Psalm 14:2

"The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God."

The Lord is waiting for us to rise and follow Him. The Lord looked down from heaven - word study, to look; Where is God? 'He Who abides in the holy place, He is high and lifted up'. HIs throne is above and His eyes, of the seven spirits, go forth throughout all the earth to see the ways of man. The Lord is not absent from the ways of His creation. How many times in Scripture do we see His involvement? He came down in the garden to find Adam. He already knew they had sinned, He came to address the sin. He came down and spoke with Abraham, for He had looked down and seen the evil of Sodom. He came down and saw the ways of man at Babel and turned their tongues against one another. He looks down and sees you right now, reading this, He sees me, where I am. He knows the hearts and the ways of man of yesterday, today and forever. Oh, that He would look down with favor on us this day and grant us that which is missing from our churches, families and personal lives. 'Look down O Lord and consider and have mercy upon us'. He is looking down from His holy place of His throne. There He is, seated, and our blessed Savior and Redeemer seated at His right hand. the four beasts that go around Him, the twenty-four elders around the throne. These are the things in heaven and REvelation shows the throne room of God. Close your eyes and behold Him Who is Worthy of your praise and see and know He is looking down at you. To see if there were any that did understand - word study, to see; Do they know? Yes. But do they understand? Completely two different, but linked words. Too many in the church know, but they do not understand the ways of the Lord. They read it, 'They are hearers of the word but not doers of it'. Then there is the lost world, who know Jesus, but won't die to self and pick up their cross and follow Him. They do not understand the ways of salvtion. They hear the Word, they know the facts of it, but there is no openness of the soul and heart to receive it. Nicodemus asked the question to understand, "What does it mean to be born again?" Have you ever asked so that you might understand? Do you even have a desire to understand? The same goes for the church. WE have the blessed Bible, filled with direction and promises and yet the church is wandering around in ignorance. WE have no power, we have no ability to prevail in prayer; this is the cause of our nations sinfulness, this the cause of so many lost people. Yet, the church, having known all this, does nothing to correct its course of action. They chose to remain without power. Tozer, 'You are as filled as you want to be.' And it lays on our shoulders to bear the burden for the cause of eternity. WE must seek and find; we must pray without ceasing; we must wait upon Him; we must obey in all things. Let the Lord look down and see us that we both udnerstand and are living in Him. Seek God - we are commanded to do this; The key is in the word, 'and', 'Did any understand 'and' seek God. You see it goes beyond just, 'Oh, yeah, i understand'; there is a response that is laid down.

Psalm 13:3

"Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;"

Does a soul have the right to declare to God, 'consider and hear me'? What right does man have to command the Lord? consider - what is he asking the Lord to consider? IN the previous two verses, he declares his point that God has forgotten and left off of considering him. Many a child of God has left their place of assurance to doubt and questioning of God's Presence and love. Do not fall ino this place. Can God, Who sees everything and knows everything of past, present and future lose sight of us? But for the flood of problems, troubles, and trials it is a difficult place to be in. It is nautral it seems for our hearts to lose hope. The devil adds his two cents in that God has forgotten us and we are utterly alone. The true aspect of 'consider' is not found in God consider our place. He already knows all that. Consider what then? Consider YOur Divine will; Your promises; Your mercy and grace. When God said He was going to destroy the chidlren of Israel for their sins, Moses reminded God to consider the heathen and His promise. Present this 'consider' unto Him. 'You have said, O God', and remind Him of that which He has promised and declared. That which produces such doubt is found of moments of trails and difficulitites. Fear, doubt, uncertainy all these lead toward such thoughts that God has left off remembering us. David, as he writes this, later on in the Psalms will write that he cannot escape God. But at this point, there was a void and he filled it with doubt. Consider this, God knows you and loves you and He knows what it is that is in your life presently, and will be there in the future. hear me, O Lord my God - 'the Lord's ear is not heavy that He cannot hear'; There are many verses where God declares that there are certain times in which He will not hear prayer. But there are reasons that exist for this deafness to our prayers, namely our sins. But there are bountiful blessings of promises that He will hear and answer His children. And why will He hear me? Because He is my God. The personal relationship of having Christ as Redeemer from all sin by His precious blood, allows us the joys of salvation. 'Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation'. The forgiveness of sin allows for us to boldly come to the throne of God through Christs atonement and blesses us with the access to pray with no hindrances. The only way is through Christ, He makes it possible alone. Without Christ there is no access unto the Father. That personal relationhship of the Father, Son and Spirit enter into a life that is surrendered unto Him. The soul is seized for Him; the flesh is crucified to live in Him; and the spirit of life, is a gift to glorify Him while we have it, until He receives it back to Himself. 'I am His, and He is mine', for He is my God. Lighten my eyes - give life, for He is the bestower of life; David knew this, it was not that he was searching for something new. It is a valued study to look through the Scirptures and see when God smote with blindness and when He opened their sight. We see the blind crying out to Jesus, Who was able, to open their blind eyes. We see the great testimony physically and spiritually, 'I was blind but now I see.' Is it so with you? Are you able to see? or does the scales remain? He is able to 'lighten the eyes'. How much we have missed because we sat in darkness. How much the church misses because it puts up the drapes to block His great light that is able to shine. How little the desire from His Own people to see. May it be our prayers that our eyes be opened and we see the 'wondrous works of God'. And when God 'lightens' life is found, a quickening takes place. This is the transformation from deadness to life, from darkness to light, from sin to salvation. Let I sleep the sleep of death - if there is no life and light, there is only darkness and death; The end of life, is death. A view of soul sleep arises constantly in the Scriptures. I thought it was all but gone, but seems to be arising again to some that are in ignorance. To die, is not to got ot sleep. To die is to begin eternity, alive and awake in heaven or hell. 'To be absent from the body (for a Christian) is to present with the Lord.' And the reference throuhout Old and New Testaments of 'awake' is calling those that are alive in this world to rouse up. Just as if you wake somebody up in the morning. They are breathing, and alive, but sleeping. It is time to wake up. And for souls, they may be breathing and existing in this world but they are not awake in this world. Life is passing by and they are sleeping. In Isaiah, 'Awake, awake. . .'; in Romans, 'It is high time to awake. . .' And when you sleep so long, and miss so much, time is gone and there nothing left. And if God in His infinite power and grace and mercy does not awak, but allows for us to slumer and sleep, there is no quickening to come. Only God can rouse us up and 'lighten our eyes'. And there have been periods of history where God simply allowed for the church to sleep, until they perished away. OUr desperation should be, that He would not allow it be so in our time. 'Consider O Lord and hear me, my God,' this I beg of Thee.

Psalm 12:1

"Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men."

Help Lord - word study, to help; Who else can help us but the Lord? Seeing the rising problems of our nation, the church, the home and struggles of every day life Who else is there to call upon but the Lord. Man has failed, programs have failed, truly the only help, the only refuge is in God! And how wonderful for us that God has promised to help us. NOt the way in which we would have it, but His Divine will to help us. His Divine providence, His faithfulness, His strength, His power and His works of hope. There is no help apart from Him or in Him! And yet, the church, family and man seek every other help but Him. Is it possible that we don't believe HE will help us? Unbelief is so filling the hearts and souls of His people. David knew where to go, and we should learn this lesson as well. God's ways are Divine, they are right; and if God helps us, who else is needed? He has promised repeatedly in Scripture to help His children. Wonderful promises of help to those that call upon His Name, rest in Him, trust in Him and lean upon Him. Oh, how much He desries for His children to trust in Him and how unfaithful we are with it. Why does David cry for help? As we shall see in our meditation, sin is abounding and the work of God is amiss. God moves men to help in times of need. If you remember George Mueller that he went to prayer one night and spoke unto the Lord about the lack of food for breakfast the next morning. God stirred up a baker that rose up at 2 AM and began to prepare food in abundance. He knew nothing of Mueller's prayer, God did. And God helped Mueller and those chidlren by moving a man. These are physical needs of help, but what shall be said of the need of help against sin? We wrestle not against principlaties and powers of this world but of spritual evil powers. What help is there in the arm of flesh against such things? My help is in the Lord, creator of heaven and earth. He is able to do all things of help against such sin and evil in this world. Let His hand be outstretched for helping His people. For the godly man ceaseth - how awful a plight when such is the case; Is it the case for today? When God looked throughou periods of history He found few if any that were godly. Noah - 'You only have I found righteous'; JOb - "Have you considered My servant Job? Who is righteous"; Abraham - 'I will make My covenant with you, for I know you will teach your household right'; 'I searched for one to stand in the gap, and there was none'; "I wondered that there was no intercessor". Times of the few and the none are illustrated throught Scripture. Can we beleive that it is any different today? If we go back to the 1800's who will we find godly? Finney, Murray, Spurgeon and Moody, quite a notable group that were godly. I was asked a few years back, 'Who do you see God raising up on the horizon?' I answered, "No one". Why? The godly man ceaseth. Go find and look for those that are walking, caring and moved at the things of God. A rare breed they are. And when such evil and sin abounds, there must be an offensive attack to stop the forward progression and attack, and there is none today. It is not in the ingenius way of man to prosper and advance numerically. It is the advancement of spiritual power to overcome. Remember, 'Greater is He that is in us than He that is in the wold'. When there is no one God can entrust, as the example, of those men of old, for today hell advances. There must be a standard bearer to rise up and meet the challenge. Remember the armies of Israel and Saul and Abner, stood and heard the challenge from Goliath. But David was the one that in holy anger went out and stopped him. Why David? For the godly man ceased until David walked in faith. This is how dangerous it is for out time. The church is powerless because we will not believe and pray in faith. For the faithful fail (fall) from among the children of men - 'when the lights go out on the way to hell'; The only reason of God's preserving mercy and grace, is becaue He creates a man to stand in the gap. If there was nothing there to receive His grace, His wrath and judgment must meet the conditions of evil and sin. HE saw the evil of man, but grace was given to Noah. He alone received the mercy of God. And when we see the times of evil rising up in days gone by and presently, God is looking for a man that will find grace in His sight. Are you that person? ARe you walking with God? ARe you righteous? If not, then why not? Yield yourselves afresh this day. 'For the godly man ceaseth and the faithful fail from among the children of men.' this shoudl strike fear in all of us, that such a condition would happen. Now the 'faithful falling from among men can be intrepretted that the saints died. But what we see today, is that they fall, but not from death, but from sin. The righteous are swallowed up in iniquity and the sin that does so easily beset them preavils against them. They fail, and the church is left without a witness. As David brought a great occassion against the Lord, so do we. And we have quenched, grieved and resisted the Holy Spirit from filling us and working in us. Oh,, may we realize the cost, the high cost of our sin. LEt us fight the good fight of faith and hold fast. For the eternity of this world is upon our shoulders. If the godly man ceaseth and the faithful fail, there is no witness to the lost whereby they may hear and see the ways of righteousness. For faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. There is much at stake with this that we not fall. Let us be diligent to keep our ways and be perfect in Him. For if we fail, they perish; if we cease, they are tormented for eternity; if we neglect, His Divine love is restricted; we cannot fail, we must not fail for the souls of all. Brethern, take heed to all this!

Psalm 11:3

"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

If the foundations be destroyed - there are foundations laid for every part of life; The first foundation is found in Christ. Paul said, "This foundation in Christ is laid" This foundation is sure and cannot be broken. Christ is immortal, eternal, He is God and cannot be destroyed. To beleive, like some, that Christ has a beginning and an end, is to not believe that He is God. This is the importance at looking at the church in such dire times. Unto Peter, 'Upon you I will build the church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' And the church continues and will continue till He comes back for His bride. Adn when He receives His bride then He will purify and complete that which was started in laying the foundation in Christ Jesus. The one sure things of this life and eternity shall not be destroyed and it is in Christ. Other foundations: 1. family - this is the foundation which is crumbling now; God established the family back inGenesis and Jesus affirmed it when He said that God told Adam, 'a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.' Yet today, men do not leave father and mother and join themselves unto a woman in marriage. They live together in fornication and adultery. The practice the opposite of that which was established. Jesus was answering this when the leaders asked about divorce. Divorce has caused one of the greatest cancers upon the foundation of family. I would dare say that 1/2 divorces happen today from unfaithful relationships in adultery. And it is so rampant of this adultery that you have over 80% of families which are composed of divided step homes. Where children have 4 or 6 set of parents. What a mess! The foundation of marriage and family is destroyed and who else can straighten this up but the Lord. And I know not if He will straighten it up but simply return and end this sinful broken foundation. This was not what He intended nor what He desires. 2. society - this is the foundation of structure and order in our lives; We have communities, cities, nations and regions where life is sustained and maintained by day to day components that assist. Early settlers had little of this; explorers had little of this; but today we have centers of society that maintain the functions of the life we have come to know. This is the structure of our culture. And we have the avenues today of computer, tv and entertainment that have molded the ideas, lifestyle, fashions and ways of living. And all you have to od is pick up a newspaper, magazine or watch tv and see the destruction of society. Modesty, integrity, honesty, wholesome living has eroded away and life is not in order, but chaos. Chaos rules and reigns in society becasue of the influence of wickedness and sin. WE have destroyed the fabric of order and when it is gone completely we are left with anarachy. WE are very close to this state. 3. education - the foundation of learning and knowledge; How advanced the educational system has become in gathering, recording and sharing knoweldge. We see the value in having an education system that is productive for the betterment of man. Yet, education can so teach and gain in knowledge that wisdom of that knowledge is null and void. My greatest lesson learned in history classes was, "If man does not learn from his past, he is doomed to repeat the failure.' And yet, we see and know of the truth of history of nations, empires and the ways of man. You cannot offend a holy God and not expect judgement. It is a consistent lesson to be learned from any nation that did not have moral law that they will erode. Our nation, having cast aside the ways of righteousness and embracing the wickedness of the flesh of abominations in the sight of the Lord, is now working towards destruction. We pass laws, accept immorality, promote sexual advances in entertainment and then wander why we have such hideous crimes against the innocent. We have not been educated in the greatest lesson. The moral law of Judges, does not help here, "And every man did that which was right in his own eyes". It is not about our law or our ways, gain knowledge of what God blesses and honors. That is using education with wisdom. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. For what does it profit to learn with no application of it? This is vanity. And if education is advanced, and it is in our nation, yet it is used for wickedness, it leads us to the destruction of our own learning. 'Why did this happen? Becasue they did not heed nor fear the ways of the Lord."; 4. religion - a foundation not rooted in God but of man; This foundation was in the beginning with God, because there was only God in the beginning. But when man began to develop and multiply, the imagination of man increased as well. Thoughts and the ways of God were perverted and lead away from Him. And that which is serperate from God and Christ is defined as religion but not Chrisitan. Christianity is more than just worshipping of a god, He is Thee God. NOw every religion claims the same central though, there god is God. But all other religions derived from the beginning of God and went astray from the foundation that God laid Himself in Christ. 'There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved.' But religion has found a way to take away from that through, ritual, acts of kindness, good works, baptism etc. Religion is a foundation rooted in man. And it has not lasting permenancy. Religion will last until the end, evolving itself over and over. History declares the truth of religions that have come and gone. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism are largest religins on the stat sheets. But in the end religious groups will all bow the knee and declare Christ is Lord. But the foundation of religion has failed the purpose of man. Men are not better off with the growth of religion around the world. This is the cause of those that are atheists and agnostics. They have been given ground, because religion says it can help man, but has not helped only made it worse. The foudnaiton of religion is useless. only in Christianity where the power of God abides is their help and hope. Religion is humanism. what can the righteous do? great questions of the Bible; A righteous man is one that is right with God. And when the foundations erode and are destroyed what shall these righteous do. Look at Noah for our first example. The ways of man, the foundations were gone. 'Men did do evil continaully'. And only Noah was found righteous in the sight of the Lord. And because he was righteous he delivered his own soul and the souls of his family. We are told later in the Old Testament that even Daniel, Job andNoah would but only deliver their own souls. Let us not be weary in well doing; the righteous will do right. They will be 'doing well' for His glory. They will continue to adhere to the truth. They will continue to pray and seek His mercy, grace and long suffering for the wicked and lost. They will continue to seek for the salvation of the lost. They will continue to weep for the sins of those that offend a holy God. For the righteous know what shall be in the wrat of God. 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' The righteous will continue to be righteous. Tho all thefoundations of the world go to ruin, they will stand in strong faith of God. Where are you at? How strong is your faith? And though all around us their is folly and the foundations are crumbling, do youstill have hope? For he that would please God must believe that He is, that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek HIm. May you and I be counted as such that are righteous. May we continue to labor for His kingdom and His glory until we draw our last breath.

Psalm 10:4

"The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts."

Out of the 18 verses in this Psalm, the vast majority are given to the ways of the wicked. He is writing to seek for God to step and help in the midst of such ungodly men that are ruling and reigning. The wicked - so much is to be said of such two words put together; The wicked shall perish; the wicked, shall be judged and condemned; the wicked, shall answer unto God; the wicked, shall declare Who Jesus truly is; the wicked, shall burn in the lake of fire; the wicked, lie and practice evil continually; the wicked, have no peace or comfort; the wicked are found in derision. OH, how much sorrow and anguish upon wicked men, they have forfeited their right to God. They are the enemies of our Lord. They are evil and separated from God of their own chosing. The wicked hath said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are fools for uttering such things. They are void of holiness and righteousness, and there is no inclination toward God or His ways. What is the cause of this? through the pride of his countenance - the first sin of most men, pride; man's love of self more than anything else makes him wicked. It is so natural within us to take pride in ourselves, our appearances, our accomplishments, our way of thinking and acting. Their countenance is their embodiment of life. And as self rules and reigns there is no need nor desire for God. His whole outlook on life places him in defiance against the Lord God. We see the condmenation of pride throughout the Scritpures. Adam and Eve began with pride, as self overruled the Lord's command and they ate of the forbidden fruit. WE see the advancement in the tower of Babel, again the pride of self exalting itself against God. IN the New Testament we see Jesus and Paul writing andcondemning the work of self. 'If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.' And John writing in his epsitles, ''For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. . " HEre is the way of the wicked, pride in human advancement. Only when one realizes that He gave us ability and life. HE holds our breath in His hands do we see the worthlessness in self and the need of whole hearted desire after Him. HE is everything and we are nothing and we need HIm to fulfill and keep us. So as you examine yourself, and you see the pride of yourself in the way of your life, condmen them, for they are an affront against the Lord. We are given the moment and need to keep fast to Him. PUt down theways of the world in your life lest it lead you in pride of life to separate you from His love and redemption. So it is when you hear men say, "I will try harder"; 'I know I need to do better"; all these are 'I's and they reveal and show the wickedness of your heart and soul. I can do nothing, God must do it. Will not seek after God - they have utterly rejected His love and redemption; The command in Jeremiah is, 'And when ye shall seek for Me with all your heart, you shall find Me.' These are not those that begin to seek or seek Him a little, they do not seek after Him at all. They have only known self and the tangible world that they live in. They know nothing of the eternal world coming, and nor do they care. 'The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God'. These are the fools of the world, for they have made no place for Him Who gave them life, and holds their breath. They have utterly cast off any thoughts or means to seek Him. Their hearts are like Pharoah's, hardened and resistent against His grace, love and mercy. They scorn it, they loathe any that know Him or seek after Him. They mock at the Bible, shoot the tongue at Christianity and the church. Note: 'will not'; is a personal choice; a directive of their own making. 'I will not' seek after it; in comparison to the child told by their parents, 'Eat everything on your plate'. They mock their parents command, and say in defiance, "I will not eat. I'll show them'. And who have they really shown when they go a few hours without food, now they are hungry. Who does this proud scorner show when he rejects the desire of the Lord for their soul, they end it in eternity, with misery, suffering and sorrow for eternity. Now where do they stand? All because they said, "I will not seek Him'. God is not in all his thoughts - the thoughts are stayed away from God all together; The thought process in any person's mind is a fascinating thing. When you consider that God's thoughts are towards us and have been since before the world began. God looks to love us, redeem us and help us. And yet the reciprocation of that thought process is not the same. Man does not think for God or about God. The thoughts go to sin and self. Man is consumed with thoughts for themselves. They wake up in the morning and they begin, "Well, what am I going to get done"; 'What can I get myself into today?" It is all about self not God. They see opportunities and experiences and memories wrapped in self, not God's Divine plan for us. But God's thoughts 'are higher than our thoughts; as high as the heavens are above the earth so are His thoughts above ours' The thoughts of sinful man abase themselves. Let us not abase oursevles with such a thought process. But let us ask and seek to rise up to the thoughts of the Lord. Can we not be like Abraham when God spoke with him: 'Shall I tell Abraham what I am about to do?" God considers telling man His thoughts. But if God is limited or absent from your thoughts then why would you ever consider God sharing His thoughts with you. Cast off the darkness and put on the light in Christ. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 9:19

"Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail; let the heathen be judged in thy sight."

Arise O Lord - Is it right to say this of God? Does He need to be commanded of man to arise? Is He down that He must needs get up? The reference through David here is that man and nations seem to be prevailing against the ways of God. The assumed conclusion of this is that God has removed Himself or abadated Himself away from the affairs of man. And the need for God to return, to arise and make the wrongs right. 'Arise' over the wickedness of man and the prevailing ways of Satan and hell in this world. Stir up yourself as found in Romans 12, 'Awake' get up and over power the wicked. Can man command God in such a manner? No. But God awaits for man to call upon Him so that He might show Himself strong on their behalf. The plea is offered for God to arise, not man or any army. Who is needed but God? And if God does not arise above the wicked then what hope is there! There is none. God is above all and His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. Is it a day that we need God to arise? Surely it is; so dark, so evil in the ways of man. But there are two ways in which God arises upon the ways of man. The first is judgement. He shall arise and vanquish, destroy the wicked man. We do not wants this, in which so many would be cast away for eterntiy by His wrath. The second way of HIm arising is to restore. 'In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son'. He arose after almost 400 years of silence. He knew the time was to arise in the midst of the world powers and restore the way of redemption. And what shall we say today, is it time for God to arise to save His church? The church is filthy, unfatihful, spotted by the world and in need of His merciful hand. LEt Him arise for the second way of restoring, lest it be the first of wrath. Do not be ingornat of what you are asking for when you cry out, 'Arise Lord'. For He may very well arise and His anger judge and sentence us. what did He do to the church at Ephesus? 'I will come and remove your golden candlestick'. And Robert murray McCheyne wrote in the 1800's when he went and passed through Ephesus and looked for the church there, it was a corn field. What happened? God rose up and fulfilled His promise and removed them. Can He not do the same to us? Surely He can, so be careful when you ask for God to come upin the midst of us. Be specific as the Psalmist was here, LEt not man prevail - a single request given for the glory of God; The ways are before the Lord and He ponders all his goings to and fro. Such evil, such sin and such wickedness is the way of man. And the prayer of a child of God for Him to arise and stop this advancement. It is a right prayer. For it is asking the Lord to show HIs hand of power to prevail. What can man do against God? Nothing, except what He allows for him to do. And God does allow for the ways of man to continue even though they are an offence unto Him. PErhaps it is because there is no one praying for Him to prevail over man's wicked ways. So if we ask Him to arise, then ask for Him to prevail for His glory Names sake. Man is advancing all the time. WE can see this in the study of history. Man has advanced in georgraphy, occupying all the world. Man has advanced even into space beyond our realm or existence. Man has advanced in study and abilites of communication. Look at all the inventions and especially the last 200 year see how man has moved forward. (And I do say forwad; because even though man perverts their knowledge and corrupts, God allows for them great advancement in medicine, technology and communciation.) And since wicked desires and evil perverts there is a need for the ONe that can remedy such advancement which is contrary to Him. 'Let not man prevail'; and when we consider the great revivals where God came He vanquished the prevailing man and set him in his place. The sins of the flesh, and families and society were upended and did not prevail anymore. We see the evidence of God arising up and favor His church and stopping the evil prevailing man. He is able to do such things! Cry out and believe. LEt the heathen be judged in Thy sight - look upon the lost and You Who are the judge of all the earth shall judge rightly; And the heathn shall be judged. They have already been judged because the Lord knows HIs Own. As Jesus prayed, 'all that Thou givest me have come to ME, and I have not lost one of them; except the son of perdition.' He keeps and knows His own children. And those that are not of His sheep, they are goats. And goats are set to the left hand and have been judged and sentenced to hell. These heathen are they that have not acknowledged the Lord nor given place to Him. They make idols and worship gods of their own making. They sin willfully and care not about anything but this life. They neither regard God nor are drawn unto Him.

Psalm 8:4

"What is man, that thou are mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

Such a wonderful Psalm to memorize and have for God to speak to us. David pens these words of worship as he consdiered the works of God. It is often in our pondering of spiritual things that we allow for the Spirit to speak and reveal truth to us. What is man - great questions of the Bible; two are found within this verse; What are we? why are we here? who are you? These are questions of legitmate concern and reason. These questions have been on man's mind since the beginning. How much time and weight have you given to these things? Not all ponder or consider the blessedness of what and why God has done what He has done in making us. What is man? we are the creation of God, made in His image. Made in the image of God, 'Let us make man in our image after our likeness'. We have being of mind, heart and soul lived out in our flesh. angels cannot live as we live; animlas cannot live as we live, we are unique in Him. He gave us breath and He holds our breath. Man is the creation of God for His Divine glory to be manifested in us, to us and through us. And through man God does His best work of glorify His Name. Christ came as a man to save us and glorify His Name. Through man, as His agent, He works for the winning of souls. 'Through preaching' the Word goes out for all to hear and see His power through a proclaimer of the blessed Word. Man prays, and God hears and answers those prayers for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is man and it is glorious in Him, Who is creator of all! That Thou are mindful of him? God knows us and considers us; We do not deserve to be considered or thought of by Him. He is infiinite, we are finite; He is holy, we are unholy; He is love, we are chaos. In all these things we are so unworthy, yet He is mindful of us. Why? Because He loved us while we was in sin. He loved us before the world was formed. He knew us in all our folly and still was prepared to redeem lost man. He was mindful of us in our ways of failure and dishonor to Him. What great love is shown in loving that which is offensive to Him! And we learn here of true grace and mercy from Him. He imparts to us His favor, love and power that draws us and seals us to HIm. How sad that not all realize and accept that which He stands ready to give. But God imparts it anyway, else man would be judged and punished with His wrath. It matters not whether man recognizes it or not, or is even aware of it, God bestows for the sake of hope unto the saving of the soul. Ah, mercy and grace; how I have learned to love it and appreciate it more day by day. 'He is mindful of me', and I realize the significance of that phrase. I am nothing without Him, but everything in HIm. And all because He is mindful of me. Do you know this truth in your heart and soul? He is mindful of you, loves you and has done all for you.
And the son of man that Thou visitest him? second question in this verse; great questions of the Bible; Here again is the realization of David see and being aware that God has done more for man than they consider. He is mindful of us, but more than simply having knowledge of us that we are, He interacts with man. For this son of man that came from Adam of His Own hand made, He is active in his life. How mnay visitations are there in a lifetime for man? HE begins with conception, where life begins. For it is God that imparts life, for He is the giver of life. This is the first vistiation. The second and after visits come as God interacts on man's behalf. He visits to fulfill His desired will within. We could look at MOses for a significant meaning of this visitiation: 1. God gave him life; 2. God visited him when he floated down the river to protect him and have him raised in Pharoahs house; 3. God visited him when his eyes were open and he saw the afflcition of the Israelites; 4. God visited him on the mount where the bush did burn; 5. God visited him often from that point on through the plagues and the exodus from Egypt till his death at his last visition. Death is the last visitation on this earth until our eternity is begun. Oh, how often the Holy Spirit visits to convince, invite and nudge toward the FAther and Son. He is constant in this desire of taking sinful 'son of man' and redeeming him from lost estate to child of God. 'To as many as would receive Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God.' Do you see and recognize the visits of God on your behalf? do you hear His voice? Do you see His mighty hand of mercy and grace? What are we? Lost and sinful until HE comes and saves to the uttermost. Rejoice this day that God has not forgotten us, but has always been active in pursuing us for the saving of the soul. It is we that not been mindful of Him. Cast off such a thing and rest in Him, Who loves you.

Psalm 7:11

"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day."

This was an easy chapter to pick a verse. I have had this verse memorized for years. And it is has been easy to memorize because of 7:11, which is just like the convenience store. I couple the numbers with the hosts of humanity. God judgeth the righteous - God is our judge and will judge everything in due time; Others may judge men's actions but it holds no weight. But God's judement is final. What hope does any sinful man have in the Presence of God? None. He is just and rightoues and will meet out that which is right unto the good and the bad, the righteous and the wicked. There will be no lapse, nor loopholes, and no unjust sentencing. And as for His Own, 'the righteous' we will judged as well. I believe it is instructed by some that the church will not face any judgement. And that is not Scripture. Did not Paul write in Romans? Every work shall be called into question, whether it be good or bad. Every word of ours, every thought, every intent of the heart, and every motive we had. Some have said, 'Well, I have confessed all my sins and they are blotted out by the blood, so I won't have to answer for anything.' Wrong! AW Tozer said, 'I am not worried about the deeds that I have done to answer unto Him on judgement day. But I am worried about answering for the things that I could have and should done.' Judgement not only for what we did, but for what we should have did. You don't hear anything of that preached today! But thanks be to God that He is just and when He judges us we will are found robed in His righteousness and covered in His blood. This is where our sole dependcy is not in anything of ours or of this world , but everything is depended for the righteous in Christ. He will stand up and defend us, speak for us. 'They professed Me before men and now I profess them before You Father.' WE will be laid low and at His mercy when God judges us and the books are opened. So do not give weight that you shall not be judged, we all shall give an account of ourselves unto Him. 'I saw the great and the small, the dead and the living called before Him'. 'Gatherd before Him was the sheep on the right, and the goats onthe left.' All shall stand before HIm, and you should know what is to be done and said and where you want to be. And God is angry with the wicked every day - 'it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God'; What shall the ungodly do? They have no hope. There are a few instances laid out in Scripture of God's anger. God was angry with Sodom and Gomorrah over their iniquity and He destroyed them. God was angry at the children of Israel in the wilderness, and God was ready to consume them. YEt, Moses interceeded and prevailed. Jesus was angry at the temple workers for their defiling the 'house of prayer'. If you ask most in the church today, 'Is anger a sin?' And they answer, 'Yes'. Then did God sin? did Jesus sin? No. There is a holy anger of rightoeusness. God Who is pure and undefiled, in justice condemns that which is evil. And because of our wickedness, man stands before God condemned. His holiness produces His anger against folly. And we, being holy, as He is holy, should have the same anger against sin and the sinners. Yet, their is a popular phrase, 'God loves the sinner and hates the sin.' This is not accurate. There would be no sin without a sinner committing it. Therefore, the sinner is responsbile for their sin in angering the Lord God. And we don't read in the Scriptures where He condmens the sin, but He condemns the sinner. Thus, our verse today holds us to see the anger of God against the wicked. The wicked are our loved ones, church family and the vast population of the world. OH, what a horrible sight to see billions in sin and God angry at them. You and I, that as we know this should be as Moses and stand in the gap to stop His anger from being manifested against theese people. Note, this is not an occassional thing, but 'every day'. Men go to bed with God angry at them and they arise with God angry at them. And they care not, nor are they aware of it. Our knowledge of this fact should compel us to tell them the truth and warn them of that which is coming in judgment. Every day, every moment and second they stand in great peril. His hand of longsuffering and loving kindness is the only thing that holds Him from acting. And as God's anger was toward us, and somebody prayed for us, so we should be doing for others. Who have you intervened for? Who have you prayed for? See the ones that God is angry with and know their plight. We have the power to stay it. 'Arise and be doing for the Lord's anger is gone forth against the nations.'

December, 2009 End of the Year Letter to the Saints

December 31, 2009

To my beloved brethern in the faith of Christ,

I consider life, and I find You; I consider the snow, and I see Your merciful hand; I see Your creation and know You; I see my salvation and it is from You and in You; I rejoice at Your blessed Word and know it is You; All that I am is You; You are everything and I rejoice in You; - Biser, 12/09

As this year closes, it is time for reflection of what the Spirit is saying to us. I know my place, I know His voice and what He is saying and it is not good. We see a weak, powerless church that is wallowing in sin and the world; we see God's own people forsaking His Word and prayer; the ineffectiveness of witnessing continues; and the lostness of souls is perpetual. 'The summer is ended, the harvest is past, and we are not saved.' They entered this year lost and they are now closer to hell than ever. Is that to say we do not rejoice with the few that have entered in? God forbid, but we rejoice with the angels in heaven over one soul that is truly born again in Him. But God's people will not pray rightly for His Spirit to descend on His church to empower us to be effective witnesses. Acts 1:8, 'And ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you'. And instead of preaching a sermon on 'The Sin of Neglecting Prayer', let me simply share my heart with you. What is the Lord saying to me at the close of this year? Many ask me, 'Is there any word from the Lord?' And my answer is, "Yes, but it is not a good word". Labor for the prayer conference, Broken Before the Throne dominated the first half of this year. With TW backing out on me, I had to replace this man of God with another man of God, not an easy task. But the Lord is faithful, and Henry Blackaby agreed to come. The conference was pure indepthness. It wasn't about the prayer times or numbers, the numbers have never been great. God spoke Thursday morning and moved powerfully on me personally. He spoke through Greg Frizzell with Ephesians 5:16, 'Redeeming the time, for the days are evil.' I simply interpreted that to mean for me, that I have wasted 41 years of life and needed to be all for Him. I jumped and moved rapidly following that meeting with the others and we took on the radio broadcast and set up a monthly prayer meeting. I finished my first book on devotionals and saw all the pieces coming together for what the Lord was doing. I returned home and saw the headlines in the local newspaper, '1800 students at local college, record attendance' and immediately the Lord spoke and told me to go. I didn't know how, but He, as always was faithful and opened doors. But this wasn't it alone, what the Lord was saying to me, there was something else, that my perspective was not hearing from Him. I was telling Him what I could do, HE was trying to tell me what He could do through me. May the Great Physician heal the blind and the deaf. 'And I looked for a man. . .' and is He able to find one today? The complete yieldedness of such a one to be solely for the Lord, how needful it is today. I continue to see His hand at work through these other things that I have mentioned but those are only outward signs. His deepest hand is on the inside of a soul that will yield. Time, energy, urgency, 'a call to anguish' are the signs of the inward. I dreamed the other night, and in my dream someone asked me to pray for their lostness. As they stretched their hand out to me, I took and lowered my head to pray. Praying as always to see the lost saved. Yet in my dream the Lord so seized my soul and heart that I began to weep for I saw their lostness. I awoke in tears and my heart was 'strangely warmed' to such a thing. His heart, His desires, His glory, His Presence are what is to be sought. All the other frivolities of life are nothing compared to this. I enter the New Year with two verses given to me through reading of Charles Finney: 1. Isiah 59:19, 'So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enmey shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.' 2. Isaiah 65:24, 'And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.' I'm going into the New Year knowing that the enemy has flooded its way in to all of our everyday life. Our nation is sinking in evil, multiplying not adding, its evils against the Lord. Great judgement is on our threshhold. Progressively worse it the condition of the family. I have been exposed to more broken homes and lost relationships between family than ever before. From the extended families of the church, to my childrens friends and their home life. Constantly I am petitioned to pray for 'such and such a marriage, they are in trouble'. I have left off a lot of the sickness praying for tests and procedures as I simply place the 'will of the Father to be done', knowing at the right times to pray for Divine healing. He is still the Great Physiciaon, the Sympathizing Jesus. The lost of gained more of my tears and urgency than anything. I have lost two off of my prayer list, that died without Christ. My failure in prayer is their eternity. Lastly, the condition of the church strikes fear into my heart. How blest to be more connected with saints in desire for real revival and deep prayer. Knowing that prevailing prayer is the only answer, 'I give myself unto prayer'. Resolving that spiritual health to me is found in 4 things:

PRAY (thanks Donna)

P - pray without ceasing; if you are praying 5 minutes then pray 15; if your praying 15 minutes then pray 30; if you are praying 30 then pray one hour; if your praying one hour, then pray two;

R - reading your Bible daily; and I encourage you to read through each year; build the foundation in daily reading; add to it memorizing Scriptures; plus whatever other study may come from church, Bible studies and devotionals;

A - assemble yourselves together; Be resolved to be a ETTCDAO - every time the church doors are open; (thanks CJ)

Y - your testimony; witnessing, too many have never witnessed to lead anyone to Christ; answer this question, 'How many people have you directly asked this year about their soul?' and 'How many souls have you led to Christ?' Share your testimony, share Christ; but do it in the power of the Holy Spirit, not out of religious duty; make a committment to share Christ once a month; if you are, share Christ once a week; if your are, share Chrsit once a day;

Show me a healthy Christian and they are actively engaged in all four of these things. Show me a backslider or a Christian struggling in their walk, and I will show you one of these four things are not being adhered too.

I leave you with this, dearly beloved, what have you done for the Lord in 2009. Take that which is good in Him and muliply it. That which has hindered you, throw it away. Strive to let 2010 be everything in Him. It is not a resolution nor a committment to Christ that will be effective; it is surrender unto Him. "I Surrender All"

I thank you for your prayers intercessors. How precious you are to me.

I thank the Lord for those that God has allowed to come into my life for His glory.

I thank the Lord for the way HE has worked in this last year and I eagerly await the New Year.



I am in your service for His kingdom and glory to be manifested to the nations.



Until,

dan

http://dbiser.blogspot.com/

http://www.brokenbeforethethrone.com/

rdbiser@live.com

biser10@verizion.net

Psalm 6:8

"Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping."

Here is a Psalm that is to be sung in praise and honor unto the Lord. His enemies have done their best work, but they have not prevailed. For he lifts up his prayer unto God, Who is faithful to hear and answer. They have done all they can do to destory him. He is beset around, his sorrow is increased and his grief fills his mind and heart. Yet, God is present. And now he knows that God is going to do something about his enemies. And what shall God do to His enemies? In reading and knowing the Scripture we know the fateful end for those that have made themselves to be the enemy of God, eternity in hell. What profit is there to being an enemy to God? A few moments of sensual pleasure, ease, indulgence, flesh; oh, how brief, eternity never ending. There is no comparison, yet, men chose it. What of thy own heart? What have you chosen? Depart from me - who is making the request (command)? who is speaking? The Psalmist is speaking and he is referring to his enemies. But if it was you or I, who would you desire to depart from you? Can we not read these three words and immediately think of Christ saying to those that stand before Him, 'Depart from me you worker of iniqutiy'? A Christians one great desire is to not hear those words therefore they rest in Him. And their confidence is in what HE has said, "I will place you in My Father's hand and no man is able to take you out". Christ shall command the sinner to depart from Him for all eternity in hell. How awful! Does this not stir you to rise up and pray for the lost before it is too late? Do I command the lost to depart from me? 'Why does your Master eat and drink with sinners?' 'I came not to call the righteous but the lost.' Do I tell the lost world, 'Depart from me'? No, I engage them so that they may know and hear of salvation. But I do not partake of their amusements and sins, but I am there as a light in their darkness. Be careful that you do not confuse the two. Then who do I tell to depart? Satan, 'Depart from me'; I have no desire to entertain nor hear from him. 'Flee from evil; depart from wickedness; resist the tempter'. In all these things I say, 'Depart from me Satan and sin'. And has God not said He is able to keep us from sinning? Yea, He hath said. 'Depart from me sin'. LEt not your cruel ways be entangled in mylife, in my thoughts, in my deeds, in my words. LEt me be found pure in Thee O Lord. O Lord, do not depart from me, but let sin depart in all its gross ways. All ye workers of iniquity - David's enemies had beset around about and were seeking for his destruction; Who are the 'workers of iniquity'? They are those that are lost sinners. They are not saved and their father is the devil. They work for him; they boast of him; they desire to please him. And because God is the enemy of Satan, then God and His children are their enemies. This has been played for centuries as Satan has tried to destroy the Lord's own. 'Staight is the way and narrow is the gate that leadeth unto eternal life, and few there be that find it.' Seeing their is a small host that are the Lord's, 'All' is referring to a vast majority of humanity today. We are not a majority in this world unto Him, but alas, how few the remnant. NOt because He does not desire for more to be saved, simply becuase He knew our neglect and fraility in His work. The workers of iniquity have increased and they are swarming the ways of God. And just as David was pursued and attacked and threatened, so is the chuch today. They may labor for now with some gain, but know of their latter end. They shall be found in the lake of fire that burneth forever and ever. All workers of iniquity shall be found there. Make sure you are not counted among them. For the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping - God sees every tear and hears every cry unto Him; These are not tears and cries of sinful men, but needful men. David needed God and he was the apple of His eye. WE have already covered God hearing our prayers and cries thus far in the Psalms. WE will look at the last phrase of , 'the voice of my weeping'. It is the spirit of brokenness. How rare to find it today. One of the testimonies from Broken Before the Throne has been, 'I can't stop crying'. Over and over the voice of weeping has come from a broken heart and poured out soul unto the Lord. God sees and hears such anguish from His own people. Have you been here? Not that you are crying out of emotinal turmoil, or self pity but for the ways of the Lord. You see th workers of iniquity and you see them as Christ sees them, lost and perishing souls and you are driven to tears. Your heart is crushed under the weight of sin that is praciticed by loved ones and this nation adn in the church. And a voice of weeping is lifted up as you interceed for such sin that it would be stopped, forgvien, cleansed and holiness might be restored. Such a voice of weeping is allowed by the Spirit Who reveals the heart of the Father and Son unto such. What a burden there is when a soul is reduced to the voice of weeping. Too many know nothing of this and shed no tears until it is normally too late. And their are others that God says, "i can trust them with this burden of tears and voice of weeping". He sets them to pray and cry aloud unto Him for the lost, for the nations, for the Kingdom of God's glory and for hell's defeat. He hears and knows the soul that has a 'voice of weeping'. What are you weeping over? When was the last time you wept for something of God's? There is nothing wrong with weeping over our own failures and sins, but do you ever get beyond self?

Psalm 5:11

"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee."

There are times in our walk with the Lord that seems more Divine than others. It would be the desire to continue in such a high and holy place, that we have been told, 'Take off your shoes, your on holy ground'. And I believe David entered the joys of the Lord and he writes out of the overflow of his spirit in this Psalm. He adores Him, he rejoices in Him, and he loves Him. IN such moments it is too grand, almost beyond words of description of such joy and His glory. Have you been there? Do you know what I am talking about in such a place as this? A place where all your senses, nerves, heart, soul and mind is pressed towards Him and nothing else. It is the overflow of joy and rejoicing in Him. But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice - to rejoice because of Who holds you; It is the one that has faith in God who is able to trust. Such trust in His faithfulness leads us to see and know, (truly whether we see it or not), of our experiences that God has done great things. You read the Bible of those that put their trust in Him and He delivered, healed, provided, saved with His mighty hand. The Christian knows that even though those things happened to others they are for us even now. To many in the church want to rejoice before they trust! It doesn't happen that way. This sensual generation is all about being happy. They mock God if suffering or problems come along. They know nothing of the Scriptures of sufferin and pain; trials and troubles; hearbreak and sorrow. It is in the midst of such things that causes us to trust in Him. Is HE not faithful? Very few are able to sing the song with honesty, 'Great is Thy Faithfulness'. 'I have put my trust in Thee, and I will not be ashamed'. How many are ashamed of Christ? Never speaking of Him or to Him. Then they wander why they are not able to rejoice. Brethern, put you trust in Him and then your soul shall be flooded with cause to rejoice. Put you not faith in a brother or in your own hand, but put your faith in Him, the great Creator and Sustainer of this life. Let them ever shout for joy - the second of the three 'lets' in this verse; word study, joy; LEt us forever being in praise of Him, Who is worthy! Joy comes from Him, it is a gift bestowed. And this is to be a perpetual joy, 'forever shouting' it. How can this be maintained? ONly from a full heart of joy. When the joy is maintained in Him, then the overflow comes. But for most their life is filled with worries, routines, life itself, which is void of God. The absence of God removes the joy. I believe what most experience is happiness, but not joy. Joy is the fullness of happiness, and too many only have a little happiness. And they think this is normal. They don't know what it is to be continually filled with joy in Him. This is one reason I believe the music of the church has decrased in true worship of Him. They have not been still and known Him and they know not of His marvellous ways. Restore the quiet time, restore the stillness in Him and the joy and forever shouting praises of Him will return. Some may ask, how do you maintain in sorrow and suffering? Your focus is not on the present condition. Too many focus on the here and now. Focus on the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. How can you not focus on heaven and eternity with Him and not be joyful? For there at the end of time all sorrow, sickness, death will be removed. Does this not cause joy? But if you live in the here and the now, your present conditions will be swallowed up in despair. Forever joy is in Him past, present, and future. And my current status of sorrow is but a passing moment. 'Tears may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.' And if you knew joy was coming would you not be excited for it, antcipating of it? Because Thou defendest them - The Lord defends His Own; What is the cause fo rejoicing and joy? That God has stood up and declared His hand of protection to His Own. Who is stronger than God? None. Who is able to thwart God? None. And because God defends His people, the people rejoice in HIm. Found in II Chronicels 13, King Asa was delivered from a great host, because Asa and the people relied upon the Lord. The Lord will defend, we read in Judges how God raised up such men to defend His people. Do you beleive that He will defend His church? Do you beleive that He will defend you, His servant? It is time to rejoice for He will defend His own. Let the world speak and act, let hell raise its ugly head, it matters not, God shall defend His own. Read the end of Revelations and see the plight of the wicked and those that dishonor Him and His own. Destruction cometh and He shall meet them with His wrath to their face. Let them also that love Thy Name be joyful in Thee - 'There's none other such a Friend or Brother, tell it to Jesus'; 'Whom have I in heaven but Thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee'. A Christians heart is wrapped up in the Lord. They hear His Name and it produces such an impact on their thoughts, their senses, their emotions and moves them to adore and worship. Love is poured out unto Him Who is worthy from His children. Loving the Name of the Lord will our whole heart, mind, soul and body. And as we count His love for us, we are stirred and moved to seek Him, find Him and hold HIm an dnot let go. WE have been wayward before but not now, only holding fast to Him. This is the fullness of joy filling every fiber of a Christian.

Psalm 4:3

"But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him."

There is much to be said of a study through the Scriptures on godliness. HE that is faithful, righteous and holy in the work of God is godly. And here is this truth revealed in this SCripture to direct our hearts and minds toward the Lord that hears prayers. Who does He hear prayers from? Anyone? No; 'If I regard iniqutiy in my heart the Lord will not hear me'; But He does hear the prayer of the godly and the holy. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly - word study, to know; I find such an opening of the Lord's will in the lives of His people here in this first part of this verse. We are to 'know' the Lord's ways in life. Now His thoughts and ways are high above ours for their determined end. However, we know enough that God works in the midst of certain circumstances. He reveals His desire for us and we know that the Lord speaks, calls, uses, answers godly men and women that are yielded to Him. Do we know what He has promised to those that are faithful? 'Out of your belly shall flow rivers. . .'; ''I will never leave thee nor forsake thee'; 'I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things'. Know these truths given by the Lord. And He sets apart men and women to be godly so that He might accomplish His desired end. We see John the Baptist and Jeremiah in the Scriptures, foreordained before they was born for His will. What of His will for you? His desire is that all would be godly and holy and trusting in Him. But alas, we know the weakness of the flesh and lusts of the world. The testimony and confession is too frequent in churches, "I know I should do better, but, . . . ." I have heard this so often I get sick when they start it. I know that 'but, (comma)' is never good. 'To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin'. Being godly is a desire solely given by the Lord. It is not of our own making. When men desire to be godly because of duty or fear of God's punishment, they are not being godly to bring glory to Him. When it is a religious duty to be godly, it is of self effort and not inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let the church know that a heart given and yielded to being godly is a Divine touch. God sees and knows the heart and He knows those that are His and aids us for godliness. This setting apart is for Him and His will and kingdom. Let us never become spiritually arogant of that which the Lord imparts His godliness to us. Live and die in Him for Him alone. That is the significance of 'unto Himself'. It is not unto our ownselves, but unto Him. 'Let every thing you do be for His glory.' The Lord will hear when I call unto Him - one of the verses that declare God's faithfulness to hear prayer; There are those that walk around in unbelief, they do not believe the Lord hears their prayers. And that may be true of many, but a true child of God should not be such. this part of this verse we should hold fast to the God Who cannot lie and know the certainty of it. I call, HE answers. Is this any different than Jeremiah 33:3 or Matthew 7:7? Here in the Psalms, the prophets and the New Testament the consistency of God declaring that when we call He hears. Be sure your not in unbelief and calling God a liar. God stands ready to hear and will listen when we pray. I believe the truth for us to examine here is the last part, our actions. Are we calling on Him? WE call our neighbors, our family, our friends but what of the Lord? And for many when they accuse God of not answering and not hearing them, God would respond, 'Becasue your not calling upon me'. RA Torrey said that he doesn't believe that 1 in 100 of prayers are really offered unto God. They are words but not unto Him. And I agree with his statement. Perhaps the reason for so little being done in the church and by the church today is because of this one sole thing. God's people don't pray and call upon Him. Very few souls saved, very little power demonstated, very little advancement of the kingdom all because God's house of prayer is now a den of thieves. Examine your heart and soul today. ARe you found faithful in godliness unto Him and in Him? ARe you praying and calling upon Him beleiving that He will hear and answer?

Psalm 3:4

"I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of His holy hill. Selah"

So much is to be gleaned throughout all these Psalms. It is difficult to pick just one verse to glean from. But since prayer is of the utmost importance I will focus on this verse for us in our studies. I cried unto the Lord - the prayer is lifted up unto the Lord God Almighty; There is no one else to call upon. And note, it is not just saying words, it is a cry being lifted up. There is a pressing need to the heart and soul. In verse 1, David tells us his enemies have increased against him. They speak harsh words against God and his faith in God. But as ever true, David turns to the Lord with his need. Oh, brethern, that you would learn to turn to Him for everything! PRaying without ceasing is adoring and worshipping Him, as well as seeing the people around you lost and perishing and knowing that God is the only ONe that can save them. It compels a soul to cry out to the Lord. When God removes the fleshly scales from our eyes and hearts we see and know the great need within the church and the world. WE see the world perishing and cry out; we see the church robed in sin and cry out. Both works within us to compelt us to go to Him Who is able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think. How great is the Lord God Almighty, Who is faithful in small and great things! But if the cry is not offered, what then? How silent are so many who need to cry out? Prayers left unanswered and the goodness of God thwarted becasue the weakness of men to pray. They are so unmoved by the affairs of life round about them, that they have no desire to cry out ot Him. Much damage to the kingdoms work is done because of the cry which has been silenced. Do you remember that verse that gives description, "These that give no rest to crying out to God, day and night"? Day and night, they cry out; where are those today? What presses sore to you heart that causes you to cry out? Or are you silent to things round about you? With my voice - God has imparted a blessed gift of voice for us to use for His glory; Now isn't it amazing that these specific three words are added to the first part, "with my voice". You see it is not enough to say in your heart, think it in your head or write it down, let your voice cry out to the Lord. Men will go to ballgames and go hoarse shouting and lifting up their cry for vanity, why not the Lord's desired will? A voice given is a gift given and that can be taken away. What preacher is useless without a voice? A singer without their voice? It is not to be taken for granted but cherished as a blessing from God. Spurgeon commanded his pupils to exercise the voice box, just as an athlete trains their muscles for the event. You and I are to use our voices to lfiting up a cry unto the Lord for the needs around us and in us. Did John not know something was happening when there was silence in heaven for the space of a 1/2 an hour? And so does hell and heaven know that something is amiss when God's people are silent? Afraid to pray, afraid to witness, afraid to sing praises, something is not right. Use your voice for Him. Do you not know that we shall give an account of everything spoken and not spoken before His judgement seat? And He heard me - The blessing of answered prayer; It may not say that God answered, it just says 'He heard'; but God hears so that He may answer. The phrase to fear and worry over is when 'God does not hear their prayer'. David lifted up his cry with his voice and God gave ear and attention to his need. How many Christians wonder as they pray, "Is God hearing me?" 'Why doesn't God answer me?" And these are legitmate concerns and questions and ones that we need to answer. Does God hear all prayer? No; Will God answer all prayers? No. The will of the Lord be done. 'His eyes behold His children to show Himself strong'. And His ears are attentive to hear, unless we pray amiss or have sin within our lives. How frail we are, and even in our weakness many will not lift up a prayer to be heard of Him Who is able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think. He is able to hear us, are we asking? Won't it be a shameful day at judgment day when God shows us that He stood ready to hear us, but there was nothing to listen to seeing the church did not lift up their voice to Him. OUt of His holy hill - the abiding place of God is referred to here; 'Out of' this place God heard the prayer, meaning that He abides within the place of the holy hill. A hill is just a hill, of course. But where God abides it is Holy. 'Put off thy shoes, for you are on holy ground'. A hill is raised above the other points around it. You must ascend the hill, go up, look up at the hill. And there we see God, 'high and lifted up, Whose Name is Holy'. The work of our lives is to ascend up in Him, not coast along. And as He abides in the thick darkness, out of this He reaches forth to hear us and answer our prayers. And even though it may be veiled that we may not see in, out of this He comes to help, to save, to quicken, to redeem, to heal, to provide, to love and to fulfill His desired will. JErusalem was a hill set up and DAvid loved this place and conquered it for this very reason. There are many Scriptures that refer to the God's respect and love for this holy hill. And that is the reason in the New Testament we see a New Jerusaleum. Made holy and kept holy by the One Who is holy. And He shall come forth out of His Holy dwelling place on His throne and gather us unto Him, to be forever with the Lord. Selah - definition for this is unknown; Many speculate and have their ideas about its meaning. I weigh in on those that define it as 'to consider', 'to weigh', or 'to ponder'. in other words, let the words just said, take root and meditate on them. Allowing for God to speak and determine its weight in our everyday life.

Psalm 2:8

"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."

Ask of Me - Who else to ask of but the Lord?; "Ask and it shall be given." Come to the Lord and ask through your prayers and petitions. Why should I ask of man when the Lord's hand is suffecient? How oft have I looked to my own hands or asked of others and was smote with conviction over my failure to ask of Him. If He has promised to hear and answer then why is His people so faint in asking of Him? It is the sin of unbelief and the sin of neglected prayer. The church does not pray, nor does it ask for things of Him. And when they do ask, they ask amiss. How great is our sin in this of failing to ask of Him. It shall be revealed unto us when we stand before Him, how much He was willing to offer, and how much we missed out on because we did not ask. And I shall give thee - word study, to give; Here we are again with direct words from the Lord, 'I shall give thee'. Does God lie? No. Then is this not truth for us to anchor on? He has given much to those that asked. But how much more is He willing to give unto those that seek Him and ask of Him. 'I will give thee', is for us to root and grow our faith in Him. It is the expectancy of a child of God that holds fast to what God has said. They pay little attention to man, they give little place to their own thoughts and words, for the flesh fails, but they know God is faithful. 'I shall give thee' and has He not done everything to make us His Own. He provides for us, HE saves us, HE fills us, He answers us, HE loves us, all because He shall give us. There is much joy to be found here in this phrase, know it, memorize, meditate on it and let it feed your soul. The heathen for thine inheritance - the Lord granted the children of Israel the promised land to fulfill this; as well, He grants us spiritual souls in direct answer to prayer; It is for us to understand, as best we can, the ways of the Lord. HE had promised Abraham the promised land. And after 400 years in Egypt, He brought them up and in to possess the land. But the heathen nations were already there. The Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Girgashites and all the other -ites were there. God delivered them to Joshua for their inheritance. And He would have done more to give them their inheritance of the heathen but they fell to a whoring after false gods. Now again, ask and I will give thee the heathen - to me I use this verse not for earthly gain of land, but for souls. It is my prayer for the lost, they are heathen. And the inheritance is their souls for His kingdom, stars in the crown for His glory. Many want to dominate the heathen, rule the heathen, but let us pray for the heathen to the saving of the soul. An inheritance such as this can only come from God. Count how many blessed of the Lord prayed for the heathen and God granted them their request. David Brainerd prayed for the American Indians and revival fell and won and rescued many European settlers as Indians. William Carey went forth into India and God gave the heathen to the saving Gospel. Praying Hyde went into India and in direct answer to prayer God gave souls to be saved. Hudson Taylor, Jim Goforth, went into China. David Livingstone went into Africa. How many countless souls that believed God and God gave them the heathen for an inheritance of eternal life for them, and reward for the faithful servants. Brethern, believe on the Lord Jesus that He is still seeking and saving the lost. and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession - the meek shall inherit the earth; Can you see the parrallel with the words of David here and the words of Christ in the SErmon on the mount? The earth is the Lord's and the fullness of it. It is HIs creation, and He is able to give His own unto whosoever He sees fit. What is God's desire then? His desire is to have His spiritual kingdom, in the hearts and souls of men, to govern in the nations of the world. But most governments are not servants to the King of Kings. They serve money, self, and vanity. And thus there is a division in the world of who will reign. In the new heaven and the new earth there will be no such division. But for here and now, prayers to be offered for the 195 natins of th eworld to be inherited for His glory. What a difference there is in a nation that has Christian leaders. It has been proved over and over throughout history. HOw much evil has grown becauswe of he church's weak influence and belief in what God has said here in this verse. All things given are not for our own pleasure and design, it is for His glory. Can God trust us with parts of the eart for our possession? He withholds such things from many for they would use it for their own demise. God is rather given to protect our relationship with Him and our walk than bestowing benefits of gifts upon His children. Which would you rather have? a right relationship with the Lord or possessions of the earth? Can we have both? Yes, but very few can manage both. 'Here is the way, walk you in it.'

Psalms 1:1

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."

It has been many years since I first committed this first Psalm to memory. Such teaching and joy it is has brought to my soul. We have the largest book before us, 150 Psalms (chapters); the largest Psalm (chapter) is Psalm 119 and the shortest Psalm (chapter) is Psalm 117. We have many writers, mostly the beloved David penned these words of inspired zeal. It is said that Spurgeon, ever a lover of the Psalms, worked over 20 years on his commentary and writings of the book of Psalms. It is there that you may find a deeper and holier place of study on this blessed book. As we begin, may God speak to us in wonderful ways through this blessed book. Blessed is the man - a blessing is began with upon a certain type of man; Note it is the negative part of blessing described by this verse. You get a blessing for not doing these three things to be mentioned. A person sneezes and everyone around says, 'Bless you'. But the writer here says, if you don't do these three things then, you are a blest man. And if you ask of people today, in and out of the church, 'Are you blest?' They always refer to temporal blessings. They loook to their health, family, possessions as their blessings in life. And those are blessings from God's merciful hand. But what of spiritual blessings? 'Blessed is the man in the Lord'; what does that mean, 'in the Lord'? Are we ale to count them? Are we able to see them? Or do we just know they are there? 'Blessed' can only be by God's hand. If He withdraws His hand, the blessing is removed and ceases. Man cannot manufacture this. 'blessed' is the man that has God's favor, Spirit and grace and mercy. Temporal blessings may or may not be granted and given by the Lord. But the spiritual blessings are present with His faithful ones. First mark of a blest man: walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly; The three actions taken upon a blest man are walk, stand and sit. These are also the same three actions described and used by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. WE have said much about this verb, to walk, throughout our studies so far in the Bible. It is a constant reference to spiritual health for the man that walks with the Lord. But here is the negative side, 'not to walk with the ungodly'. Nor to give ear to their counsel of practiicing and enticing sin. The evil of man continues to deepen in our generation. Men speak folly just as plainly and as openly as ever today. Chrisitans, being in the world but not of the world, hear it. But what do we do when we hear it? Pray for the lostness in those souls immediately. But see what the Spirit would have you do as a witness. But for the church at large, they hear this sin and they give place to it. They follow the counsel of the ungodly. 'Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die'. And is this not the attitude and lifestyle of many in the church? They have given to walk in this counsel. It is to hear and know what is righteousness and holiness and what is vanity and sin. Absence of the Word in the heart and void of time with God makes most Christians suspectible to give place to this ungodly counsel. But if to be blest, then you must recognize, fear the wrath of God and not give place to walk with them. SEcondly, the blest man is nor standeth in the way of sinners; word study, way; He does not go in the way of the world. Their ways are sinful, evil, wicked, flesh, lusts, worldly and abominations. They are not godly, holy, faithful, righteous, right, true, or blessed. To stand with them, even though the heart may not be in it, is to give agreement with. And as I have noted of men, that if they stand with them, there are so few that have the spine to say, 'I'm not going with you'. I believe this to be one of the reasons the church goes with the world. And even if they do not at first, standing with them, means that you are observant of their ways. You see, hear, touch and taste of their sin. And as a cancer it comes in to do its worst work to your spiritual life. Oh, for more men to stand against the world and sin, instead of standing in it. Let's us stand for that which is right instead of standing in the way of those that have provoked God. Third, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful - the last of the works, to sit; To sit with those that scorn the ways of holiness is an offence against God Almighty. To scorn is to have open dislike and disdain for someone or something. And we see many that sit in the circles that scorn other men. MEn, who were made in the image of God. Men, who scorn their own brothers and sisters, which are flesh and blood. Tell me how many families do you know that are at odds with one another? How rampant is this sin of divisiness among the family. Look upon the church and see its record over the years of fights, bickering, division and scorn for one another. NOte, the blessing is upon the one that does not hold fast to any of this. His motto is Paul's, 'But I am void of offence toward God and man.' Do you scorn? And even if you don't, do you sit with those that do? ARe you found silent to those that use the wicked tongue to destroy and maim others? Put these things away and hold not to such things lest you lose your blessing.

Job 42:5

"I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee."

The finishing chapter of Job and here are the words of Job. I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear - let the ear be open not only to hear but to listen; 'For how shall they hear, unless a preacher declares to them'. 'Speak oft of Thy Lord', is the venue of hearing, when someone is speaking. But if there is silence about God, then know one can hear. Is it possible that this is the problem today? This society knows little of God and about God because men are silent about Him. The church is guilty party over this. How much do they hear about God in a worship service? Tozer said, 'Make sure your more in the Presence of God than inthe presence of men'. But the church wants peoples attention so much. They crave attention and neglect time with God. And because they are not with God, they do not know God. But those of the remnant that get alone with God,must speak of Him. Their thoughts are filled with His wonders, His glory, His Presence. Their heart and mind is full and it must usher forth out of them to declare all His wondrous works. If you have nothing to say about God it is because you don't know Him. And because of this great sin, the ears of the people hear nothing about God. Except the vile usage of His Name by their foul mouths. Set your self in the midst of those that know God and give ear to them of His ways. Open the ear and hear Him speak of His mighty deeds in the Word of God. Why church? To hear of Him. Note these facts: Every ear will hear of Him; 'The Gospel has appeared unto all men'; 'Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God'. But now mine eye seeth Thee- word study, to see; Job was now in the full revealed Presence of God. God had come to him. Such occassions throughout the history fo the church reveal when God's people have seen the Lord in His fullness. It is not a huge number of times, which is why we should savor the preciousnes of the moment when God chooses to reveal Himself. Our human eye is limited when we only see the physical. We are much like Elishas servant, Gehazi, we need the prayer of the true saint to open our eyes to see the spiritual. What has your eyes seen so far in this life? Have you seen the power of God? Have you seen miracles? Have you seen answered prayers? What have you seen that only be described as 'God did that'? And know this, that after the works of God,for many see the work of God's hands, but they fail to see God Himself. 'I see You'. He saw God, not the works, not the outward manifestations of God, but God Himself. Ravenhill once said, 'What we need, is God in our midst'. What we need is God. And if we had God then we would have enough. Not methods, programs, labors of our own making, just God. 'Mine eye sees You, O Lord', and that is enough. 'Whom in heaven but You; and there is none on the earth that I desire besides You.' Oh, that the scales were taken away and we would see God. And think not that that is the remedy for all evils. For the chidlren of Israel saw and heard God on the mount and still they worked their rebellious spirits to provoke Him. The true test is 'looking unto Jesus' and keeping our eyes there on Him.