Living in His Presence
second 40 day fast
Join with us daily as we enter into the Inner Courts and come together in Unity and Oneness. March 1st - April 9th, 2020
Remember our first fast this year when we went over Psalm 119? It was constantly reminding us of the goodness and benefit of following God’s ways, statues, commandments, precepts, laws, ordinances, testimonies… Now we are to walk out this obedience with discipline.
Proverbs 19:20 Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days. We have said this fast is about DISCIPLINE. So what exactly is discipline? Webster’s dictionary defines DISCIPLINE as instruction to improve, mold, or correct our minds, morals or manners, out of subjection to authority. Subjection to laws, rules, order, precepts, that govern our conduct and activities. Discipline is also correction when we stray outside of God’s ways. Basically discipline is when we learn and apply the ways of God in our lives. Subjection to discipline is putting ourselves under the dominion of someone else. This is not a popular word in society today. Most people have the attitude of, “nobody is going to tell me what to do!” In the church we use the phrase “we are the bondservants of God”, but do we really subject ourselves to Him, at all times? I can answer that, NO we don’t. Yesterday evening I was exhausted from the many things that took my time that day. All I wanted to do was sit and do nothing. God lovingly told me, “I am not going to stop you from doing what you want to do, but do you really want to be in direct disobedience to what I asked of you?” Those words pierced through my self-centered rebellion and got me up out of a very soft chair to be about what He called me to do that evening. I am so grateful that God loves me to speak those words to me! Revelation. 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Proverbs 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. I don’t always respond to His words that quickly, but I have learned to appreciate that whatever sorrow He inflicts me with, will be out of His love for me, to get my attention to submit to His righteous ways. Hebrews 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
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Psalm 47:1-7 O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the VOICE OF JOY. For the LORD Most High is to be feared (awesome, worthy of reverence), A great King over all the earth… Sing praises to God, sing praises; Sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with a skillful psalm.
The Hebrew word for JOY in this passage is rinnah. It has the letters rush, nun, and Hei. These letter mean: I choose and decide to humble myself (bowing) before God, and breathe out praises to Him! Psalm 98:4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. Last Saturday our church called a separate time of worship, apart from our normal church service. This was a glorious time of us lifting up our voices in great JOY to our Lord and King. I was so encouraged that the sanctuary was packed with voices of JOY, who chose to bow to God and sing His praises! God deserves our worship, and He was receiving it! Those songs of worship have been replaying in my mind ever since then, continually filing my heart with JOY. God takes great delight when we offer up praise to Him, Nehemiah 8:10 The Joy of the Lord is our strength! The word strength means a fortified place. When our voice is joyfully speaking out praises to Almighty God, our minds are strengthened and protected. Psalm 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. As God is helping us to QUIET the VOICES INSIDE of us, He is also wanting us to not be distracted by the voices of what is going on in the world around us! The people in the world are in great turmoil, and this turmoil is just going to get more intense and widespread.
God wants to give us Shalom- PEACE in the midst of the raging storms of the world. In order to receive this peace, we must truly know and understand that GOD IS IN COMPLETE CONTROL OF EVERYTHING. But do we really believe this? When we surrender completely to God and His Voice, we will have peace like a flowing river. Isaiah 66:12 God desires to extend peace to us as a river. But when we add things into our life that distract, confuse, and frighten us, boulders are thrown into our peaceful river. These boulders make the flow of the water inconsistent. Sometimes the flow is so light the boulders are exposed and block our path. But sometimes the water is a raging torrent filled with rushing water and dangerous hidden obstacles (boulders). Lately is has been so easy to get distracted by the news feeds that pop up on my phone and computer. I have found myself checking to follow up on what I had read a few hours before. I know it is the media’s job to entice us to stay tuned in to what they are saying, but they are stealing the “peace like a river” that the Lord wants for us. God has made humans to be curious, but when our curiosity becomes unbalanced, it will steal our Peace. We must be disciplined to not allow these “boulders” into our day to trouble us and take away the Peace he has put in our hearts and minds. If we don’t, then as the events in this world get more and more troubling, we will not have the discipline to resist their voice. I’m not saying we need to be ignorant of what is happening, but we need to must be careful to attune our eyes and ears to the Sovereign leading of God, and not crave what the news is saying about things. Let’s let this children’s Sunday School song ring in our minds and hearts today as we surrender to His Voice and not the Voice of the world. I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I was sent a song this morning called Belong to You by Here be Lions. Here are some of its powerful lyrics: You called me out of darkness, and SILENCED EVERY LIE NO OTHER VOICE WILL DEFINE ME, because I belong to you By Your blood I am adopted and I have taken on Your name And I need to be reminded that I belong to you The enemy can’t take what I have or change who I am, I belong to You. When we said YES to Jesus and gave our lives to Him, I wish we were given ears to only hear HIS VOICE. But we were not. It is one of the areas where we need to work out our faith. It takes DISCIPLINE to attune our ears to HIS VOICE and not all the familiar voices of our past that keep speaking in our present. In the lyrics above, the writer kept REMINDING himself that the lies in his mind were NOT what DEFINE him, since he now belongs to the Lord by the blood of Jesus. Take a moment, and ask yourself: WHAT VOICE DEFINES ME? Is it the voice of the enemy or the voice of our good Shepherd? John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; When the enemy is speaking lies to us, we need to STOP and REMIND ourselves what the VOICE of our SHEPHERD sound like, and follow it. We must be proactive to destroy these lies! 2 Corinthians 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, Weekly Audio Weekly Prayer Focus
Isaiah 62:10 Go through, go through the gates, Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.
As we are going up the mountain, prayer must ever be on our lips - in our conversations with God about ourselves, those close to us, those we meet during the day, and those we do not know. Prayer is Isaiah 62:10. Prayer is removing the stone (obstacles) that keep us all from getting closer to God. These prayers are often times best in one on one conversations with God in the secret place and all throughout our day. I asked the Lord this morning, “Am I praying for real? Am I praying all kinds of prayers all throughout the day?” I must confess this is a discipline I am lacking in. I pray what I know to pray, but I often do not take the time to sit alone and hear what is on God’s heart all throughout my day. Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who listens to Me, Watching daily at My gates, Waiting at My doorposts. Let’s be honest with ourselves, most of the time we spend in prayer with God, it is about us. We tell God about all the people, things, and circumstances we want Him to fix or change or arrange in our surroundings. I’m not saying we are not to share our hearts and hurts with God, because we are. But we must stop being so driven to get our issues and concerns front and center with God, and instead prioritize our time to be quiet to hear His voice and the cries of His Heart! If we are with a friend whose heart is heavy and they are crying; and instead of asking them what was wrong, would we go on and on and on about everything that is going on in our lives? Of course we wouldn’t, but that is what we tend to do with God. We know His heart is very grieved over the hearts and actions of man, and yet we go on and on about the things that concern us. As we are maturing in our faith on our journey up the mountain, we must also mature in our prayers and let God’s requests take top priority over ours, all throughout our days! Psalms 98.1-4 “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm (strength) have gained Him the victory. The LORD has made known His salvation! . . . All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. . . Shout joyfully...break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.”
Psalm 149.5-6 “Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud in their garden. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand...” 2 Chronicles 20.21-22 👑SING Daughters, sing the new Song! As I have revealed to you the greatness of My Salvation, the depth and width of Redemption’s Covenant, SING YOUR new Song! Oh, this Song MARCHES through the sanctuary, to desert’s captivity, confronting the foes of the land with her brandished swords! The new Song you hear is the one of Calvary’s triumph!! This new Song has tremendous power! It is your spiritual weapon, Daughters of Zion! This Song enthrones Me directly to the location of spiritual enemies! It releases KINGdom presence and power in the way most appropriate to the situation! The new Song is My rule of Salvation invited to INVADE the land with definitive purpose! 👑Worship, Daughters, with this Song of Salvation, for it is My entry gate for “Kingdom to come, My will to be done”! Oh, the beauty of this Song you sing, for I have revealed to you its beauty, splendor, greatness and power! You MUST ALIGN and SABBATH yourself in this new Song! The New Song is a privilege and responsibility because it welcomes with triumph My KINGdom Presence to the desert land! Sing, sing, sing the new Song and let deliverance flow like a mighty River! The New Song indeed releases the River as it declares, proclaims, ascribes, and trembles of His majesty! Psalm 96 Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
There is a very dangerous epidemic spreading across the world today, and it is not the coronavirus! It is FEAR. Every news outlet is talking about it, airlines are canceling flights all over the world, and whole countries are being shut down by it. I can understand nonbelievers being afraid, but fear is not to be a characteristic of a believer’s life. Fear crowds out the Holy Spirit living inside of us, and it takes us captive to do its biddings. Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to FEAR again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons (and daughters) by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" Resisting fear is a choice, a discipline we must continually battle throughout each day. But we are not let alone to fight this battle. God gives us power and love and discipline to fight against and destroy fear. Because of the perfect love of Christ, God has the power to work on our behalf in every circumstance. We must be disciplined to trust God and not run to fear! 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline (sound mind). When fear comes to torment my mind, I often remind myself that “perfect love casts out all fear.” The Greek word for CAST OUT suggests the actions of opening a door, throwing out fear, and then closing the door and locking it. It is not merely trying to ignore it, or brush it to the side. But instead, it is stopping to acknowledge that it is in the room and attacking us. We must take action to kick it out of our mind, and lock the door! 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. When fear attacks, I encourage you to read aloud the promises God gives to His people in Psalm 91. Read this with others so you can hold each other accountable in your struggle with fear. Remember, Discipline, not desire, determines our destiny. Discipline requires ACTION! He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down. "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. "With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation." Zechariah 2:10 "Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," declares the LORD.
This was a beautiful promise to the Old Testament believers that one day God would come and dwell in their midst. But it is a present reality for all believers now. Because of the blood of Christ, we become one with God, in fact the Holy Spirit is living inside of each one of us! I don’t think we fully understand the reality of who is living inside of us. It is Almighty God!! That is definitely a reason for us to sing and shout for Joy at all times. John 14:16-17, 23 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. Since we know from the scriptures that the Holy Spirit is living in us, I need to ask, Is He a roommate we rarely see? Or is He someone we partner with all throughout the day and night to do the will of the Lord. This is what dwelling is all about! The Hebrew word for DWELL used in Zechariah 2:10 is shakan. It is made up of a nun, a kaph, and a shin. It means that we are protected in the palm of God’s hand when we humble ourselves before Him. This FAST is all about TRAINING us to become DISCIPLINED in our lives. We have so much going on in and all around us, that we have a hard time really hearing God’s voice clearly. We must not only become skilled in studying His Word and hearing His VOICE, we must powerfully let His Words change us into His image – having His heart and His character! This is a powerful transformation that must happen to all God’s people if we are going to truly be His DISCIPLES – His remnant of devoted followers!
There are three things that hinder us from hearing His VOICE the way we need to. In Mark 4 we see the parable of the seed (Voice or Word of God) and how it grew on the various ground it feel on. Mark 4:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Mark 4:18-19 And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Thorns are things that snare and entangle us. This passage shows three of these things:
Luke 8:15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. God has chosen a WAY for His people to walk in – HOLINESS. The Hebrew word for holiness is
Qodesh. It is made up of three Hebrew letters- Koph, dalet, and a shin. Put together they mean: the hand of God leading us in His Word (koph) gives us ears to hear His voice (dalet) so we will be protected and have peace (shin). Isaiah 35:8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. God has chosen a Highway for His people to walk in, a higher way. But so often we walk in the bypaths instead of the highway. This fast is to remove those lesser ways that distract us from the WAY the Lord wants us to walk in. Jeremiah 18:15 For My people have forgotten Me, They burn incense to worthless gods And they have stumbled from their ways, From the ancient paths, To walk in bypaths, Not on a highway, Proverbs 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life. |
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First Forty Day Fast 2020 - Psalm 119
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