let's take our Bibles out now shall we to psalm chapter 5 psalm chapter 5 Andrew Boner the great man of prayer had three rules in his life I believe those three rules are reflected as we Meditate upon Psalm chapter 5 and the 12 verses that we have before us. Andrew Boner had three rules. Number one, not to speak to any man before speaking to Jesus. Number two, not to do anything with his hands until he had been on his knees. Number three, not to read the paper until he had read his Bible. Good rules, folks? I believe so. Up-to-date? Needful? I believe so. We're going to be looking at Psalm chapter 5, how to come to God each day. And I trust that we are doing so. It's easy for us to say, well, I'm in a Christian school. I have a Bible teacher that teaches me. I have Bible class. There may be some that are listening to this message that are enrolled in Bible college or a liberal arts Christian school and you have your Bible classes. There may be other pastors that are listening to this message Frankly, the only time you open up your Bible is to prepare a message to feed somebody else. The truth of the matter is, we must have a time when we meet alone with God for our spiritual refreshment. The psalm that we have before us was given to us by the hand of david through the inspiration of the holy spirit this psalm was accompanied by flutes uh... literally wind instruments i'm aware of that school field note that you have uh... nehalo was not a musical instrument but means inheritance i have difficulty frankly supporting that particular note and its point of view i do believe that is referring to a musical instrument, namely a wind instrument. But nonetheless, I want us to look at this passage of scripture because it does illustrate to us how we are to come to God each day. Verses number one through three. Let's look at it together. We're going to note, first of all, we ought to come to God. in the morning now some of you might be working graveyard shift that are listening to my voice for you the morning might be eleven o'clock at night you working eleven till seven the graveyard shift maybe you're doing a security detail for a factory or a company and uh... you get up at eight thirty in the evening well then that's your morning for me my morning is at 530. I get up, I've been getting up at 530 ever since I've been 16 years old. It's just been something that I've done in high school. It's helped me to get the start in the day, to get my thoughts in order and it's been a habit and you know when I retire I'll have an opportunity to sleep in till 930 every morning. How many of you believe that? You know what's going to happen if I ever retire, you know, preachers just get put out the pastor you know we've been pastoring we get put out the pastor but that we never quit i guess but the point is uh... i've heard people say i knew of one gentleman good friend of mine some of you know harry kiders he would get up at four thirty every day of his working life and he started thinking i know what i'm going to do when i retire and go to winter garden and get myself a trailer and just kind of live uh... off of uh... my investments and things that i've accomplished i'll be able to sleep in guess what four thirty every morning he gets up whether he wants to so whatever your shift is your morning the start of your day begin with the lord i want you to notice verses one through three how to come to god each day in the morning verses one through three. Give ear to my words, O Lord. Consider my meditation." I had a tremendous joy just this evening to lead a lady to Christ that Marge had met earlier today. Marge will give you an opportunity later on to share that testimony. She was at a Christian bookstore, met a mom with six children, and she was looking for a bible and evidently didn't have the wherewithal to to get a bible for those in the family marge did her a favor and told her about our church ministry and uh... got the bibles for her and uh... got a phone number she quips it over the melody and i'd call this lady were laborers together with god you know just like you know you you're past the soccer ball you know pass it to the right wing and then he dribbles it down and And that's the way we work around here as we can. And I called her up, and she happened to be at the Winter Park on Alabama out there. And she was there, and her kids were fishing. The Lord had her all by herself in a beautiful park, lovely wooded park with beautiful mansions all around it. And she got a call. The bottom line of it was that gave me a clear road, an open path to give her the plan of salvation and explain it. This lady, may the Lord bless her, did not even know about Genesis, did not know anything. It was just very, very, very limited understanding and able to go through the Scriptures, put it together for her and wound up leading her to Christ. One of her comments after she prayed to receive Christ was, you know, I'm sitting here in all of this beauty with all of these mansions with the birds chirping around me. And it just seems like my eyes are opened. And I'm seeing this in a greater beauty. I can't believe that God has heard my words. I cannot. I'm just thrilled. And it just reminds me, give ear to my words. Listen to me. There may be someone listening to my voice this evening. Somehow, perchance, you've arrived at this message and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior. The Lord is willing to give ear to your petition. One of the greatest joys and thrills of my heart is to go out in a clear night and look literally thousands of miles away with the naked eye and see the beautiful stars, beautiful stars as Psalm 8, we'll be getting there eventually in our study, but the beauty of nature and to think, wow, God is attentive to my prayers as infinite as He is. And now with the tremendous telescopic potential, the Hubble with its new lens and we're describing and seeing light years into what seems like infinity to see the magnitude of God's creation. And yet the Lord gives ears to our petitions. Some of you have come here tonight with heavy hearts. You really need God's help. You may really be desperate about some things. And you're coming with the same petition that David had. Lord, give ear to my words tonight, Lord. Oh Lord, consider my meditation. Have you had some concerns in your heart that are captivating your thoughts? Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King. Here is a King crying to a King. Listen to me. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Our Lord is the Great Equalizer. Some people call Sam Colt the Great Equalizer. But you know what? The King of Kings is the great equalizer because the great, small and great of humanity mean nothing. He is not impressed with anyone's credentials. Someday, all small and great non-believers will stand before His presence and they shall be judged. And we know that we will be at the judgment seat of Christ, not for our sins, Not for judgment in the sense of determining our salvation, but for rewards. But the point is, here a king bows down before the King of Kings. And what a joy is ours. In your prayer sheet, I'm sure you'll find reference to President Bush. If you want to call him, our king, our leader, our magistrate, And yet he is petitioning for us to intercede on his behalf. Do you think President Bush appreciates the prayers of God's people? I believe he depends on them. And here we have a king with great need, rebellion in his life, heartache. He says, hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for unto Thee Will I pray? Notice the first characteristic of how to come to God each day. He says here, My voice shalt thou hear in the morning. O Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. You know, there's something about seeking God's wisdom and direction in the morning. Whether it's at 1030 at night when you're going on the graveyard shift or 530 in the morning, it's just a time when you can gather together and have God be your coach. I love basketball games and I love to see the kids, and the older I get they are kids, but you see the kids gather around their coach with their eyes wide open. sucking in drinking in all of the instruction that they need for the next quarter and and they're listening uh... with with their ears intently on the instruction and they're in a huddle then you hear them break up they put their hands together and they say let's go i remember when i sold books for the southwestern company my first year at uh... at college Bible, we were selling Bible commentaries and Bible helps and such. We used to get out. We'd have breakfast at 6.30 every morning. They shuttled us out. We got taken. I'm from Long Island, New York. Well, they put us in Oklahoma and a little Indian town to sell books. But we went to some country restaurant. And all of us who were selling, who had the city divided up to go out, We'd gather together right beside the intersection on Main Street, and we would have a cheer, I can, I will, I'm going to. And that was the cheer. I think that was more William James than it was biblical. But we used to change it, because some of us were believers, that went out to, we can, we will, we're going to. And we included the Lord in that, and that made a big difference. But you know, here is David. getting His strength to start the day from the Lord. And oh, don't we need that. We need to gather together in the morning. Now, the second thing as to how we ought to come to God each day is not only at the beginning of our day, in the morning, in our morning, but we ought to have a godly hatred for sin. We need to come to God each day with a desire Lord, you reveal to me those things that are displeasing in your sight. Lord, give me the godly hatred for sin that you do. Doesn't the Word of God say, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus? Lord, help me to hate the things that you hate, to love the things that you love, to reject those things that you reject. Now, verses 4 through six. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness." By the way, neither should we. And when we're by the coffee pot at work, or the water cooler, and somebody comes out with a dirty joke, how do we respond? Do we stand there with our hands in our pockets, laughing right along with them, just to fit in? Because it's more important that we be accepted by the crowd then we represent our Lord. The Bible says here, Thou hast no pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee. And David recognized the holiness of God and that was his motive to be separated from sin. And that goes right along with our sermon series on Sunday nights on biblical separation. It first begins with an understanding of the nature of God. We're not separatists because it happens to be our ecclesiastical ideology. We're not separatists because there's somebody that's putting us on a guilt trip if we're not. We're separatists because God is. And therefore, we ought to be separated from those things that are wicked and those things that are displeasing to God. Notice what it says in verse 5, "...the foolish shall not stand in thy sight." In other words, shall not be exonerated, shall not be approved. They shall not stand in the judgment, in the day of judgment, it says in chapter 1. It says, "...thou hatest all workers of iniquity." It goes on to say here, verse six thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing literally falsehood the lord will abhor or hate the bloody and deceitful man god has a godly hatred for him i'd like to look at this issue of god hatred where it says inverse 5. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. We look at God and we see Him in all of His perfection that the Word of God describes. For instance, we see God revealed in the Scriptures as a sovereign God. We see Him as a holy God. We see God as an omnipotent God. all-powerful. We see Him as an omniscient God, all-knowing, omnipresent, present everywhere. We see Him as a merciful God. We see Him as a just God. Now, there are certain scriptures in the Bible that highlight and snapshot certain qualities of the character of God. Those individual qualities that are given to us in various scriptures are part of a fabric of revelation that is given in 66 books of the Bible. And all of the attributes of God must be considered in concert if we are going to understand God's Word properly. Let me illustrate for you. How many of you believe that there are certain verses in the Bible that talk about the sovereignty of God? How many of you? Certainly. How many of you believe that there are verses that talk about the freedom of man and the responsibility of man? Let's see your hands. Certainly. Now, if I take any scriptures describing one attribute of God and blow it to a preeminent position, to the point of blurring any other of the scriptures, I have the danger of being a five-point Calvinist. If I stretch and place the sovereignty of God over all of the other scriptures that speak about the responsibility of men. The Bible teaches both in balance. And I like the way Charles Haddon Spurgeon put it, that we are to preach the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of men side by side, even though it may seem like an antinomy, something that is conflicting, that doesn't make sense to us. We are to preach both parallel lines. Clearly, if we blur one side or the other, we are in error. They must be taught side by side with one another, And we realize that the lines do converge together at the throne of God in eternity. Now, there are Scriptures that talk about the love of God. How many of you believe that? There are Scriptures that talk about the hatred of God for sin and sinners. How many of you believe that? You've just read one. However, we must take all of these Scriptures in balance. now the word of god says in romans nine you know if i have i love or excuse me jacob i love you saw have i hate it that's referring to god's purpose in selecting a prop by a a uh... covenant line of leadership but how many of you believe that god made provision for he saw salvation if he would have taken it Of course, you see. But there was a covenant line that God arbitrarily had chosen, you see. It wasn't that Esau was denied opportunity for salvation, although I believe that Esau was not saved, reading from Hebrews chapter 12. But the point that I'm trying to get at, without being sidetracked from the major point of our message is that we have to be careful about isms and groups that will take one scripture out of its context and make it a preeminent when it is not biblically taught in balance, you see, with other scriptures that refer to the nature of God. Now I see In this particular passage, no conflict with the fact that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He hates the workers of iniquity, but yet He made provision for their salvation. But, if man refuses to come to the covenant God, he will suffer the hatred God upon his sin and upon his person because he has rejected the expression of love towards him So therefore God can love and hate simultaneously it all depends on which side you want to land on and I'll tell you what I'm a loving daddy But you do what I say if you're my child Or else you're going to see a side of Pastor John that is the judgment side. And even in that judgment, there's the love, but there is the penalty and the effects of it. So even with a finite illustration, as a sinner saved by grace, we can see that there needs to be a balance understood there in that particular portion of God's Word. So, the Word of God says that we are to have a godly hatred for sin. And yet at the same time, we are to have a burden for lost souls to see people come to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Now, what's the third way we ought to come to our Lord each day? Well, look at verse 7. not only should we come in the morning at the beginning of our day when we certainly need to focus and allow god to to blue pencil our day secondly with a godly hatred for sin but thirdly we need to have a spirit of worship we need to come to god with the spirit of worship and you know it it just amazes me i i think more and more that there's an absence of worship in churches in America today. The basic premise of why we gather together is misunderstood in so many churches today. The idea is, frankly, it goes into the philosophy of ministry. And we'll be covering this on the Sunday evening, so I'm not going to steal my thunder. But I'm going to give one statement just to kind of whet your appetite for what's coming Sunday night. If we as a church have the highest purpose of our church as soteriology, if we have a soteriological major purpose for our church rather than doxological, it's going to determine what we do. Now, what do I mean by those big words? Well, if I say the highest purpose for Central Florida Bible Church is the salvation of souls, That's the highest goal, the preeminent purpose of everything is salvation of souls. It's easy for us to then fall into an end justifies the means concept. Okay now, what's going to save souls? Anything we can do to get them in. Hamburgers and french fries and Hershey bars five dollar bills under the seats of one of the buses somewhere you know uh... you know whatever that whatever is going to bring them in so that ultimate purpose of saving so now i'm not going to provide proof texts ephesians one but had take your time you'll see by reading ephesians one optimum purpose of the church is doxological in nature Now, what's doxological? Doxology? Praise God? The highest purpose of Central Florida Bible Church or any other church is to bring glory to God. Now, folks, this may seem like, you know, what's he saying? Folks, let me tell you something. Where you start off is going to determine where you end up double time on this big issue here. Because if you believe that the highest purpose of the church as scriptures teach is the glory of God then we must ask ourselves these questions and they are hard ones in our methods. Do our methods bring glory to God? Are they biblically defendable? Are they biblically taught? Am I bringing glory to God or the elevation of men? And there are many churches today that are man-centered, entertainment, and the music, and the need-centered preaching, and, you know, well, you know, let's give them a pad of the Bible, but let's really, you know, just kind of use the Bible as a springboard towards more contemporary things. And let's forget the preaching, let's go to drama. And let's go to theatrical presentations and let's be innovative. This is the 20th century. You've got to entertain people, you know. And again, it's what is the purpose of the church. And this is so important. But I want you to notice here, here there's that spirit of worship in verse 7. As for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear I will worship towards thy holy temple." Oh, there's that desire for worship. We need to move on quickly. Verses 8-10 tell us the fourth way that we need to come to God each day. And it needs to be with a sincere desire for God's guidance. of sincere desire. We don't tell God what our goals are. We don't tell God what we're going to do. We don't act first and then ask God to bail us out of the mess that we made. Oh Lord, I guess I never should have put that nice shiny car on my credit card. But you know, they did raise my credit line to $10,500. and i sure did need that extra car uh... but lord you understand all lord uh... will you give me peace about that decision i made last night give me peace this morning lord please after all i gotta tell my wife about that now or i gotta tell my husband about that purchase or whatever you know no it's a desire for god's guidance before we act lord you're the center of my life look at verse eight lead me Sometimes Christians say, follow me, huh? Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies. We sure need the help of the Lord. There are many people that are watching your steps. Maybe I might even use the word dogging your steps, just waiting for you to stumble. Some of your own family members that have seen you come to Christ, man, any chance they get They'll be the first ones to say, you see, you see, didn't do you much good, did it? You know, they're just waiting, just waiting for you to mess up. And by the way, are we as Christians going to mess up every once in a while? Certainly so. I thank the Lord for 1 John 1, 9. But you know, we need to let people know about the fact that we are repentant of our sin and we need to demonstrate to them that fact. But it says here, In verse 8, lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of my enemies, make thy way straight before my face. I like it the way it says it in one of my favorite Psalms. In Psalm 27, I believe, in verse 11, David says, lead me in the plain path. Isn't that nice? Lord, I'm so obstinate. Lord, I have myopia. And I just can't see. I'm nearsighted. Spiritually, I'm Mr. Magoo, you know. And Lord, I need you to close every door tight and just lead me in the plain path. Lord, don't let me take any detours in my life. Lord, the devil, my arch enemy, would love for me to go off on a rabbit trail, but Lord, don't let that happen. Make my way straight before my face. That needs to be our prayer. Because you know what? If we start our day in the energy of the flesh, we're going to make pitiable mistakes and we're going to turn around and God's Spirit is going to convict us. And we're going to look back on the day and say, you know what? I didn't have my time with God seeking my prayers. And you know it's going to start showing up in your home. It's going to start showing up even in your interpersonal relationships. there was one lady that uh... melody was telling me about that called a christian bookstore wanted information prominent christian bookstore in orlando the lady was as nasty as could be i mean she must have had sauerkraut for breakfast maybe that's something i i've had chilling for breakfast when i've been camping but that's maybe she's maybe she gargled with fanta flush when she wanted to reach for the list arena or something i don't know she just literally uh... because there was a question about a a discount and such i'll not get into but this lady was nasty and quite frankly if i had been the one that she had done that to i would have really spoken with the manager and then also reminded her who she was working for and who she represented. And it's just terrible. But you know, that's going to happen when we do not give the Lord first place and seek His guidance in our lives. And frankly, the short words and the nastiness and the way we can get with our marriage partners. Folks, listen to me. A lot of times it happens because we haven't started the day with the Lord. And you know, I've done it. Melody, no testimony time now. But you know, I've done it. And I've been convicted by it. And a lot of times, we can get short with one another because we haven't taken the time that we need to allow ourselves God's guidance, you see. And make my way straight, David says. And boy, we need to pray that because the devil wants to get us off of the main highway. Here David said, I want the Lord's guidance. Verse 9, there's no faithfulness in their mouth. This just reminds me of Romans 3. When the Bible talks about men's mouths being open sepulchers. And Dr. Sorensen, who used to have a look at the book Bible Broadcast, he used to call Romans 3 spiritual halitosis. Their mouth is an open sepulcher. Can you imagine an open sepulcher with a rotting corpse? You get very close, and there's going to be a real stink. And here, their mouth, no faithfulness in their mouth. Their inward part is very wickedness. And out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Their throat is an open sepulcher. They flatter with their tongue. But boy, they can turn around and stab you in the back. And it happens in offices today. It happens in churches today. And you know, we need to be careful that that never happens. And you know, the success of Central Florida Bible Church is hinged upon whether or not we individually, as God's people, seek His guidance, treat one another with the love that God demonstrates towards us. And that's true with any church. Those of you that are listening to my voice on the tape ministry, you examine your church and what if every member were like you? How spiritual would that church be? Every church needs to weigh and evaluate whether we're or whether we're from the north of the south of the east or the west as a fundamental church we need to ask ourselves what if everyone were like me and most often we play praise the lord they're not destroy it battle them all god let them fall by their own counsels cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions in other words let their own devices and you know he that dig at the pit falls right in all payment boy he had those gallows and yet who was swinging by nightfall and that that's what the prayer there let them fall why because they have rebelled against me king david no his greatest desire was god's exoneration and the exoneration of his truth you see and uh... and and you know i i i i i imagine you know david wasn't he was cut out of the same bolt of cloth you are and i am and uh... i'm sure that he wanted to see them get their just deserts but the primary reason was the glory of god and of course we've heard of the imprecatory psalms haven't we where David calls down judgment. And those are there, and sometimes he feels like he'd like to see it. Let's be honest. But that major desire is, Lord, they're doing this against You. And they're causing the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme when they ought to be a showcase of Your grace and Your mercy. And that was his desire. Well, the fifth way, and just very quickly now, the fifth way that we ought to come before the presence of God each day. And not only at the beginning of our day, in the morning, not only with a godly hatred for sin, thirdly, with a spirit of worship, fourthly, a desire for God's guidance, but fifthly, in full trust, in total trust. Lord, I'm rolling over this day onto you. It says here in verses 11, and 12. And I like it because in verse 11, David says, Lord, you're my song. In verse 12, he says, you're my shield. Back in verse 8, he said, Lord, you're my shepherd. But notice here, he's our song. Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice. Let them ever shout for joy. The Lord can give you a song. Why? Because thou defendest them. God defends us. And by the way, victory is so much sweeter and much more effective when you let the Lord defend you in your battles, rather than taking up the sword yourself. You try to take matters in your own hands and try to sniff out the devil to the nth degree, you're going to get yourself in more trouble. You give your life over. You let your testimony speak for itself. And you keep your eyes in serving Jesus. The Lord is our defender. Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. You start trying to sniff out and defend yourself, you're going to lose your song and you're going to be overcome with bitterness and anger and hostility. And before you know it, you're going to let those people have more power over you than they've shown already. Don't let that happen. Don't let the devil or his His workers, or even disobedient Christians, take away your joy, your song. David said, Lord, You're my song. And then in verse 12, he finishes it up by saying, Lord, You're my shield. What do you do with a shield? You hold it up and you let that deflect the arrows of the enemy. You're my shield. For Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous with favor, wilt Thou compass Him as a shield, compass as with a shield. Sometime during World War II, a passenger ship set sail from Great Britain, headed for port in New York City. The captain of the ship, being afraid of enemy vessels, sought to advice and sought to seek guidance from the British Admiral. The admiral calmly assured the captain that no matter what happens, he should just be sure to sail his ship straight ahead. Keep going. No matter what you see, he told this captain. No matter what you see, I am your admiral. You just keep that ship going straight to New York City, even though it's wartime. even though their enemy waters keep on going straight. Don't take any detours. Sail the ship straight ahead. Continue onward, heading straight towards the intended mark." Well, after several days of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, which undeniably was filled with submarines and enemy vessels of all kinds The Captain, to his horror, spotted an enemy destroyer off his forward bow. A cold chill went right up and down his backbone as he saw the enemy. Nervously he grasped the handset and he called for assistance to the Admiral. The calm voice replied, Keep on straight. Do not detour. Just sail the ship straight ahead. Everything will be just fine. Just keep on going straight ahead." Well, after a couple of more days, the ship pulled safely into the great harbor of New York City. Shortly after docking, the great British battleship Man of War pulled into port behind the passenger vessel. You see, the captain realized that while he did not see the British battleship, she was there, standing by, standing ready to come to his defense should it be necessary. You know, it's that way with our lives. Our great commanding officer tells us Yes, you're in enemy waters. And yes, the battleships are there, and you could be torpedoed. But I'm behind you. I'm your shield. I'm your defender. I'm your shepherd. I'm your song. You may not always see the Lord there, just like the captain didn't see that great British battleship, Man of War. But if that enemy would have made any attempt to strike the passenger vessel, that great battleship man-of-war would have come to its defense. So keep your ship on course. Seek to go the straight path. Keep on going in the will of God. Let us bow our heads together in prayer. Lord, we thank you for your guidance, for your protection. And Lord, we ask your forgiveness for the many times that we have failed in coming to you each day for the right start of a day led by your Spirit. Help us, Lord, to have the right attitude in our coming. And Father, we thank you for your people that you've brought together this evening. That Lord, not only desire to have a look at the Word of God, but also Father, a time with you where collectively we can gather together in that great huddle as it were in a gymnasium and hear the words of our great coach. And I don't mean, Lord, in any way to be sacrilegious. But Lord, we need your instruction. Lord, I believe this is the fourth quarter. Time is coming short. The game will soon be over. And Lord, it's our shot. Help us, Lord, to follow your instructions that you've given us in your Word. And Lord, we know that the victory will be ours. So guide us now, and Lord, encourage the hearts that are deepest, Lord, in discouragement. And Lord, those that are facing crises, Lord, Just lift them up and encourage their hearts. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.