His purposes. His Word tells us that, “We can be assured in knowing that as God is a partner in our labor; all things are designed to then work together, and they all fit together into the plans He knows He has for us; thus work for good; to and for those of us who truly love Him and know we are called according to His design and purposes.
That being the case we must understand He can and will send His Word to encounter with and even hit us, in our hidden secret places and faults; in those places, we may be warring and not realize it. And why would He do this? Is it to embarrass us publicly?
Not so! His Word when sent will come in peace and love; to intentionally shake to wake us; to then correct us; not with condemnation but with a conviction that causes us to see ourselves as He sees us! This is the opposite of what the world offers; for any word it gives us will always be unpredictable, conditional, fleeting, temporary and perhaps even the toxic in being deadly to our spiritual health!
We’ve heard about David; called one of the most remarkable men of the Old Testament. Historical and scriptural evidence alike prove he was a good shepherd and gifted musician who worshipped God before and after God took him from obscurity to give him all.
We’ve heard about David; he was a godly man; one God had sought in being “a man after His own heart”.
We’ve heard about David; becoming anointed by Samuel in his youth; and how the Spirit of the Lord rested upon him; so, he even killed a lion and a bear that came to steal his father’s sheep!
David’s heart was made evident in the 75 Psalms he wrote and the way in which he behaved himself wisely even during the eight years during which King Saul in his jealousy pursued him murderously!
We’ve heard about how God, eventually made David king over all Israel and took all king Saul had and gave it to David and even more!
David became a victorious overcomer; called Israel’s greatest king; who enjoyed the favor of God; men, and women alike. He had his choice of everything in abundant loyalty and blessings. Yet a time came when things changed despite all his blessings, achievements and possessions! 2 Samuel 11:1-12:24
David’s life though outwardly blessed; apparently left him bound in a cycle of senseless and inescapable secret circumstances he thought covered his Heart’s sin; but not so! Because the time came when God sent Nathan to proclaim “David; you, art that man who sinned!”
Consider, Nathan left David feeling sick; stuck deep in a dark, dry place overcome in a fault his Issues had obviously dug for him; and all he had to blame; were his own foolish, bad Choices!
David; remember a bit late how God alone had strategically positioned him and made him His victorious overcomer. God alone had chosen him above over all others, and yet his pride had caused him to now hear repeated over and over in his heart and mind that used to be stayed; “It’s you David; you’re that man who sinned so!”
Consider David needed to know the answer to the age-old struggle man has with just what is sin that it can overpower and grip the hearts and minds even of those who truly love God with all our heart, soul and strength; as David truly did! Well, consider, this is when our conflicted now adulterer and murderer God made David face he’s become; sat down to write Psalm 19.
He wrote: Psalm 19:1-11
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day is speech being uttered, and night after night knowledge is being shewed. There is no speech or spoken word from the stars; their voice is not heard. Yet God makes their sound to be evident throughout the earth. He makes the heavens a tabernacle for the sun, and it appears as does a Bridegroom coming out of His chamber and rejoices as does a strong man running His race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and His course goes unto the very ends of it. And there is absolutely nothing and no one hidden from the heat He brings!
Then David exalted his God he revisited his delight in knowing!
The law of the Lord is perfect; it restores the whole person; as the testimony of the Lord it is sure; and able to make the simple to be wise! All the precepts of the Lord are right; the make the heart rejoice in hearing them for the commands of the Lord are pure and bright as they enlighten our eyes. So too; the reverent filial fear of the Lord is clean and endures forever;
As do the ordinances of the Lord which are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold; even more than the finest gold; and they are even sweeter than honey and the drippings flowing from honeycombs. Moreover; I know that by them as Your servant Lord; I am warned, reminded, illuminated and instructed; and in my keeping them; there is always a great reward.
Now consider, it was immediately after writing this; conviction flowed over David causing him to realize his Heart was writing from the same Rut his Issues had sadly cast him down into. Then David fell on his face; the next words he wrote pleaded with his merciful God; to remember; he was a man after His Heart! So, he asked God for power to behave wisely again; to be victorious over the fault; his own bad Choices had left him overtaken in by sin. And God heard and restored him!
For what does he write next: Psalm 19:12-14
Who can understand his own errors? Cleanse me, Lord, from any hidden, unconscious, secret faults. Keep back Your servant from committing presumptuous sins. Lord, don’t let them have or exert any further dominion over me! Then I’ll be and remain blameless; innocent and cleared of great transgressions.
“Understand Errors”
Understand signifies an ability to be able to mentally separate out things; to mentally distinguish between in order to intelligently consider.
The revelatory concept here is David is asking; who is cunning enough or can even be that diligently discerning; required to wisely and prudently look directly within; desiring to truly know their own errors?
Errors are in this case our own moral mistakes.
“Cleanse Me”
Cleanse Me is asking God to cause me to be; or make me clean before You; free me; acquit me; release me; exonerate me of all things!
The revelatory concept seen here s the sense of desperate need to be and feel altogether blameless before God; cleared of feeling cut off and left feeling completely desolate.
David’s immediate and greatest desire; the moment God made him face his exposed sin; was to be free of it; to feel that guiltless innocence again before his God whom he loved!
He wasn’t asking to go unpunished; he just didn’t want to by any means to be left in that darkened condition that comes with truly knowing; God found him to be every whit or wholly guilty.
David wasn’t feeling sorry for himself as much as sincerely sorry for any damage done to the intimate relationship he’d been privileged to experience in his times of worshipping God.
David more than anything; dreaded the thought of being left utterly alone if God withdrew or removed His Holy Spirit from him; as He’d done with Saul because of his presumptuous sin.
His was a desolate cry; rememberinghow God sought him for being a man after His own heart. David in knowing and loving God; longed, to be that man again once known for believing in behaving himself wisely.
David just needed God to step in and exercise his senses to refrain from indulging in any further hidden, unconscious thus secret faults; and to “keep him back” from committing those presumptuous sins.
“Secret Faults”
Secret Faults signifying the things we think we hide covering up; pretending they are far from us; or never even existed. They can refer to things too close to us; so their lines become blurred; the boundaries indistinct; thus we feel justified in not see them clearly enough to have to deal with them; much less spiritual protocol concerning them.
These hidden sins and secret faults are also referred to as “sins of ignorance” we may not even realize we’ve committed. The revelatory concept here is David cried out to be cleansed not only from sins he’d carelessly committed; But those hidden sins that could be as simple as his errors in judgement; his slip ups; spiritual irresponsibility’s the mind can try to cover up hoping the heart forgets. Or “cathar’s”; may well be things we fall into absolute denial about and may have buried so deep as in the graves; that we act as if we forgot we ever committed them.
When David committed adultery and arranged to have Uriah murdered he sinned insolently with his eyes wide open and therefore could bring no sacrifice to atone for that sin. 2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 51:16-17
When he confessed his sins, God in His grace forgave him; but David paid dearly for his great transgressions. 2 Samuel 12:13
Unconfessed sins even if committed ignorantly, can grow within the heart and begin to rule over us, and lead to our committing willful disobedience or eventually those called “great transgressions”. This is why what David cried out for next was that God in all His graciousness to him; would keep him back from presumptuous sins.
“Keep Me Back”
Keep Back is asking God’s intervention; to restrain, spare and preserve us in order that we might be given opportunity to refrain from; forbear with and refuse what we would then be able to observe was within us.
This “keep me back from” was David asking God to gather him in; to cup him; uphold Him with His hands of refreshing and restoring that strengthens; withholding to hold back from.
The revelatory concept; David was asking God though he had fallen to not allow him to be utterly cast down; but to uphold him with His hand; contain him; thus hinder him as only He can.
David was also crying out to be strengthened to where he could then have a mind to punish those desires within himself.
David desired God to graciously abound even the more within him; so should sin try to abound again as he sought to gain mastery over it; he’d wisely be tempered; become temperate; satisfied, preserved in all his ways! Ps 37:24
Finally, David’s request was; if he were to fall again; that God keep him back; so he’d not ever be utterly cast down again, but knowing the Lord would uphold him with His hand! God obviously answered this prayer; for David later wrote Psalm 37!
“Presumptuous Sins”
Presumptuous is anything that was considered to be “arrogant and proud” sins.
Presumptuous as it is used in 2 Peter 2:10 was which adds to our understanding that these were also sinful men or things considered to be daringly audacious and impudently brazen.
“Trusting In Him”
Trusting In Him is to trust in being confidently sure; and boldly secure in knowing whom it is we’ve been made to hope.
Trusts In signifying those who boldly and confidently run to God; in whom we place all our hope!
The revelatory concept here signifies knowingly placing our complete and continued confidence in God; in our being totally assured He will never be careless with that trust. But what is truly revelatory is also indicative of intentionally running into God as our help!
Remember; we’re talking about a calculated running into Him; one deliberately planned and purposefully executed; for our intention is to hide ourselves in Him;knowing our security and life is in Him.
Finally, no matter what evil present with us thinks to serve up and make us think is all about us; this trusting in God rejoices in Him for our spirit reminds us we’re all in; a fully persuaded trusting; thus a believing God is all we need hope for; and then; the even more! In Him we run in to in Him live; move and have all our being!
Let us selah on this: David closed with this Prayer!
Now Lord; Let the words of my mouth;
And the meditations of my heart;
Be acceptable in Your sight; O Lord my Strength;
And my Rock … and my Redeemer! Amen!
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