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Psalms 20-26
Skip Heitzig

Psalms 20 (NKJV™)
1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
2 May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion;
3 May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
4 May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose.
5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.
9 Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.
Psalms 21 (NKJV™)
1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 You have given him his heart's desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
4 He asked life from You, and You gave it to him--Length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
6 For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.
9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them.
10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.
11 For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.
12 Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.
Psalms 22 (NKJV™)
1 To the Chief Musician. Set to 'The Deer of the Dawn.' A Psalm of David. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.
5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"
9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts.
10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God.
11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog.
21 Save Me from the lion's mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S, And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.
Psalms 23 (NKJV™)
1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
Psalms 24 (NKJV™)
1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah
Psalms 25 (NKJV™)
1 A Psalm of David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.
3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD.
8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For Your name's sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
14 The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses!
18 Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred.
20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles!
Psalms 26 (NKJV™)
1 A Psalm of David. Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip.
2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.
3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.
4 I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
5 I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O LORD,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works.
8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells.
9 Do not gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the LORD.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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19 Psalms - 1988

The Psalms were the songbook for worship for the ancient nation of Israel. Pastor Skip Heitzig examines these beautiful expressions of praise, supplication, and worship of God.

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Psalm 20 and 21 were written together. They have military themes. The metaphors are those of a King going out to battle.

In Psalm 20, David is going out to battle. In Psalm 21, he's just returned from battle. And as you know, from reading the books of history, Chronicles, Samuel, Israel had its share of war.

Now, Psalm 20 and 21-- the background of these psalms are when the King of the Ammonites died. And it says, in verse 1, "May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob defend you."

Nahash, the Ammonite, died. Hanun, his son, took over. David was good friends with Nahash. Nahash sort of covered for David when he was in a fix. And when David heard that he died, and Hanun, his son, took over, he decided that he was going to show kindness to him. He said, you know, Nahash was such a nice guy to me, that I am going to welcome his son to the throne by sending a delegation across the Jordan River into Amman, and they can just say David feels real sorry about what happened, just wants to give you the communication that he feels sorry, and he wishes you the best of luck, something like that.

When the delegates of the King of Amman saw David's men coming over. They said, now, don't think that David is here to console you. He wants to spy on you. And so, instead of receiving David's men-- you remember the story, it's coming back-- they took and they shaved half of their beards. They just kind of cut a line, right down the middle, shaved half and left the other hanging. And they cut their robes at waist level, at the level of the buttocks, and sent them home.

And as they crossed over the Jordan River, their heads were drooping, and they were ashamed. And David saw what was happened, how they humiliated his men. And he said, look, just stay in Jericho for a while, let your beards grow back. If you know anything about Judaism, a man's beard demonstrates his manhood, and is also a symbol of the covenant God made in the ancient times. So, to shave half of it was a deliberate cut against Judaism.

David decided that he had enough of this. And David decided he's going to go across the Jordan River and show these guys a lesson. As soon as the Ammonites heard what was going on, they thought, uh oh, we really did a stupid thing, and now David's bummed out at us and he's going to fight us.

So, the Ammonites hired 23,000 mercenaries from Syria, to come across, to fight against Israel, and to wipe David out. Now, David was just trying to show the guy a favor.

Well, in this battle, 7,700 charioteers were killed by David's men, and 40,000 foot soldiers were killed. And that's the background. As David goes out to fight against the Ammonites and the 23,000 mercenaries, it is a prayer that you'll have victory in doing the work of the Lord, in doing the battle.

So, it begins by saying, "May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob defend you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and strengthen you out of Zion. May he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offerings."

These psalms have relevance to Christians who live in 1987. You say, how? When do we go out to battle? Every day. Part of the Christian walk, that many of us tend to forget, is that we are called to warfare. God doesn't say, OK, become a Christian and I'm just going to make you sheltered and secure and give you all the wealth you want, save you from all disease, all pain, or tribulation. You're just going to have it made. No, we are called as soldiers. And it says, Paul wrote to Timothy, "Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

So, Psalm 20 and 21 have the utmost relevance. And you can pray this prayer, some of these verses, because you go out to battle You know, when Jesus ministered, and was calling people unto himself, he never tried to coax people. He never tried to manipulate people by preaching a popular message.

In fact, he did just the opposite. I'm sure that the modern schools of Evangelism would be shocked at Jesus' methods. He challenged people. He said, don't follow me, unless you've counted the cost. Once you've counted the cost, and you know what it's going to take, come on.

One man said, Lord, I want to follow you wherever you go. Jesus didn't say, I see that hand. Jesus said, "Let me tell you something. Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests. The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Much of the problem in the church is that we're looking for volunteers, and people volunteer and it's so transitory, their commitments. Oh, I feel t, I'll do it. Two weeks later, you don't see them. It's best, I think, to challenge somebody.

You know, that's the practice of the communists. The communists never say, hey, we want you to serve. It's going to be really easy. You're going to have a lot of fun. Just spend a few months and whew, just going to have a great time. They challenge them with a tough job. And they say, now, we're looking for some good soldiers who want to stick with it. If you want to join, fine, but it's going to take some blood, sweat, and tears. Jesus challenged people to the battlefield. And in Psalm 20 and 21, we see a beautiful picture of the arena of the battlefield.

Now, there are some parts of the world where the battle is raging hotter than others. In the United States, we don't have, yet, the persecution that other countries have. The battle is quite different here. If you go to India, if you go to China, like Mark's familiar with, India, like I'm familiar with, or the Philippines, the battle is raging.

In Orissa, in Southern India, I went to do a conference in Rajasthan, and 30, 40 of the pastors from Orissa came. They were giving their testimony and they said, before we left on this conference, about 20 to 30 of our churches were burned to the ground-- persecution. Down in the Philippines, the communists are taking over, threatening the Christians, killing a lot of them, ripping off the churches.

Now, in the United States, you and I have battles as well. We battle apathy. We battle materialism. We battle pessimism. We battle laziness. We have a battle on a whole different set of fronts. But we definitely fight the war.

In verse 4, the prayer continues. "May He grant you according to your heart's desire and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation. And in the name of our God, we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

Now, I know that the Lord saves his anointed." The Hebrew word is moshiach, or messiah, his anointed. "He will answer Him from his holy heaven with his saving strength of his right hand. "Some trust in chariots," this is sort of the central theme, or the central verse of this psalm, "some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord, our God. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stand upright. Save the Lord. May the King answer us when we call."

David was basically gutsy when it came to his faith in battles. His first experience of a battle was with a giant named Goliath. Nobody wanted to lay hands on the guy. And all of the strong, buff men of Israel say, we're not going to go out and fight Goliath, as Goliath was shooting out his lip every day, antagonizing the Israelis.

David comes in and he hears this giant yelling across the ravine and he says, who is this guy, this uncircumcised wimp? What right does he have to defy the armies of the living God? And people were amazed at his faith.

Goliath said, send me out a volunteer who will fight me, man to man. No one would volunteer. David goes in to King Solomon and he says, Sol, I'm going to take care of this guy. Here's a little shepherd kid, skinny, little, redheaded runt. I'll take care of him, Sol. And Sol goes, oh man, David, we're looking for a soldier. David said, let me tell you something, when I used to keep sheep, I fought bears, lions. I'm pretty good with a slingshot. But more than that, I trust the Lord.

So, Sol goes, here, take the armor, put it on yourself, see how it fits, go out there. Well, it was too big for him. He was clumsy. He said, forget this armor. I'm not going to trust in this armor. I go on the name of the Lord. And he walks out, down the ravine, and he faces Goliath. And Goliath starts taunting him. Who are you? I'm going to feed your carcass to the birds.

David says, I don't come to you with any spears. I come to you in the name of the living God whom you defy. God's going to feed you, pal, to the birds of the heaven, today. And you know how the story goes.

Israel, unfortunately, strayed away from that place of trust that David began with. Pretty soon, Israel started, and even David started trusting in his own resources. What a lesson this is for us. David began by trusting in the name of the Lord without any military accompaniment.

It says in the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 17, God says, I forbid you to number-- to get a vast array of chariots, and horses, and weapons of war, because I want you to trust me. There came a time when David presumed upon his own strength. And he numbered the people of Israel to find out what kind of army he has. He wants to see just how strong he is. And he began not trusting the Lord, but David's army, David's strength, David's shields, David's chariots.

And as soon as Israel started trusting Israel, they could never win a battle. As long as Israel was trusting in the name and in the power of the living God-- I don't care if Israel was outnumbered. You've read all the stories-- David and Goliath, Gideon and the Midianites.

Every time Israel is outnumbered, when she trusted in God, she won. Every time Israel trusted in her own strength, she lost. And the final defeat came at two different stages in their history, as the nation was falling in apostasy and trusting the [INAUDIBLE], and straying from God, and also trusting in her own strength. In 722 BC, the Assyrians came in, took the northern kingdom captivity. In 586 BC, the Babylonians came down, three times swept through Jerusalem, took them captive, destroyed the temple, wasted the city. God taught them a lesson.

They returned 70 years later, and they were a lot stronger in their faith, although they were weaker militarily. "Some trust in chariots," David says, "some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord, our God."

Now, since we do battle all the time, it's important that we know who our enemy. It's not the church. Our enemy are not people that lived down the street in another church that disagree on a minor point of doctrine. Well, let's go knock on their door and set them straight.

Unfortunately, the church is awfully beat up, because we take a swords out and we say, touché. Come on, let's have a little sword fight. Get your Bible out. Let's argue. And we walk away cut up, when the enemy is out there laughing at us. The real enemy is Satan, the flesh, the world, all ganging up against us.

In World War I, as soon as it broke out, the Ministry of Warfare in London sent a message down to the outpost in Africa. And they said, war has broken out. Arrest every enemy alien in your district. A week later, they sent a message back to London and said, we've arrested six Germans, five Frenchmen, two Belgians, three Italians, on and on and on, one American. We have them all in quarantine. They're all arrested. But please inform us who we're fighting against. They had no idea, at that point, who their enemy is. Know who your enemy is. Know that you battle against the flesh, the devil, the world, constantly.

Now, we get into Psalm 21. Psalm 21 is basically a psalm of Thanksgiving, upon the return of David from the same battle. "The King shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord. And in your salvation, how greatly he-- or shall he rejoice. You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips." And then there is a pause. You think about it. You reflect on it. Sala. You move on.

"For you meet him with blessings of goodness. You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. He asked life from you, and you gave it to him, length of days, forever and ever. His glory is great in your salvation. Honor and majesty, you have placed upon him, for you have made him most blessed forever. You have made him exceedingly glad with your presence, for the King trusts in the Lord. And through the mercy of the most high, He shall not be moved.

Your hand will find all your enemies. Your right hand will find those who hate you. You shall make them as fiery ovens in the time of your anger. The Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath. And the fire shall devour them.

Their offspring, you shall destroy from the earth, and their descendants from among the sons of men, for they intended evil against you. They devised a plot, which they were not able to perform. Therefore, you will make them turn their back. You will make ready your arrows on your string toward their faces. Be exalted, O Lord, in your own strength."

You see who they praise? See who they are leaning on? They didn't say, aren't we a great army? We're the best army in the world. They recognized that the battle, victory, and their strength came from the Lord. "Be exalted, O Lord, in your own strength. We will sing and praise your power."

Should be known that Psalm 20 and 21 were written for public worship. They were to be recited publicly. And so, the priests, when they went into the tabernacle in Jerusalem, after the psalm was written, and later on when Solomon built his temple, these psalms were repeated as psalms of praise and celebration of the fact that God can handle our battles, that God can defeat our enemies. And so, it became part of the public worship system.

Now, we get to Psalm 22. When I read this psalm, I feel like I'm on holy ground. It almost defies commentary.

As most of you know, Psalm 22 is called a messianic psalm. Let me tell you how messianic psalms work. David wrote of his own life experiences, but there came times, in his writings, that obviously the details of his writings do not apply to David. For instance, Psalm 22 graphically depicts crucifixion, a form of Roman torture that wasn't even invented when David wrote it. They didn't pierce his hands and his feet. They didn't cast lots for his garments, as described here.

And so, we get what we call typical predictive prophecy, typical predictive prophecy. David writes about his experience. It's a type of future experience of the messiah. And its complete fulfillment is when the messiah suffers on the cross. There's details that just don't apply to David.

A parallel to this psalm is in the Book of Genesis. Now, it's interesting, we've got five books of psalms, we have five books of Moses. The first book of Moses is called Genesis. The first book of David, or the first book of the psalms, is the writings of David. That's what we're in right now.

Genesis 22 and Psalm 22 beautifully dovetail. They interface. Genesis 22 is depicting the crucifixion, as well, where Abraham offers up Isaac upon Mt. Moriah, the place where Jesus will die thousands of years later.

The very first time love ever appears in the Bible, it's Genesis 22. Take now your son, your only son whom you love. Sacrifice him at the place that I show you.

Psalm 22 also speaks of the messiah and the future suffering. The four gospels, quote, verse 18-- look at verse 18. "They divide my garments among them. And for my clothing, they cast lots."

Probably, now, it would be a good time to ask ourselves this question. How does prophecy work? How does prophecy work? How is it that, in advance, these prophets-- not only David, but Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the rest-- could look into the future and write, with such detail, some of the things that would happen.

Now, as you know, some of the things that were written about were written with pinpoint accuracy, hundreds and thousands of years before these events took place. Example-- the Book of Isaiah, chapter 44 and 45, describe a guy named Cyrus who had head the Persian coalition. And God promises that after Jerusalem is destroyed, and after Israel is taken captive, that a guy named Cyrus will come in and free the Jews, and let them go back to the land and rebuild the city.

It was funny because when Isaiah penned those words, Jerusalem was still intact. The city hadn't even fallen yet. There was no threat of invasion at that point. Cyrus wasn't even born. He wasn't going to be born for another 200 years. And yet, he is named, and his position is given, and his job description toward the Jews is given, 200 years in advance.

Alexander the Great was spoken of in such graphic detail, that when Alexander came upon Jerusalem to take it over, Jaddua, the high priest, came up to him on the Mount of Olives, showed him the "Scroll of Daniel," how he was written in it, and Alexander the Great was so amazed, that he spared the city of Jerusalem.

So, such detailed prophesy-- how does it work? Turn with me to the Book of Ax, chapter 2. We look at how Peter speaks of one of the psalms that David wrote, a psalm that we went over last Sunday morning, Psalm 16, Ax chapter 2.

Verse 25, "For David says, concerning him, the messiah, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh will also rest in hope, because you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence."

Now, here is Peter's commentary. "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch, David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn, with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on the throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke, concerning the Resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses. "

David-- excuse me, Peter, commenting on David, gives us insight as to how prophecy work. That is, the Holy Spirit used the knowledge of the individual to guide that individual. In other words, the person wrote down his own experiences. But God used those experiences and that knowledge to speak of a prophetic event. And oftentimes, the people who wrote the future events had no idea what they were talking about. I want you to turn to 1 Peter chapter 1.

I'm kind of covering my bases here because this is a question that is asked, that I get asked, at least, quite frequently. How does prophecy work? 1 Peter 1.

Verse-- it's a long sentence. I'm going to cut right in the middle of it. Verse 9, "Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls," verse 10, "of this salvation, the prophets have inquired, and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you. Searching what or what manner of time the spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating, when he testified beforehand, the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow"

To them, it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us, they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you, through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things which angels desire to look into. They would write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and they'd look at it and they'd think, now, when is this going to happen? What-- is this speaking now, or is it later? They didn't fully understand all of them, the total implication-- when Isaiah wrote about the suffering servant, when Jeremiah predicted the millennial reign of the messiah, and so forth.

Now, I want you to turn to another scripture because we still haven't answered our question. Go to the next book, 2 Peter chapter 1.

Now, in a few verses, Peter shows us how these men were illuminated and inspired to write. First of all, verses 12 through 15 talks about, "Scriptural truth is written truth. Therefore, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know them, and are established and present truth. Yes, I think it's right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly, I must put off my tent, just as the Lord Jesus showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things, after my deceased."

In other words, Peter is at a point in his life. He recognizes the brevity of his own existence, that he probably will die soon. He has a body of apostolic truth and knowledge. He's been reminding him verbally and writing down letters. And says, now, what's going to happen when I die? How will all of these churches know what to do, and have a record of these things? Well, I know what they'll-- I'll write these things down. As I write them down, they'll have a record of them, and they can apply them later on.

Verse 16, "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. "

In other words, we didn't make up these things on our own. We didn't sit around and go, hey, let's think of a great story that will sell.

"For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when such a voice came to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice, which came from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain. We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to take heed as a light that shines in the dark place, till the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Knowing this, now he goes to show that scriptural truth is from God. It's divine. Notice what he says.

"No prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation, for a prophecy never came by the will of man. But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. "

When the prophets wrote, these things didn't originate from their own minds. They didn't sit down and think, OK, I want to write something that's going to sound really boss. What can I make up? It never originated from their own mind. That is, the source of the prophetic revelation never came from their own thought beds. They were inspired by the Lord. Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Now, the scriptures have a dual authorship. They're penned by regular, ordinary men like you and me. But the words which they penned were words, thoughts, ideas that the Holy Spirit of God wanted to preserve. They are the word of God.

So, God, the Holy Spirit, did not violate their personality or their writing style. He respected them as persons, not machines. But they were able to write, when they wrote, in exact precision, the very words of God. So, without violating that human being style, way of thinking, the Holy Spirit was able to preserve his will exactly in written form.

Now, there's a key right here. "Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." The NIV says, "as they were carried along." Am I right? By the Holy Spirit, carried along.

If you put a ship out on the water, and you take the anchor up, and it's just got sails, it's got no direction, other than where the wind carries it, when the wind carries, when the wind blows, that ship is carried along to wherever the wind determines, so to speak. Wherever the wind is blowing, that ship will be carried along to the destination. That's how prophecy was written.

The Holy Spirit was the wind blowing. These men wrote, but their destination, where they ended up, was where the Holy Spirit wanted them to go. They were pushed along. They were moved along by the Holy Spirit.

So, here's my point. Because it's the word of God, it is the very word of God who inspired men, we should approach this book, like no other book, humbly, on our knees, crying out, oh God, open my eyes. This is your revelation. Speak to me. Help me to understand it.

On the other side, we should also approach it like we would approach another book, giving careful attention to its background, its culture, its history, the very words, the tenses of the words, giving the same respect you'd give to any text, but giving more respect because it's written through the agency of men, but it is the very word of God.

So, the prophets spoke as they were carried along, pushed along by the Holy Spirit. The destination God wanted them to go in and end up at, they did, without violating their personality.

Now, that's all the background of Psalm 22, believe it or not. I've got more.

When the prophets saw into the future, they saw on a sort of a monoplane, one plane. They saw the great mountain peaks of prophecy. They didn't see the gaps in between the mountain peaks.

Let's say you look at Sandia Mountain on a summer day, when the sun's out west. It looks flat, doesn't it? It looks like a sheer, flat, brown cliff. But when the sun's just right, and you walk closer to it, go up Elena Gallegos, you see how it's not one mountain, it's several peaks. And the closer you get, and you look at them from the side, they spread apart, and you see that there's valleys in between the peaks. It's not just one mountain, or it's not just two peaks butted up against each other.

That's how the prophets saw. They saw the great mountain peaks of prophecy. Isaiah saw the coming of the messiah, the birth, the virgin birth. Then he saw the suffering messiah. Then he saw the millennium, the kingdom age. He didn't see the valleys of the church age that have lasted 2,000 years in between those great mountain peaks. They saw them all in one plane.

David is writing prophetically of the messiah. But when David wrote this, he did not understand that the messiah would come and suffer, and then afterwards, there would be a valley of 2,000 years where God would be calling Gentiles in, and then after that, at some determined time where only the Father knows, the messiah would come back, set up his kingdom, the millennium and all that would ensue. OK, Psalm 22.

By the way, the historical background of this psalm is David fleeing from King Saul, who is always on his tail and you've noticed there's a lot of these psalms with this theme. David's either fleeing from Absalom, fleeing from Saul, or he just won a battle.

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear, and in the night season, and I'm not silent." Of course, Jesus said this on the cross. "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Now, what this psalm does, prophetically for us, it gives us insight into what Jesus was feeling, besides just what he was speaking. It gives real insight into the suffering messiah.

Jesus was fully God on earth, and fully man. He wasn't half God, half man. He wasn't all man and not God. He was fully God and he was fully man.

"But you are holy, who inhabit the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and you were delivered. They trusted in you and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man," speaking of the humiliation he went through, "a reproach of men despised of the people. All those who see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head, saying, he trusted in the Lord. Let him rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."

Does that ring a bell? Sound like the gospels? When Jesus was dying on the cross, for your sins and mine, and people were laughing at him, saying, well, let's see him come down from the cross. He trusts in God. Let's see if he'll deliver him now, almost verbatim.

"But you are he who took me out of the womb. You've made me trust, when I was on my mother's breast. I was cast upon you from birth. From my mother's womb, you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bowls of Bashan have encircled me. They gape at me with their mouths, as a raging and roaring lion."

In other words, he's using animals to depict the people who are around him, who are making accusations at him and so forth.

"I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue clings to my jaws. You have brought me to the dust of death, for dogs have surrounded me. The assembly of the wicked has enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet."

There are details of this psalm that obviously can refer to David. There are details, however, that cannot refer to David. David never had this experience. There is a graphic depiction here of crucifixion, not only in this verse, but a few others, hundreds of years before the Roman government even invented it.

"They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them. And for my clothing, they cast lots." And again, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all quoted this verse, showing that this was fulfilled, that David was speaking of the messiah's sufferings.

"But you, oh Lord, do not be far from me. Oh, my strength hastened to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth and from the horns of wild oxen. You have answered me. I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the congregation, I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him."

Now, many people see, in these verses, the evidence of the Resurrection.

"All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel, for He has not despised, nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, nor has He hidden His face from Him. But when he cried to him, he heard.

My praise shall be of you in the great congregation. I will pay vows before those who fear Him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek Him, will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nation shall worship before you, for the kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him. Even he who cannot keep himself alive, a posterity, shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation. They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that he has done this."

Now, Psalm 23 is the most famous psalm, I suppose. I mean, even all the heathens in the world know this psalm. This psalm's on every greeting card. It's done almost at every funeral. And although it's done at almost every funeral, it really has nothing to do with the person who has died. David is speaking and voicing his trust in the Lord, when he is at his wits end.

By the way, this was not planned while David was a shepherd boy, but long afterwards, when he was surrounded with enemies. Now, I've thought how to approach this psalm, and I thought, I go over it tonight, it's very familiar to us. But I would save it for the next two or three Sunday mornings, and just kind of pick it apart as a miniseries. So, let's just read it.

"The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want, or I shall lack nothing. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Psalm 24 is like Psalm 15. Do you remember Psalm 15 and what we said about it? Do you remember the background of Psalm 15?

Psalm 24 and Psalm 15 were written when David brought the ark from the house of Obed-Edom, down in the Philistine country, brought it up to Jerusalem on Mount Zion, and had a tent, a tabernacle, pitched for it. And this was the psalm that was integrated into the worship of Israel in celebration for God's goodness.

"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters."

Now, beautiful truth-- the earth is the Lord's. This earth belongs to God. You and I are stewards of it. God has given us his creation to subdue it, and also to take care of it. We've blown it, haven't we?

You know, there was a time when all other religious nuts would stand on street corners and have sandwich boards and say, the end is near, thus saith the Lord. And everybody would say, oh, doomsday prophets.

It's interesting that in our day and age, it's the experts of science that are saying the end is near, people like Jacques Cousteau, who said if we keep polluting the ocean at the rate we're polluting it, in the next 10 to 20 years, the Atlantic will become a Dead Sea, Doctor Norman Borlaug, who was one of the foremost scientists in the Green Revolution to produce enough food for the world, in his studies, concluded-- he said this-- the world should never expect science to be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat, now that it's the 11th hour. In other words, man, we've exhausted our resources. We just can't work miracles.

The earth is the Lord's, but he gave it to men. He owns it, but we're stewards of it.

And also, the people who live in it, "all who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas." Go back to the Genesis account. See how God divided the land from the water. And he established it upon the waters, or the floods.

"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?" Sounds a lot like Psalm 15, doesn't it? "Or who may stand in His holy place?" Here's the question. "God, who can abide in the tabernacle of the Almighty?" What kind of a person is a guest in your house? What is the characteristics of people who you'd invite to come close to you and to abide with you?

Notice the word holy there. "Who may stand in His holy place?" That word reminds us of God's basic character. He is holy. And God told the children of Israel, because I am holy, you be holy.

Now, as Christians, God doesn't take a set of commandments and hold them up and say, OK, I want you to do all of these things and I'm going to tell you to do them. I'm not pleased with you. You have to do all these things to be holy, you have to do all these works.

On the contrary, God sent Jesus, the finished work of Christ, cleanses us from all sin, makes us right with God. All the commandments that were against us, it says in Colossians 2, were nailed to the cross. But there still is a process that we Christians should keep foremost in our mind. It's called sanctification. And my question is, what ever happened to it? Whatever happened to holiness? Whatever happened to Christians who desired to be the most godly people they could ever be?

Instead of asking questions like, well, can I be a Christian and still get away with doing this? What ever happened to that zeal and impetus to just be holy?

And so, He reminds us, here, of the basic characteristic of God, and the basic characteristic of God, his holiness. It's also love, yes. But let's say this. The basic characteristic of the Holy Spirit is holiness. That's his title-- the Holy Spirit. It's interesting that he's not called the loving spirit, although he is loving. But He's called the Holy Spirit.

And His job, folks, is to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. That's what sanctification means.

We go through a process where every single day, every single week, every single year, we should be changing. Our consciences should be getting softer to the touch of God, not harder. The longer we walk with God, we shouldn't rationalize more. We should be more sensitive to even thoughts that would displease God. That's a mark of maturity.

You know, when you're a young Christian, your thought processes are vastly different-- they should be-- when you're an older Christian. When you're a younger Christian, you think, well, I guess I shouldn't smoke dope anymore. I mean that's pretty obvious to most people now, but when I was a young Christian, it took me two weeks before I knew that it wasn't OK to smoke the dunk. I was still doing it for two weeks, saying, praise the Lord. I mean, I had some serious growing up to do.

Now, I discovered that there were major things in my life that needed to be eradicated. OK, I'm not going to do that. That's wrong. I'll get rid of-- I won't hit people anymore. I won't take drugs anymore.

Now, the longer you walk in the Lord, that's baby stuff. Sleeping around, taking drugs, all those, that's baby stuff, you've learned that. When you grow in the Lord, it's things like attitudes that God deals with, that marks a mature Christian.

Mature Christian doesn't say, well, let's see, I've been a Christian 10 years. Can I still get drunk? Is it OK for me to live and sleep with that girl? A mature Christian should be thinking like, I just-- I've been thinking these horrible thoughts. God, forgive me. Cleanse my thought processes. I don't even want to think that way.

Because the more we walk, the more we are changed into the image of Jesus Christ, our consciences should become more supple. It should be like soil that is tilled, hearts that are open.

Here it says in verse 4, here's the answer, "He who has clean hands--" that's an outward requirement-- "and a pure heart--" that's an inward requirement.

Now, we're familiar with Hebrew parallelism. This is how it works, but in reverse form.

He explains it. "He who has not lifted up his soul to an idol--" that explains the pure heart that he was speaking about. That's the parallel to that phrase, a pure heart. You don't lift up your soul to an idol. You don't worship anything in your heart but the Lord. That's the inward requirement.

"Nor sworn deceitfully." That speaks of the clean hands. Clean hands, in the scripture, refer to someone who deals with integrity, in the relationships of his life. He's honest with people. He doesn't manipulate people in his speech. He's above board.

"He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face." Now we rest, we contemplate it, think about it, let it soak in.

Now, we get to the second part, where David speaks now, again, as a prophet. "Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

"Lift up your heads, O you gates, lift them up, O you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of Hosts. He is the King of glory.

There is, on the east side of Jerusalem, something called the East Gate. And the East Gate is, in ancient times, used to be an access point from the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron, into the Temple Mount area. There was-- it was an open gate. Today, it's shut. It was shut about 700 years ago by one of the Turkish rulers, when the Turks took over the land of Israel, because they discovered that Christians believe that the messiah, when he comes, is going to go through the East Gate. That's what Christians believed-- that when Jesus comes again, he's going to go through the East Gate, up on to the Temple Mount.

The reason they believe that is because Isaiah 44 predicts that when the messiah comes again, he will come triumphantly through the East Gate. There's a prophecy in Isaiah 44. He'll come through the gate at the face of east. Now, the Jews also believe that when the messiah comes the first time, he'll come through that gate.

So, this Turkish ruler decided, OK, I'm going to show the messiah. And he closed it up, like that's going to do a lot of good. And this thing is about 30 feet thick, packed full of stones and cement-- like this is going to keep the messiah, who's all powerful, away from entering and taking over the Arab section of the Temple Mount. Good luck. "Lift up your heads, O you gates, here comes the King of glory." [IMITATES EXPLOSION]

Psalm 25. Psalm 25 was written when David was probably in his middle age, or toward the end of his life, because he talks about keep me from the sins of my youth, speaks about his enemies, and he speaks from the perspective of either someone who has gone through a midlife crisis, or he's up toward his old age.

And it's one of the acrostic psalms. You remember what those are last week, two weeks ago? An acrostics psalm-- an acrostic is like J-O-Y, Jesus, others, you. J-O-Y spells joy. And each letter signifies the beginning of some new thing. That's what an acrostic is.

Well, Psalm 25 is one of nine acrostic psalms where David begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each new stanza begins with the next letter. A-- begins with A, the next sentence begins with B, the next begins with C, D, E, F, G. That's an acrostic, except it'd be in Hebrew-- [SPEAKS HEBREW] on and on.

OK. "To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in you. Let not my enemies triumph over me." What a beautiful prayer. These are the kind of prayers that we can pray when we're surrounded by people who are not on our side. Just make sure you're on God's side when you pray it.

And that's really the key, isn't it, in any battle? It's like Joshua when he met the captain of the Lord's army, with a sword drawn. He said, hey, are you on our side or their side? And the captain of the Lord, so he said, that's not the issue. Are you on my side? Because I'm in charge of this battle and either you're going to get wiped out, or you're going to be on my side. So, you're not the captain anymore, Joshua, I am. So, make sure you're on God's side.

"Indeed, let no one who waits on you be ashamed. Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause." Now, here's some beautiful prayers that you can pray. "Show me your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. On you, I wait all the day." And in that phrase, you have perhaps the hardest activity of the Christian, to wait on God.

I don't know what all your personalities are like, but I, by nature, am impetuous. If I see something that needs to get done, get it done now, get it out of the way. And to have to wait on something, oh, drives me bananas.

You know, when I pray to the Lord, I'd rather the Lord just say, yes, my child, here it is. Thanks, Lord. Or, I wish he'd say, nope. At least I know where I stand. But when he says, maybe-- wait. Don't get in a hurry. You have need of patience. Persevere on this one. Take it a step at a time. [GROANS]

Lord, I want patience and I want it right now. "Wait all the day. Those who wait on the Lord," what is it, Isaiah 40? "Shall renew their strength?" Isaiah 55, forget which.

"Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your loving kindness, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. According to your mercy, remember me, for your goodness sake, O Lord." Isn't it funny? The older we get, the more we grow up, we look back to our youth as days of foolishness, often, because we're learning how to live. We make mistakes that we regret sometimes.

There's a funny thing about youth, and I know it because I is one, so to speak. When you're young, you know everything. And when you're around older people who try to take off the biting edge of arrogance, you don't want anything to do with it, because you know better. And it's all the worse, many times, when you are a Christian, because you know something, this is the way it is, and I've got on my side, and no one can tell me anything other. They're the toughest people to get around, because then it's spiritual arrogance. And oftentimes, the young, zealous person has no latitude for anybody else.

You know, I heard J Vernon McGee say one time-- he said that when he was young, as a preacher, he knew every single thing about every doctrine. He says, the older I get, the less I know. The more I read the Bible and the older I grow, I see how really stupid and limited I am.

"Forgive Lord, the sins of my youth." Maybe I should say that to my board. Forgive the sins of my youth.

"According to your mercy, remember me, O God." That's a good way to have God remember you, not Lord, according to my own works, according to my own wonderful righteousness, according to my own perfect character. Lord, according to your mercy-- not even your justice on this one, just your mercy.

"For your goodness sake, O Lord, good and upright as the Lord, therefore, he teaches sinners in the way. The humble he guides in justice. The humble he teaches his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep as covenant and as testimonies. For your namesake sake oh Lord pardon my iniquity, for it is great."

And possibly, David, here, is speaking of his sin with Bathsheba, that he wrote so eloquently about in Psalm 51. We don't know.

"Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way he chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. Turn yourself toward me, and have mercy on me, for I am desolate, or I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged."

That's why the Book of Psalms is one of your best companions, because you read sentences like this and you think, David was lonely? And he had those kind of problems? I mean, I pictured David bigger than life, with a halo, and a sword, and long robes, and sandals, and just kind of had it all together. That's how we view many people in the Bible.

So, David says, I'm lonely. Some of you really know what loneliness is. You know, I believe that the loneliest person, in your zip code tonight, is not a single person, who is waiting for a husband or wife, but it's a married person, who goes to bed every night because of the pressure and the anxiety in that relationship that seems to alienate them. And every time they get into the house, they seem more lonely than they ever have before. And they go to bed at night, crying out, God, will this ever end?

You know, just from our counseling that we've done in the church, and my speaking with lots of people, the loneliest people I've met are people who are married, and yet they live in a home as if they're divorced, alienated from each other. Loneliness is one of the biggest problems of our churches today. Loneliness is not being lonesome. When you're lonesome, you miss somebody, you know that you're going to get back together again. You've been away for a couple of weeks. That's being lonesome. Loneliness is not solitude. That's helpful. It vents the spirit to get away every now and then. Loneliness is when you're in a crowd of people, when you're in your own family, and you feel like nobody cares. You feel isolated, alienated.

I think David experienced that. Absalom, his own son, was out to get him. His own father-in-law was out to get him. David said, I'm lonely. "The troubles of my heart have enlarged. O, bring me out of my distresses. Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins. Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with cruel hatred. O, keep my soul and deliver me. Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in you. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. Redeem Israel, O God, out of their troubles."

Now, I believe David was referring to Absalom. "Redeem Israel from her troubles." Absalom is trying to usurp the throne, trying to kick me out. Not only save me, save Israel from this treachery.

Psalm 26 is a lot like Psalm 24. The ark is being brought up to Jerusalem. "Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity. I have trusted in the Lord. I shall not slip. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me. Try my mind in my heart, for your loving kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in your truth."

Now, do you think that sounds a little bit arrogant? Now, we look at that and think, boy, David is a little stuck up. David was referring to a time when he was younger, and when Saul was hunting him, when Saul was after his hide, and David was tempted to just kill Saul, and Saul went into the cave, and David could have knifed him with Saul's own spear. David refrained from killing Saul, and he trusted in the Lord instead. And that's what he's referring to.

Verse 4, "I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the congregation of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your alter, O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all your wondrous works, Lord. I have loved the habitation of your house, and the place where your glory dwells."

David loved the temple. David loved going to Mount Zion, loved the ark, being in the midst of the tabernacle.

"Do not gather my soul together with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands is a sinister scheme, and whose right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in my integrity. Redeem me and be merciful to me. My foot stands in an even place. In the congregation, I will bless the Lord."

You know, when you are around other Christians and their fellowship, you are in an even place. When you isolate and separate yourself from other believers, when you decide I'm not going to fellowship anymore, I don't need it, I can just go it alone, you are in a very, very rocky place. You and I need strength from other Christians. You know that you and I were never meant to be independent? You know, the ideal American John Wayne type doesn't fit in Christianity. Just me and God, partner. Don't need anybody else, yep. God and I on a saddle every day. Doesn't fit in the church.

But we need to humble ourselves and say, I am interdependent, not independent from anyone else. We need to be able to say, brother, sister, I need your encouragement. I need your prayers.

I was with a guy, it's a friend of mine who lives in another place-- won't mention his name-- but I remember one time talking with him, trying to deal with a tough issue of life, both of us. And he goes, I don't need anybody. I said, did you just hear what you said? So afraid to open up, so afraid to let the walls down. I don't need anybody. I reject everybody right off the bat. That's what he was saying. So many people are so afraid to be vulnerable, and say I failed. God forbid if I ever said that. We need the encouragement of other people, and minutes do too.

I heard Jimmy Swaggart say a very blessed thing, really a thing of beautiful admission, and it gave me a lot of insight. He said, publicly, he said, why did this happen? I've asked myself that hundreds of times, through thousands of tears. But he said, I had around me a network of men that I never relied upon. I never admitted my temptations, my problems, with this little area of my life, because, I mean, after all, I thought, I'm me. I don't have those problems. I can't let them know that. But he said, God gave me a network of people. If I had only relied on the people that God placed me around, to let them in on these things, so that they could be a support to me, and encouragement to me. But I didn't do it.

That's a lesson to all of us, folks, all of us. God has placed us, he's given all of us a network of people in this body, and if you don't have a network of people, it's because you, yourself, have chosen not to, because they're everywhere. And we need to rely and stand in an even place upon those people God has given us for strength. And I thank God for the people who, in my life, who have even wedged their way into my life, and said, somebody needs to ask you the tough questions, pal. You're right. We all need that accountability, all of us. "I stand in an even place."

Oh, don't have any time for Psalm 27, so we'll quit here. Too bad.

Lord, you know our frame that we are but dust. Unfortunately, we don't know that. And so, we squaller about in our own strength. Oh God, deliver us, from trusting in our own flesh, from trusting in chariots and horses, instead of the name of the living God.

Lord David spoke so much about trusting in God, trusting in God. I pray that you would reveal to our hearts exactly what that means. And it means just what it says, that we can face a disease, we can face even if a mate walked out on us, we can face a famine, we can face any heartache, if we trust you.

And although we say that seems so hard, it's much harder not to face it, or to face it without you, to face it trusting in ourselves. Lord, we confess that we do that quite often, that unfortunately, our flesh, in many areas, is so strong, that we just don't even consult you. And Lord, that is sin, and we confess that.

And Father, I pray, myself, that I'll never rely upon anything but the living God, and your ability to work through a vessel. I pray, Lord, that you'd use us, empower us by your spirit.

Lord, I know that you're just waiting to use a lot of people, who are sitting in this auditorium tonight, in a unique way, in a way that they've never experienced. Lord, to get to that point, I know that, for some, is going to take a lot of learning, boot camp. Lord, do it, because we want the end result. We want to be used by you. We want to make a difference in this world in Jesus' name. Amen.

Additional Messages in this Series

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2/28/1988
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Psalms 1-8
Psalms 1-8
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3/13/1988
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Psalms 9-18
Psalms 9-18
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3/27/1988
completed
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Psalms 27-32
Psalms 27-32
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5/1/1988
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Psalms 33-35
Psalms 33-35
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5/8/1988
completed
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Psalms 36-39
Psalms 36-39
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5/15/1988
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Psalms 40-45
Psalms 40-45
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5/22/1988
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Psalms 46-51
Psalms 46-51
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5/29/1988
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Psalms 52-55
Psalms 52-55
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6/5/1988
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Psalms 56-59
Psalms 56-59
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6/19/1988
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Psalms 60-65
Psalms 60-65
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7/3/1988
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Psalms 66-67
Psalms 66-67
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7/10/1988
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Psalms 68-72
Psalms 68-72
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7/17/1988
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Psalms 73-76
Psalms 73-76
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7/24/1988
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Psalms 77-80
Psalms 77-80
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8/7/1988
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Psalms 81-84
Psalms 81-84
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8/14/1988
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Psalms 85-89
Psalms 85-89
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8/28/1988
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Psalms 90-92
Psalms 90-92
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9/4/1988
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Psalms 93-95
Psalms 93-95
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9/11/1988
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Psalms 96-102
Psalms 96-102
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9/18/1988
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Psalms 103-105
Psalms 103-105
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10/2/1988
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Psalms 106-108
Psalms 106-108
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10/9/1988
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Psalms 109-114
Psalms 109-114
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10/16/1988
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Psalms 115-118
Psalms 115-118
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10/23/1988
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Psalm 119
Psalm 119
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10/30/1988
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Psalms 120-127
Psalms 120-127
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11/13/1988
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Psalms 128-133
Psalms 128-133
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12/4/1988
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Psalms 134-138
Psalms 134-138
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12/11/1988
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Psalms 139-141
Psalms 139-141
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12/18/1988
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Psalms 142-150
Psalms 142-150
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There are 29 additional messages in this series.
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