It's just been a good, good thing. And I was thinking, we was reading through Psalm 34, talking about that last night and the night before. And I was saying that there towards the end, he says, the Lord redeems the life of his servants. Even something that might seem unredeemable at times. That's what he does, because that's who he is. And I am so thankful for that. I've so enjoyed being able to lead you in song in some of those truths. And there's one song in particular that came to mind when I was thinking about that verse. And before Brother Nick comes up, I just want to take a moment to share it with you. Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past Bound up in the shackles of all of my failures Wondering how long is this gonna last Then you look at this prisoner and say to me, son, stop fighting a fight that's already been won. I am redeemed. You set me free. So I'll shake off these heavy chains and wipe away ♪ I'm not who I used to be, I am redeemed ♪ All my life I have been called unworthy ♪ Thanked by the voice of my shame and regret ♪ But then I hear you whisper, child, lift up your head ♪ And I remember, oh God, you're not done with me yet ♪ I am redeemed, you set me free So I'll shake all these heavy chains And wipe away every stain Cause I'm not who I used to be Because I don't have to be the old man inside of me His day is long dead and gone Because I've got a new name A new life I'm not the same And a hope that will carry me So I'll shake off these heavy chains and wipe away every stain ♪ Oh no I'm not how I used to be ♪ I am redeemed ♪ Thank God redeemed. Amen. Thank you, Brother Mark. Boy. Thank y'all, I tell you what, there's nothing like being redeemed. Amen? Amen. Nothing like being redeemed. And I want to just piggyback on Marcus and just say, in light of what he said, we want to thank y'all for being so gracious and kind and hospitable and accepting and loving and willing to do and take care of everything that needed to be taken care of. We just appreciate y'all, appreciate the opportunity. Thank you, Brother Marvin, for having us, for taking care of us. Mama, Miss Lone and Brother Roy, and everybody else and all that you've done for each of us. The body of Christ rocks, amen. They do what they do and they always bless one another when they do it in the sweet name of Jesus. And we can praise him and give him thanks for that. And that'll keep us from afflictions. As a matter of fact, Brother Marcus mentioned Psalm 34. Last night, we didn't actually go to Psalm 34. We just highlighted the fact that Peter drew from Psalm 34, but in that Psalm, He does tell us many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us out of them all. Amen. He doesn't keep us from them. He just delivers us through them. That's right. And that's what that's a sweet treat. You're not going to be kept from things when you walk with the Lord. Matter of fact, It's all part of God's plan to make Jesus more accessible and you look more like Jesus by putting you through difficult things. Matter of fact, Psalm 84 11 tells us that God will not withhold any good thing from them that walk upright. And the good thing in the kingdom of God is often a hard thing. You got to remember that. Just because He said He won't withhold any good thing doesn't mean He's going to keep you from the hard thing. For the hard thing in the kingdom becomes a good thing because of the God that goes in the hard thing with you. Amen? And that is a sweet blessing. Now, you have tormentors out there, oppressors, that your flesh knows way too much about you and not enough about the Lord. Just remember that. Your flesh knows very little to nothing about Jesus. but it knows a whole lot about wickedness. And the world you live in that still operates in the flesh, you know what they see? They don't see that our sins have been made white as snow. You know what they see? They still see the stain that we left behind. That's why they have a hard time, because they know how you used to live, how you used to talk, how you used to think, what you used to do. And they look at you and think that, what are you? You know better than them. Why? Because they still see the stain of sin that you have left behind. But the Lord Jesus, in his redeeming work, takes that sin and washes it Why the snow? That the stain in your life no longer has to hold you back. Why? Because He's declared you innocent. Amen. But the world, you got to recognize this. The world still sees what you did, what you done, and what you will do. And they can't see the forgiveness. They can't see the redemption part. They can't see the grace part. They blinded that. Now they'll see you doing different things and changing your ways, but they will approach it as if you just think you're better than them. And they have a problem with that. So don't let that affect you. You don't have to justify. You don't have to, you don't have to try to fix it on your own. Why? Because you can't fix a fool. And all God's people said, God doesn't fix fools. He takes dead men and He makes them alive. He takes dead men and He makes them alive. The Bible says it is folly to try to fix a fool. Matter of fact, you can take and put a fool in a millstone and grind him up to powder and you cannot get the foolishness out of him. It's kind of like in our society today. You know they use all kind of things on the peas and the corn and all that that they grow in our fields. that we eat and buy from the stores. All that stuff still has a lot of that stuff that they put in the ground to try to kill everything, to grow something, to have a product, but you can't get it out of them. And it's affecting all of us in here. If I asked you to raise your hand, how many of you have or been through or know somebody going through cancer or some kind of sickness? Everybody in here. Why? It's the stuff we eating. It's the stuff we drinking. It's the air that we're breathing. Why? Because our society is contaminated with junk. And you can't get it out of them. And the same principle with a fool. You can't get the junk out of them. God must make them alive. That's right. He makes them alive. He transforms them. Now, old Nick Hody can still act like a fool. How about y'all? but it won't characterize my life. I can, at times, get in the flesh and do something foolish, just like you can, and God will discipline me and chasten me and lovingly lead me back to repentance and the right path that he wants me to walk on, but I can't act like a fool, but I won't be characterized as a fool, as a believer, amen? There's a difference, why? Because I've been given newness of life in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to tell you, you live in a world of tormentors, of tormentors. Remember your flesh is a tormentor. Your flesh will lie to you. Your flesh will mislead you. Your flesh will manipulate you. Your flesh is still full of sin, and the only way to overcome the flesh is by the Spirit of God. You can't overcome the flesh by heeding the law of God. It's just a war you can't win. You're just going to always be in a struggle and a battle. But if you yield to the Spirit. Well, how do I yield to the Spirit? I just look unto Jesus. I just look to Jesus. I just yield my life to Jesus. I get my eyes on Jesus and I say, Lord, lead me and shepherd me. How did you do it? How did you live this life? And when I'm looking and hearing from him, you know what? The same spirit that filled him up is going to fill me up. And the same spirit that filled him up is going to fill me up. And I'm going to be like your verse over there, Acts 1, 8. I'm going to be a witness of Jesus. And I'm going to stand with the rest of the scriptures, the Moses' law, and the prophet's word, and David's psalms. And I'm just going to point everybody I know unto Jesus. Why? Because the Spirit is fulfilling the righteous requirements of the law in me when I'm pointing to the testimony of Jesus, when my eye is fixed on Him. But I want you to think about those tormentors for a moment. You remember that fella that they came, there was two guys, these demoniacs of the Gadarenes, and nobody could control them, nobody could bind them, and they lived with the dead, they howled at night like an old dog, they was out of their mind, they couldn't bind them up with chains, they would break them, and they were full of demons. And when the demons saw Jesus, the tormentors of that man saw Jesus. You know what they didn't want Jesus to do? They didn't want Jesus tormenting them. How do you know you got a tormentor in your life? The tormentor would torment you, but it don't want to be tormented. That's an easy way to recognize something is oppressing you. pushing on you. Every time some issue in your life that keeps being a problem for you and when it's confronted with the Word, it pushes back at the Word because it don't want the Word tormenting or confronting it because it wants to manipulate and control you. And that's a great way to know you got a tormentor in your life or around you is that they want to torment you with everything. They want you to be shamed and guilt ridden and they want you to walk in unforgiveness and they want you to walk in unloving and unkind. And then when somebody comes to you and brings a living word to confront that spirit, that spirit rebels to that word because it don't want to be tormented. That ain't Jesus. That's a tormentor. Because Jesus and His goodness will lead you to what? Repentance, amen. And refresh your life and build you up. And that's exactly what He do. Remember those old demons, they said that don't torment us, don't send us to the abyss. It's not time yet. We know we're going there, but it ain't time for it yet. And they pleaded with him to cast him into those swine, and Jesus cast him into the swine, and those swine ran and jumped in the lake, and every one of them drowned, and all the people came out, whose livelihood was just lost that day. And because Jesus had not done nothing in them, it didn't matter what he did for somebody. What did they want Jesus to do? Leave our area. But the man that Jesus delivered, said, I want to go with you. And Jesus said, you know how you're going to go for me or go with me? I want you to go back to your home and I want you to go tell them what God's done for you. And you know what Jesus had plans? Jesus had plans to eventually make His way into that city again. And He did. He came back to that city. And you know what? They had a living testimony of a witness who had been delivered. Now, they just saw the greatest deliverance that they've ever seen. A man that they couldn't control, do nothing with, and they still wanted Jesus to leave. Why? Because Jesus cost them something without doing something inside their spirit and their heart. And that was too much for them to handle. And that's why people want you to get away from them, and you to leave, because they can testify, yeah, something may be different about you, but he ain't done nothing for me, and all it will do is cost me something, and he ain't worth the cost. That's how you know you got, you casted the pearls before the swine, and the holy things before the dogs, and you just dust your feet off, and you keep moving on, but you don't give up on those folks, why? They need a witness, don't they? They do. They need somebody praying for them. So, I've been mentioning to you about Psalm 16. Have y'all read it? Has everybody read it thus far? Well, won't you turn to it real quick and by way of a little introduction to kind of carry on where we've been going, I want you to just look at it. I'm going to read it and I'm just going to share it with you. I want you maybe to share with me. about some of the things that you may have noticed out of it. As I read it, I'm gonna read the whole Psalm, Psalm 16, and because you've been reading it, I'd love to hear something that stood out to you as you're walking through it. I've got about 20, 21 rites that I see, and what I mean by rite, all the rite rites that we see in this passage. So let me read Psalm 16. Preserve me, O God, for in you I put my trust. O my soul, you have said to the Lord, you are my Lord. My goodness is nothing apart from you. As far as the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom all is my delight. Their sorrow shall be multiplied who hasten after another God. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names on my lips. O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance in my cup. Maintain my lot. The lions have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel. My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also will rest in hope for you will not leave me in shield. Nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. For you will show me the path of life. In your presence is the fullness of joy. And at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Father, we thank you tonight for this work. I pray that you help us in these few moments right here that we'll just see some of the things that make life right. We'll recognize them, that we will rejoice with you before them, and that we will go forth from this place, even tonight, shouting the good news of the rejoicing and the salvation that dwells in the life and in the tents and in the homes of the righteous. So Lord, we bless you and we thank you, in Jesus' name, amen. Isn't that a beautiful word? I think there are all kind of rights that we can see in this. For example, I'll just throw some out to you. I told you I got about 21 of them, or 25 of them, or maybe 30 of them, and you can help me with that. I probably won't be able to throw them all on you at one time, but he says in verse number one, preserve me, O God, for in you I put my trust. What do we see right off the bat? We see the right person involved. Who's the right person involved in this psalmist's life? Who is it? Oh, the Lord God. Amen. The Lord God. What do we see? We see the right plea. What is he asking God to do for him? To preserve him. To keep him. To hold him. To hold him tight. We see the right prayer. at work. He's lifting it up. He said, Oh my soul, you have said to the Lord, you are my Lord. My goodness is nothing apart from you. But we see the right placement. What did he place his trust in? Or who did he place his trust in? See how what I'm saying? What are some of the right things you've seen in this song? Y'all help me tonight. Let's talk about it a minute. Did anybody else see anything? What'd you see brother? In verse 8, I see my life as a constant battle between the spiritual me and the flesh. And about four years ago, I got serious about Jesus. I found Jesus. And I realized everything in my life that I go through comes back to this battle. And it says right there, I keep my eyes always on the Lord. Every time I'm going through something, I keep my eyes on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. That's right. That's the idea of being moved, you being shaken. And the Bible tells us in the New Testament that we need to hear the Lord. And in hearing the Lord, that is, everything we do is established by grace. Because if it's not established by grace, it's shakable. And there's coming a day that God will shake the heavens and the earth. And that which is shakable will be lost. The only thing that won't be shakable in that day is that which has been built on grace. That's in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 25 through the rest of chapter number 12. But he talks about let your works, let everything you do be established by grace. Because if it's not of grace, it's not acceptable. And if it's not acceptable, it's not usable by God. You remember that little boy that offered his fish and his loaves to the Lord? You remember that day when they were out there? How many people were out there that day that when Jesus saw that great multitude, his heart was moved with compassion? Why? Because they all looked like sheep without a shepherd. And what did Jesus do? Anytime Jesus seen a crowd that looked like sheep without a shepherd, the scripture says He gathered the crowd to Him and He taught them. He gathered them and He taught them. And if Jesus is working in us, you know what Jesus is doing? He's gathering the brethren and He's teaching them. He's gathering us and teaching us. That's why gathering together with the fellowship of God is so important. Because that's the work of Jesus. That's what He does. And you look through the New Testament and watch it. He gathered people and He taught people. He gathered people and He taught people. And it was in the gathering and the teaching lives were transformed. But that little boy, can you imagine being the mama? How many of you mamas sent your kids off with a lunch before? Can you imagine that day when that mama sent that little boy off with a bag lunch? She had no idea who that bag lunch would eventually feed that day. She just like any other mama sent that little boy off those fish and those loaves and he carries them and he's going to hear about Jesus and he pulls out his food because they look like it was a time to eat. And the Lord said, look, let them all sit. We'll feed them. And the disciple said, we ain't got enough. How in the world are we going to feed 20,000 people out here this day? And Jesus said, go see what you got among the crowd. And he said, and he come back to him and said, this is all we found. A little boy, a little lad had two fish and five loaves. And Jesus said, let me have it. And because it was usable. Because it was usable. It was acceptable. Let's use a word, it was edible. That which is edible is that which is usable. What did Jesus do with it? Jesus took it. He blessed it. He broke it. He divided it. They shared it. And he multiplied and fed over 20,000 people, men, women, boys, and girls on that hillside that day. And I guarantee you that mama had no anticipation that little bag was going to feed that many. But you see, when you put it in the right hands, and He blesses it, He breaks it, He shares it, He'll multiply it. Amen? And when we entrust ourselves to Him with grace, no matter what comes in our life, our feet are not going to be shaken. We're not going to be moved away from that, no matter what comes to us. Now, if we are leaning to and fro. Remember how James described it? James said, if you're going through a problem, what do you need to do when you go through a problem? James 1, what did he say? What's the first thing you need to do? First thing you need to do when you're facing something you don't have an answer for, what do you do? He said, count it all joy, right? Add it up as joy. He used mathematical terms. Everything he used in that was like sitting in a classroom, in a math classroom, and said if you got a math problem that you can't figure out, count it all joy. Why? You're going to have special attention with your teacher. And you know your teacher has the answer key to your problem. And all you have to do is not because of the trouble you're going through, but it's the mere fact that God's going to get into trouble with you. And He's going to give you what you need so you don't have to worry about being moved off when you're looking unto Jesus. Remember, that's how you walk in the Spirit. This is not a mystical thing. This is not doing something different than Jesus did. Jesus is our example. He is our substitute in every way. And if you want to walk in the Spirit, you just say, well, how did Jesus walk in the Spirit? What did Jesus do to walk in the Spirit? He leaned in on His Father, didn't He? He trusted Him with everything He put before Him, and as He did, the Spirit of God was in Him, and it was the Spirit of God at work in Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that any Older Testament man of God that was used by God, woman of God, was moved as the Spirit moved them. And it was the same Spirit that was in Christ was in them speaking about things that were to come in a future day. Testifying of what would come to us in the day of grace. Why do I say that? Because if the Spirit don't do it, grace is not doing it. And if grace is not doing it, it don't count for nothing. It's useless in eternity. So therefore, what I want to offer God is those edible two fish and five loaves. And what's edible to God, what's pleasing to God is my faith. And therefore I make my faith available to Him. I give myself to Him as a living sacrifice. And God does the transforming and renewing of my mind. So no matter what problem I have to face, I know He knows the solution. But he says in James, come to God and ask Him for help. But if you ask Him, what do you have to anticipate? What do you have to expect? that you got to expect God has the solution. He said if you don't come with faith, believe in He has the answer, this is what's going to happen. You're going to be tossed to and fro. like the water is tossed to and fro by the waves. What does that mean? You'll become unstable and unsettled and you'll be double-minded back and forth. That's not what David's explaining right there, is it? He's saying, when I look unto the Lord, I put my confidence and trust in Him. You know what God does? Anybody know what Isaiah 26 verse 3 says? You will keep me in perfect peace. Why? Because I have fixed my eyes upon you. That's why. Because how do I know my eyes are on him? I'm trusting him. And God keeps you in perfect peace. You don't keep yourself in it. You don't keep yourself being unmoved or shaken. God keeps you there. Why? Because you are putting your faith in Him and not asking Him to put His faith in you. There's a world of difference there. You know what a lot of people do? A lot of people believe their ideas and their thinking and their ways are better than God's way. So they want God to trust they know best in this situation and therefore they don't put their faith in Him and knowing that He knows best what is for that situation. And that's where we get ourselves tossed in to and fro. How many of you ever been unstable before? How many of y'all experienced that today? How many of y'all one minute was celebrating and rejoicing in God and the next minute you was worried about something? Huh? Your mind working on you. That's why you gotta take those things captive. Hold your spot in 16 and go to Psalm 119 around verse 130, 132, 134. Notice what the psalmist says over here. 119, look at about 132. Verse number 130. Let's just do that. Let's start there. Notice what he says. The opening or the entrance, the unveiling of your words, what does it give to us? How many of y'all won't like when you're walking in darkness? You see, if you don't have an answer to a problem, you're in the dark. You don't have a solution. But God has a solution for everything you face in life. And that solution is going to come by light. But that light is going to come by words. His word is light. And when He opens the word to you, He opens His light to you. And that light is going to give you the wisdom to know how to take the steps you need in the problems that you face. But you've got to run to Him. You've got to seek Him. That's why He says in Matthew 6.33, Seek first the Kingdom of God and His what? Righteousness only comes from Him. It only comes through faith. And it's the product of what faith works in you works righteousness. So you seek God first. What did He preface it with? Don't worry about what? Anything, right? He said, from the basic necessities of life, what you're going to eat, what you're going to wear, where you're going to sleep, three things you can't survive in without this world. He said, everything else is rubbish. And he said, don't even worry about that because your Father knows exactly what you need when you need it. So instead of worrying about it, what do you do? You seek Him. What does worry, what does that word anxiousness or worry mean? It means to torture yourself in your mind. Your mind is being pulled apart in your thinking. You pull it in this direction, and you pull it in that direction. And when some of you were anxious about something today, it was the product of your mind pulling you here, and then pulling you over here, and this led you to this thought, and this led you to that thought, and the whole time those thoughts, as they lead you and pull you apart, there's no light there. He's pulling you apart in lies and darkness. What you need is the Spirit of God illuminating the Word of God so that you can rest in the Lord. Rest in Him for His care over your life. Let's look what He says. He goes on to say it. Is that making sense to y'all? Look, the entrance of your words gives light. It gives what? Understanding to who? The simple don't know things. There's much about life that we're ignorant of. There's much about issues that we're in the dark on. But God's going to put us in stuff. I want you to think it like this. Hold it. We're going to come right back to this. Do you know there's a pattern that we find in the Word of God when God brings great deliverance? What usually follows great deliverance is a great dilemma. He delivers you and you face a dilemma. For an example, remember when He delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt? A supernatural work. The people give them their resources and say, we want you out of here. Leave and go. Pharaoh said, go. But then as they got into the wilderness and they come to a sea, the Red Sea with no ability to cross it. They look back behind them and Pharaoh has changed his mind and an entire army is coming against them to slaughter them. or bring them back into Egypt. Pharaoh was planning to kill them. Why? Because the God they say they worship just killed his son the night before. And just killed all the firstborn in Egypt. And they didn't have no warning of this coming. Only the Israelites got a word to take that blood and mount it on their doorpost so that when the angel came through, he would pass over them when he saw the blood. Egypt was in the dark on it. And they perished. And they're so upset. And God even tells them, when that happens that night, can you imagine an entire nation, every firstborn that opened the womb dies that night? Can you imagine the outcry? of all these families, and they didn't have refineries going, and they didn't have highways with roads, and they didn't have all this stuff to drown out the noise. I mean, in the darkest of darkest of nights, that they find out that their child has died, whether he was a newborn, or whether he was five years old, or whether he was 85 years old, if he opened the womb, he died that night. Can you imagine the outcry of mamas and daddies all over? But you know what God told the Israelites when He did that? He says, I'm going to show you a sign tonight. In spite of all their crying, I'm going to stay the mouths of the dogs and not one dog is going to bark at all that crying that night. That was a miracle. Because you know how a dog, if it hears an ambulance going down the road or a fire truck, what is that dog going to do? Any kind of wailing, those dogs start barking and howling. God says not one dog is going to bark on this great night of wailing. I'm going to shut their mouths. Now if God can shut the dog's mouth, and God can open up a donkey's mouth, what can he do with your mouth? Amen? What can he do with your mouth? But you see, they're there with an army behind them and a sea before them. They are in a dilemma. They are in a dilemma. They've just been delivered. But they're in a dilemma. What are we going to do? And God put them in the dilemma just to deliver them again. He told Moses to stand still and see his glorious salvation. And Moses took that rod, proclaimed that word. And what happened to that Red Sea? Man, it started parting up. The winds came and God blew upon it and He dried the ground just as dry as this floor in here today. After it being saturated and soaked since the beginning of time, they walked through it on dry ground. Another miracle. Not just in the sea, but actually in the deliverance. Now as soon as they got on the other side and the sea fell in on Pharaoh and his army, great deliverance. dilemma. What was the next dilemma? God led them to a place called Rephidim. Rephidim was a place that means rest. But when they got to the place of rest, they were unsettled because that place had no water. And you got two to three million people without a single drop of water. But you see, there was a great deliverance coming, but he put them in a dilemma before it came. What was the dilemma? Will they trust him? Remember, he took the elders, told Moses to bring the elders out, and they went to this rock. And God said that God stood upon that rock, Mormon. And the only person who could see what was going on was the man of God, Moses, and nobody else saw it. God told Moses to do what to that rock? Strike the rock. And what came out of that rock to take care of all those people? Living water. Living waters flowed out of that rock. But you know what? That very scene when they rebelled against God there at Rephidim and didn't rest in Him, didn't seek Him, didn't believe in Him, but rebelled against Him, you can walk through the rest of the Older Testament, both in the Prophets, the Psalms, and the New Testament, and God keeps bringing that scene up that day that they missed the mark with Him and tested Him. Instead of them seeking God for the answer to the test, they threw the test on the teacher. That don't make sense, does it? How many of you ever gave your teacher a test when they tested you? You might have failed the test, but you didn't bring a test to them, did you? No. You see, that's how foolish they were. God was going to deliver them, Miss Alona. And the scripture says that rock was Christ. That deliverance was a picture of Him being struck on the cross and yielded His water and blood to redeem us from our lives. Amen? You see, but when God delivers you, you can expect to deliver a faith. Something you don't have an answer for. Something you can't depend on you for. Something you gotta go to God for. And that's just what He's saying. This is what His light does for us. Look at verse 131 says, I opened my mouth and I panted. for I long for the commandments. Look upon me and be merciful to me as your custom is toward those who love your name." Aren't you glad that God is a God of faithfulness? His Word and that when you trust Him, you can anticipate He's going to be merciful with you. He's going to be kind to you. He's going to be good to you. Notice what He asks in verse 133. Direct my steps by Your Word and let no iniquity have what? Dominion. Let no unbelief, let no crookedness, have dominion over me because we're prone to be under somebody's dominion rather than the Lord's shepherd in our life. And then notice what he says in verse 134. Redeem me from the oppression of who? That I may keep your what? You know what the oppression of man is? Lies. Keep me from the lies of men. Keep me from the lies of men. And give me your precepts. Give me your light. Give me your ways. Isn't that what David was praying in Psalm 16? When he said, Lord, I put my trust in you. I place it in the right one. Lord, I put my confidence in you. Lord, I look unto you and will you keep my feet. What on stable? You know how you stay away from the tormentors? You know how you overcome the dominion of the tormentors in the lives of men? You keep your eyes on Jesus. You keep your eyes on Jesus. Go back to that Psalm 16 again. That's a great word to cross-reference over there. That you can plead with the Lord on that and have the right kind of prayer. Keep me from the lies of this old world. Keep me from the lies of those that I care for and love, that I want to be with and help, but their life is full of lies, oh Lord. Use me as a means to help deliver them. You work with people, I know you do. You work on jobs with people who are full of lies and darkness. You are there as a light. God's planted you as an everyday missionary there. And you need God to keep you from the oppression of how they live. That it don't have an effect on you. One, because you're leaning in on the Spirit and the Spirit's leading you. And you're not relying upon your flesh. If you read through the rest of that 119, he's going to tell us that he was burdened by what he saw with the community around him. But look in Psalm 16 again. Psalm 16. All the right writings. Anybody else see anything when you were going through? Let me give you a couple more then. He says, As for the saints on the earth, They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. What do we say there? The right people. living with and doing life with the right people. If you don't belong to a fellowship, this will be a good fellowship to get your life involved in. If you belong in another fellowship and you're here tonight and you belong to somewhere else, that's the fellowship that you want to be where God plants you around the right people that God has put in your life. Some of you are family in here. Some of us are family by blood. Others are family through the blood. But you want to be with family And you want to be with the right people. And David is telling us how important that is. But he also has the right Perspectives. Why? Because he knows he has no goodness in him. His goodness comes from the Lord. Amen? Look what verse number four says. The sorrows, their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another God. Their drink offerings and blood offerings I will not offer, nor take up their names on my lips. That's saying he's got the right priority. that he's not going to let the oppression that they could have on him have an effect upon him. Why? Because he makes it a priority to what? Seek the Lord first. He places his trust in the right one. These are all the right rites. Now you can learn a lot out of this particular psalm. What does he say in verse number 5? We see the right portion. Oh Lord. You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup. You maintain my lot and the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance. That is, you have given me the right posterity. That is, you put me here and I know you're going to bring it through. You know what that does? That brings the right peace in your life. That you can be content right where God has planted you. David was going to be a king, or he is a king. Not everybody's going to be the king, but everybody has a place. Everybody has a priority. Everybody has a part. And he knew the part that God gave to him, he was content. How many of y'all would want to be President of the United States? You'd be a fool, wouldn't you? How many of you want to be the governor of Louisiana or Texas? How many want to be a local politician and deal with the people around you? Anybody? David was the king of Israel. Do you think kings got to deal with people? Do they have to deal with problems? Do they have to deal with the wicked and the righteous? Do they have to deal with other nations and other armies and all those things? Yes, they do. So David had big responsibilities, but he knew the responsibilities was given to him by God. Just like your responsibilities have been given to you by God. You being a daddy is enough responsibility that you got to take care of. You being a husband, It's plenty enough responsibility to be part of. You being a member of this fellowship right here comes with a lot of responsibilities. You being a brother faithful to another brother comes with a lot of responsibilities. You accept the light God gives you with contentment and peace and walk in it. It's the right kind of portion. for your life. All these things make all the difference in the world, amen. And you're not sitting like somebody says, well I wish I had this, and I wish I had that, or I wish I can do this, or I want to do that, and the whole time missing out on the portion that God gives you to walk in through this life. God knows what you need, amen. He knows where He's planning. And man, this is a man who continues to plead with God to revive Him. And man, if anybody looks like they're walking in revival, it's the man after God's own heart, amen. But you can't help but read 119, and you see He's always asking God, Brother Marvin, to revive me. And you look at Him and say, man, He looks more revived than most people I know, but He's still asking God to what? Revive Him. Verse number 7, I will bless the Lord who has given me what? Counsel. He has the right practices. Because he's speaking with God and God's speaking to him. Counsel has given him guidance. God has given him plans to live by. Showing him the way to build. Showing him the way to love. Showing him the way to worship. Showing him all of these things. God does that. He commands his loving kindness to us in the daytime. Why? because we're all going to go into a night season. Night's coming when the darkness falls. And then David says, because he counseled me. Because He counseled me in the daytime, my heart also instructs me in my night seasons. And if you notice in your word, that's a plural word, isn't it? Not one night season, but what? Night seasons. They come and go. How many of y'all been there? How many of y'all been in night seasons before when you wasn't really hearing fresh from God? and you seemed like everything was surrounding you, and you was dark, and it was dark in your life. But because God helped you with a plan to walk with Him and to seek Him, you kept walking in what He gave you when you was walking in the light with Him. That's what He's saying. That's the counsel He gives. But you can't anticipate God to guide you in the night seasons if He didn't count you in the daytime. That's where we put the work in up front, knowing that we're going to face these things. I want to be so equipped by God if they took my Bible from me, His Word's hidden in my heart. If I can't bring my Bible on the job, His Word's still hidden in my heart. If I get locked up in a prison somewhere and can't have access to His truth, I've hidden enough Word in my heart that I can keep walking with Him and walk in the guidance and the plans that He made in my life. That's what this is saying. This is what's helping. Remember David was on the run on the lot. when he was running from King Saul, and he wrote most of his songs when he was on the run. I doubt he had a copy of the Word of God with him, but because the Word of God was hidden in his heart, because he spent time with the Lord, because the Lord was fresh and a refuge in his life, he was penning what God was showing him and working with him, and he's revealing. And when he got in a dark place, he knew when his anxiety would speak. And then he realized it was me talking and not God talking. And then he got to the sanctuary and looked in the book and he realized what God had done. And his heart got right back with the Lord again and he rejoiced before Him. Oh, we learn from all this. Amen. Why? Because many are the afflictions of the righteous. But the Lord delivers us through them all. Verse number 8. I have set the Lord always before me. The right example. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Man, that's the right kind of pondering. The right kind of thinking. The right kind of peace. Leads to the right kind of praise. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. The right kind of promise. My flesh also is gonna lay down and rest. That is, I'm gonna die one day. but I'm going to die in hope. Why? You're not going to leave my body in Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. So that's the right prophecy. Amen. Who's that talking about? That's talking about Jesus. Remember Jesus? How long was Jesus in the grave? Three days. Wasn't enough time for His body to rot. He didn't see corruption. What did God do? Raised Him up. Remember what we said this morning? Moses pointed to the cross, pointed to Jesus. Remember what we said about the Psalms? David pointed unto Jesus. Right here is a pointing unto Jesus that Jesus is going to die. He's going to go into a grave, but he's not going to stay in that grave. But for three days, he's coming out and he's not going to see corruption. So that's a great promise of prophecy for us, that God's not gonna leave us in the grave either. If He rose, guess what? He's gonna resurrect us one day, amen? So we can live and die, what? In hope. What? A promise. But not only that, it's the right kind of pardon. Because if you don't have His pardon who lived and died for you, you're not gonna have a pardon. You gotta have a pardon from Him who lived and died and rose again. And all God's people said? Verse number 11, you got the right path. You will show me what? The path of life. You got the right purpose. And your presence is the fullness of joy. You got the right purity and the right pleasure. At your right hand is what? Pleasures forevermore. Can you go wrong with what we just read? Everything right in this life, everything right in this life is found in this message. All we have to do is simply make ourselves available to the Lord. Yield to the Spirit. How? Look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the shame of the cross. He didn't get weary in that journey, but He pressed through in the purpose that God gave Him. And then He says, if you find yourself weary and fainthearted, What has happened, you quit looking to Jesus. And now the flesh is dictating you. Now you're tossed up and down. Just get your eyes back on Jesus. Just get your eyes back on Jesus. And what will He do? He'll pick you up. He'll lead you out. Amen. So every time you pick up the book, you know what you ought to be asking for? Lord, show me Jesus. When Moses is talking about it in the Older Testament, that prophet that's going to come, Lord, show me Jesus. Let me see Him. When the prophets are telling us what He would do in His life that He would lay down, you ask Him, Lord, let me see Jesus. Let me make a beeline to the cross, Lord, and see Him. When you get into Psalms like we're reading here, let me see Jesus. Why do I say that? Well, before we go tonight, turn to Luke 24. This is what Jesus said about it. Luke 24. Luke 24. Let's see if we can just wrap this weekend up with this thought. How do we say we want to connect with the Lord? We want to commit to Him? Communicate to Him, right? Didn't we say that Friday night? How many of y'all got a doctor you ever got to wait on? How many of y'all got to wait when you go to the doctor? Do you normally have to wait 30 minutes? Anybody got to wait an hour? How many of you drive an hour to go to the doctor? Why would you drive an hour and wait two hours for a doctor? Because you believe that doctor has solutions for you, for the problem that you're facing. So you're willing to sacrifice the time, you're willing to reach into your pocket, pull out your money, and wait on somebody to wait on you to tell you what's wrong with you and the solutions they have so that you can keep on doing what you're doing. Why? Because you value the prognosis and the prescription that the doctor, how many of y'all take medicine? How many of you got to go see your doctor every so often to make sure your medicine gets what? Renewed. Were you willing to do it? Roger says no. But everybody else said, yeah. He said he hates doctors. What did Jesus say about a doctor? Who comes to a doctor? Those that are what? Sick. He said, who comes to me? Those that are what? Sin sick. They'll come to me. And that's what He's teaching. That's the idea of connecting and waiting upon Him. Is He worth waiting on? Is He worth looking to? Is He worth learning from so that I can walk in His steps and be filled with His Spirit and do what He's called me to do? Oh, yes. Well, you see, to walk that way, you can't walk the way of the world. You've got to walk a different way. And everything that we talked about this morning from Moses to Isaiah to the psalm of Moses or David, all of it points to who? It all points to Jesus. And then we being His witnesses line up with Moses and the prophets and the psalms and we too point to Jesus. The only way we can point to Him is that He hadn't sent the Spirit in our lives. He had to give us the Spirit. He had to give us the Spirit. He gave us His Word. But if all we had was His Word without His Spirit, we wouldn't be able to fulfill the job. We need His Spirit. So in Luke 24, He says these things. Look at about verse number 44. Right at the close. We can sum everything up we talked about this weekend in these few verses here. Verse 44. Luke 24, 44 says, Then He said unto them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things must be fulfilled, completed, which were written well. In the law, where? In the prophets, where? In the Psalms. Isn't that what we tried to illustrate this morning? In the law, where? In the Prophets and in the Psalms, they all spoke concerning me. And then what did Jesus do? He opened their understanding that they might comprehend these Scriptures. We need God's help with that, don't we? Remember, at the entrance of His Word, He gives us light. We need His light on it. Verse 46, Then He said to him, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary, for what? That the Christ is to suffer, to rise from the dead the third day, and then that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you all what? Witnesses, no different than the witness of Moses, no different than the witness of the prophets, no different than the witness of the psalm. What do they all witness to? They all point to who? Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Verse 49, he says, Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power. What? from on high. You see, that's how we as His witnesses can line up with the rest of the Word of God, the rest of the New Testament, and just point the world to Jesus and what He's called us to walk in, what He's called us to do, and that we go prepare a bride for a future coming. For He's coming, amen. He's coming. And we want His bride ready for His coming. So everything we do is as a witness to point to Jesus and prepare a people for the coming of the Lord. For He is coming. The Gospels tell us all about it. The book of Acts tells us what the disciples did with the power of the Spirit. And then the letters of the Word of God begin to tell us how to live and how to walk in the things of God. And then the book of Revelation closes out and reminds us that we're all winners and overcomers. and the Lord. For He's coming back and He's going to reign on this earth. For He's King of kings and Lord of lords. So all the Word of God testifies to the life, death, burial, and resurrection and the coming of Jesus. And that's what His witnesses go forth to do. And they want to do it what? His way, the right way. They want to do all the things they do right by pointing people unto Him. And we can't do that outside of the Spirit doing it in us. Amen? We need His Spirit. You need His Spirit. This world we live in needs a group of people who are filled up with His Spirit, filled up with His Word, who stand on the evidence seat that is called to testify by the Judge of heaven and earth. that we bear witness everywhere we go, that our judge says he's going to hold every man accountable. And that men must look like Jesus and they don't look like him now. But I've got a message that can transform their life so that they too can be prepared to live for him and meet him one day. Amen? And that's the great work. As simple as that is, that's what we get to do. Isn't it a joy to do it? Oh yeah. Can it be a drudgery? Oh yeah, if you're not, what, looking unto Jesus. You'll get wearied. You'll get discouraged. But when you repent, Put your confidence back in Him. And look to His example. You know what He's going to do? Man, He's going to fill you up with the fullness of joy. And you're going to sing in high step. And you're going to be a gift to people. A blessing to people. Even those that don't recognize you as a blessing. But those that fear the Lord and walk with Him are going to see you as a treasure in their life. Why? Because they hope in Him too. Amen. And you're going to be brothers and sisters with them. They're going to help you and you're going to help them. people under Jesus by simply keeping your eyes on Him and helping your brothers and sisters look to Him as well. And I pray He does a work in all of us to do that. And if I get away from that, I need a brother to come to me and help restore me. Amen. I need Him to come to me and say, look, I noticed something ain't, something's off with you. I love you. to hurt me, offend me, or make me not love you. I love you and I want to help you get out of where you are because I would rather you look into Jesus than leaning in on yourself. And right now it looks like you've been leaning in on yourself. Your mind's tore apart and you're torturing yourself and you're not seeking first the Kingdom of God. Can I pray with you? Can I pray for you? Can I come see you? Can I come help you? Can I be with you? Why? You want another warrior, another overcomer, another champion in Christ living dangerously strong for the truth. So you who are supernatural, go to Him and help lift them up out of the mire and let them get their eyes back on Jesus. Amen. And if they don't do it today, you just keep praying for them. You keep being a witness to them and a help to them. Because they might have been sowing some bad seed and bad seed keeps showing up for a period of time. And they're going to have some consequences with that. But you just keep going and asking God to help them sow seeds of mercy that they can reap the right harvest. Amen? And you ask God to help them. And I believe He will. I believe He wants to use y'all. Amen? I think He wants to use us. I think He wants to use my family and all of us. in more ways than we're being used even in this day here. By just simply trusting Him with all that we have. Amen. You know as Brother Malvin was saying that about waking up and going to bed and throughout the day always thinking on Jesus. When you think about that, if you ever think for an example, if something looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, what is it? But if you wake up thinking about Jesus, and you live life thinking about Jesus, and you go to bed thinking about Jesus, and you love for Jesus and lead other people for Jesus, you know what you look like and smell like? Jesus. You look and smell like Jesus. And that's what disciples look and smell like. They look and smell like Jesus. Why? Because a new creature in Christ takes to Jesus like a duck takes to water. I carry ducks in my pocket. And I share these principles with people whenever God would lead me on to it. I'm going to give it to my brother right here just as a reminder that if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's more likely a duck. And a disciple looks like Jesus, walks like Jesus, loves like Jesus, and leads people to Jesus. That's more likely a disciple. Amen? Amen. May the Lord use it. Go pray with me. Father, we bless you tonight. Thank you. Thank you for the clarity of your message. I pray that you help me make it plain, but I'm asking you to make it precious to your people. All I can do is try to help them understand it, but I don't have the ability to make it precious. Only the Spirit can make it precious to them. That's what we ask in the night. That these truths and others that you've been planting in them will become so precious that they'll just fall over out of them. influence other people around them, that they have a living word, that they're hoping and leaning on and trusting and walking in, that they are the witnesses of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, ambassadors of heaven, carrying the message of reconciliation to a world of hostiles who you can penetrate and transform by just speaking light into that darkness. So we ask in You, Lord, use us, use us. Make Your work and witness precious in our sight. In Jesus' name, Amen.