Amen. Well, it's just good to be able to have a Bible to open, is what I was thinking while she was singing, and to know great truths. It's truths, man, that saved my marriage. It was truths that got God's blessing back on my life. See, there's a lot of times we play the game, never read the book, never let the book read us. We think, I got this. You better anchor to something. And I'm thankful, been married 37 years. Boy, some of those years was rocky, you know? Just devil loves to divide. And the best thing that me and my wife did was come to the word of God, and she's a Bible student. And then it's not about what we want, it's about what he wants. And we came to unity to this book. And we learned that love is just not what you see, but love is a principle. And that brought revival. The word of God brought revival in my heart because I saw God's blessing back on my family, back on me. And anytime you walk in obedience, God takes notice. And the message tonight's gonna be talking about walking. No longer in darkness. He's called us out of darkness. We're in the marvelous light. But I want to kind of just get our mind thinking about walking in the light. Turn your Bible to Psalms 98.1. Again, these are psalms of songs. And in Psalms 98.1, this was the psalm that I believe it was joy to the world came out of. And the theme of this very psalm is the coming of the Lord, if you'll read the whole thing. But I wanna just pull out a few verses there. Look there in verse one. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song. You'll find this at least three times in these psalms. And well, preacher, what's a new song? Well, anytime you're in the word of God, you're always learning. You got great truths. The Bible says the mercies of God are new every morning. And anytime you walk with the Lord, you begin to take the word of God and you applicate it. See, faith without action, James says, is not faith. I mean, that's just talking. Faith is somebody that just not only hears, but he's a doer. And it's kind of like faith promise, you know. You can say, well, I'm a part of it. You wait if you don't give. You gotta give before God gives back. And so in this, the Psalm reminds you and I in verse one of Psalms 98, I sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things. That's what the Bible reminds us, Psalms 98, one. Then it says, his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory. Verse two, the Lord hath made known his salvation, his righteousness, hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God. Here's what I want to preach on. I sing because, Bible says, because the presence of God that separates me. Now what do you mean the presence of God that separates you? Well, thank God for the word of God that reminds you and I who we are. And my first verse is 1 Thessalonians chapter five, verse five. He says, you are all the children of light. Thank God I have a song in my heart because I walked in darkness and it wasn't a good walk, amen? And I tried to do things my own way and it didn't turn out the way I thought it was gonna be. But thank God when the light came in, it brought light to my life. And listen, life's full of decisions. And you start making decisions upon your emotions and what you think is right and what looks right to you, I promise you, you're gonna get in some trouble. And so revival came to my life when I realized that God called me out of that old lifestyle, amen, and he's placed me in a new lifestyle, but he didn't just leave me to try to find my way. Well, he's given me the light, the word of God. It's a light under my path, amen? And it's a lamp under my feet. The idea is God says you can't walk. There's too many things on the path that will cause you trouble unless I light it up for you. And that light's helped me in a lot of things. It's helped me in my giving. I mean, everything in me tells me to hold on to it, but God says the worst thing you can do would be a hoarder. I can't bless it until you give it. And you know how many times the devil's tried to fight me earlier in my tithes, my faith promise, with the tires that are needed, oil changes that are needed, doors that need attention. Devil always throws things up, but if you'll stay in the word, he'll light that path, let you know. Don't you lean to your own understanding. You trust the Lord, amen. And in that, that's why we sing. I sing because in that verse, you are the children of light and the children of the day. Listen, I don't think the same way I used to think. I have no desire to be around folks that cuss and drink. I cannot stand it. I don't like the smell. I don't like their attitude. I don't like the things they talk about. That's nothing, I mean, I don't have any interest in those type of things, amen? Gossiping, sure, it used to draw me in, but I've shot enough of those errors to know those errors come back and nail me. Best thing for me to do is not go in that route. Don't talk about that person. Pray for them, amen? I'm just talking about there's a difference I've seen because I can express a gratitude of the presence of God. There was a time I didn't have God's presence. I mean, if you're not saved, he don't live in you, he don't abide in me, but now that he lives in me, I feel the presence of God. I feel him when I sin, because I tell you what he does, he stands up and says, you shouldn't be talking like that anymore. Filthy communication ought to be leaving your heart and your lips. Why? Because I've caused you out of that lifestyle. I've given you a new heart and a new mind. So in that revival, you know, I wish it just took place overnight, but revival takes place when you begin to yield your heart to the Lord and give him victory in areas. We all have areas where the devil has owned and controlled, and ruled, and little by little, the word of God will approach those areas. You get nervous about it, you think, I can't do it. God says, yes, you can. Greater is he that lives in you than he that's in the world. And so, matter of fact, I've learned this. God will create and orchestrate circumstances just so you'll realize I'm here with you. You're not standing here by yourself. Jacob and all of his troubles and all of his scheming with his mama and Esau, it cost him a lot of years of uneasiness. But finally he realized, you know what, I'm hurting myself. I mean, my daddy schemed, I'm scheming, now I'm being schemed. And he said, I can't rest at night. And so finally he got a hold of God. And here's what God told him. He said, Jacob, I've never left you. I didn't leave your daddy. I didn't leave your granddaddy. I made a promise to you and to your daddy and to you and your kids. I'll never leave you and I'll never forsake you. I've been with you in the past. I'm with you in the present. And look ahead, Jacob, you'll find me there. All through the Bible, God's telling you, you got a song in your heart because I haven't left you. I moved in. And so he reminds you and I, 1 Corinthians 2, 10, that God hath revealed them unto us. Let me go to Romans 16, 20. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet. The idea is, you know what? The devil has already done, or God has already done to our enemy what you and I can never do. He put him in his proper order. He let the devil know, I'm king of kings and Lord of lords. The tomb's empty, I have the keys. These are my children, I've given them the Holy Spirit, I've sealed them to the day of redemption. They have peace not only with God, but they also have peace of God, amen? And you can't buy that, but you can sure receive it. So the Bible reminds us we have the presence that separates us. I think about this also. He says there in Genesis chapter 28, verse 15, this is what he told Jacob, behold, I am with thee, Jacob, I'll keep thee And Jacob, I promise you, I will never leave you. Matthew chapter 18, verse 20. Bible says, for where there are two or three that are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. Remember those two men on the road of Emmaus who got discouraged? And man, they was around a lot of people hoping that this Jesus was the Savior. Well, he was the Savior. There's just some things they forgot, but thank God for the ministry of Christ who joined their walk. Aren't you glad that he put you in the light? And what they have forgotten, he revealed to them. Changed their life, went home and changed their family's life. Here's what I'm saying. I have a song in my heart. Thank God for the presence of God in the midst of whatever you face. Now you know what? There's different ages. Some face things in the future. What am I gonna do with this house? There's a time I enjoyed it. Now I don't enjoy it. There's a blessing, but now it's just a heartache. What do I do? God said, I can help you there. I've got a young family. What do I do? I'm struggling. And all this money's been taken from me. God said, I didn't leave you. I'm here. I promise you, I'll help you. No matter where you find yourself, I want to remind you, keep that song in your heart because God's presence has never left you. You know where David found his presence? Well, all of his brothers said, you ought to get back and take care of your daddy's sheep. You can't handle this. David said, I'm not gonna handle it, but I got a God that'll never leave me, and the battle's not mine, saith the Lord, amen. David said this, what I can't do, the presence of God can do. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, boy, it didn't look good for them, did they? Thrown in that old fire, heated up seven times hotter. But you know who you found? You found the Son of God. Keep your song. When other things have been taken from you, thank God he's still there. And his promise is still for you and I. Remember Adam and Eve, the most precious thing they lost in Genesis chapter three was that enjoyment of the presence of God. Remember they hid themselves. That's what happened when you and I began to act out disobedience. That's when you and I go contrary to the word of God. You won't look forward to the house of God. You won't look forward to fellowship. You know why? Because there's a problem in your heart. And Adam and Eve, when God was wanting to meet with them, they hid. And I promise you, if you're not careful, sin will get you to the place where you'll hide. You remember the Bible talks about Jonah, my goodness, he tried his best to run and hide from the presence of God, even in his wrong choices, God said, listen here, Jonah, you might go down as far as you can in a ship, you might go in the ocean, but you'll never get to the place where I'm not, amen? I'm nigh present, and I'm working on you, no matter if you're obedient or disobedient. You'll find the presence of God working in your life. Yeah, I've been on both sides. Hebrews 12 said he'll chase you because he loves you. Listen, there was a time in my life I was disobedient. I was heading down the wrong road. Saved, absolutely. But I didn't know the book. And any time you don't know the book, you just kind of play game by your own rules, amen? And I was kind of making up my rules. And guess who it benefited, I thought? Me. didn't have enough sense, be like you could jump on a little basketball court and just elbowing everybody, and the referee blows a whistle and you get mad at the referee. He's there for one reason, that's to keep order. God said, I've given the Holy Spirit to seal you, but he's gonna keep order in your life. And if you keep fouling, I'm gonna set you down. Well, I'm talented. Well, you ain't that talented, because I'm gonna set you down. God set me down. He said, David, either you're gonna learn to play my way, or you're not gonna play. So I learned, and through revival, that there is a song, no matter what's going on in the outside world, circumstances, there'll always be ups and downs, life is full of hills and valleys. I promise you, anybody from Genesis to Revelation, I don't care who they are, they had good days and bad days, but one thing never changed, and that was God. And no matter what you face, If you're not right with God, he's waiting. Get right. If you see God chasing your life, better be wise enough, say, God, I see it. I hear it. And I don't want to go no deeper, no farther, amen? I want to get it right. If God's blessing you as he was here, no doubt, with others in the Bible, David, man, David had the presence of God and the power of God. Just want to remind you, I have a song in my heart, and it's all because of the presence of God. Psalms 46 verse seven, I wanna read it to you. Here's what it says, Psalms 46 verse seven. Bible says, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Bible tells you and I in Psalms chapter 46 verse one, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, amen. It's a reminder, why do I have a song? Thank God is because of the presence of God. Number two, Bible talks about is peace. Man, I'm glad I have peace. I got peace with God because of the blood and I've got the peace of God because of the blood and also because I can walk with him. and his word gives me rest. I'll give you a few verses, Psalms 29 verse 11. The Lord will give strength unto his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. Now in the midst of this virus and so forth, I mean, listen, if your mind runs away, bring that mind back in, renew it daily with the word of God, amen. Accept your affection on things above. Here's what I'm trying to remind you. Don't let all that garbage out there get your mind messed up. Let God settle your heart, give you peace in your heart. Let him clear your mind up. Let him pull all those pieces back together. He's still there. You're still saved. God's got a promise on you. You are his child. I promise you, he's there all the time. Man, that's kind of sounded like a little Joe Walsh. Isaiah 26, three, the Bible says, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. Why? Because he trusteth in thee. I go back to this a lot of times. I can still remember with my kids that I loved dearly and put them on a step. You all have done it with your families. I'm sure you've done it with your babies. And there'll be a time where you say, come to dad. and they'll look at you and then they'll kinda look around. They're not gonna do anything until they focus with you and say, you know what, Daddy loves me. Look at those arms, how muscular and strong. He's got me, and boy, when they lunge out, how many's ever done that with your kids? Somewhere on a swing set, somewhere they've jumped in your arm as if to say, Daddy, everything I am, I'm gonna put in your arm. Boy, this made you feel so good. I wish I didn't have to say this, but God'll put us through circumstances and times that you and I'll be faced where we think, where's everybody at? God says, I've never left you. You're looking in the wrong places. You'll find God in the Bible in awkward places. I mean, it's amazing where you'll find him if you'll just search scripture. But no matter where it is, God's faithful to his children, amen? And that's what he's telling you and I here. Thank God we have peace, Romans chapter five. I'm glad I have peace with God. And I wanna read that to you. In Romans chapter five, verse one, here's what he says. And it's through the blood, Bible says. therefore being justified by faith, we have peace. That means we have been acquitted. Anybody that's in Christ, thank God in heaven, the gavel has fallen, God said I'm satisfied, the blood's been applied, sins are forgiven, and they have been reconciled, they have been restored to a full relationship, why? Thank God peace took place on the cross. Christ says it is finished. Before they ever removed his body, God said, I'm satisfied. Thank God we have peace. Bible says, number three, why do I have a song? Because of his presence, because of his peace, and because of his power. In Matthew chapter nine, verse six, God has the power to pardon you. Think about that. You remember when God called you And he says, I will forgive you and save you. Bible's clear, otherwise you would never have came. You can't save yourself. And we have no righteousness, it's as filthy rags. Everything God required, we were bankrupt, amen. We was like Mephibosheth. There was a time that we thought we had it together, then we cast down in the wrong family, amen, in the wrong place with no hope. Lame on both feet, but thank God, But David said, is there anybody from the house of Jonathan that I can bless? And they said, well, he's got a boy. He has nothing to offer. He's somewhere in Lodabar. He's old enough to have a boy now. Go fetch him. Bring him back to the king's table. May I remind you, that's exactly what God did when you and I couldn't see him. When you and I lost our bearings seeing black in the sky, Jesus said, I see you. I'm coming for you. He has the power to pardon. Bible reminds you and I, not only is it the power of the pardon, but Romans chapter one verse four talks about a resurrection power. It talks about the spirit of God. Because he lives in us, we can do greater things. I began to study this a little bit, and here's what I found out. Even in problems, and I want you to turn, I want you to see this. I want you to go to Proverbs chapter 20. Boy, this spoke to my heart, because this was me. And many times, in the midst of problems, God allows problems. I have found this out. Listen, when you and I aren't obedient to the Lord, God can allow problems to come into your life to help direct you. Look what he says in Proverbs chapter 20, verse 30. If you're there, say amen. Here's what the Bible says. The blueness of a wound cleanses the way of evil, so do stripes, inward parts of the belly. You know what God says? Sometimes I've gotta bruise you because it's in the bruising of you that God will get your attention and help direct you. Somebody's ever had a good whipping? And you think, man, I thought I was gonna get by, but a good mom and dad whips their children because they love them. And here's what the Lord said, and folks, if you know anything about your Bible, Jeremiah, you know, Israel's gonna go through a bruising time during the tribulation. Anybody that God's ever used, many times that God's had to allow them to be bruised. It could be your own stubbornness, it could be your own decisions, but here's what God says, it's through the bruising of that wound that it'll help get you from where you don't need to be and direct you to the place that you ought to be. You think, well, I can't believe I got fired. Well, sometimes God allows that to get you out of a place that you would've stayed to to get you where he wants you. Well, I can't believe that happened. Everything in the world changed. God said, yeah, I changed it. Because you're settled into a place, that's not a place I have for you. God has a way. Now, this is revival. See, revival can be tough sometimes. Anytime you say, well, I don't care what God says, you better be careful. Anybody can walk in and out these doors and never get in this book. That's not revival, that's just a habit. Real revival is God, what do you say about this? And it's not about my will, but it's about your will. And anytime Israel got prideful, God had to deal with it. Anytime they were arrogant, God had to deal with it. And God will deal with you if you're a Christian. And God will deal with me. But may I learn, amen, if you've ever been whipped, my dad used a belt and I'm glad he did. There's been many times where I wanted to do something and you know what I reminded, what I remembered? Do I want that weapon? Look what it says. The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil. It'll make you think twice. Don't ever say, God, I don't like it. If you're a child of God, say, God, I might not understand it, but I trust you. Sometimes and many times, God has the power to direct us through bruising. Here's a second thought. God says, I wanna inspect you. That's what a good vine dresser does, amen? He'll absolutely inspect the fruit. I want you to see it in the Bible. Go to James chapter one. James chapter one, look what he says in verse two and three. My brethren, count it all joy. when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith, what? Yeah, you know what he's telling you and I? He said that's the best way for me to inspect you, is your flaws will surface. During temptations, you'll always lean towards your heart. And that's when we find out the problem. What he's telling you and I, through the journey of life, don't ever forget, God allows certain things. that he might inspect you. It's not as if God don't know. He's trying to get you to see what he already knows. Number three, the Bible talks about power. He has the power to direct us. He has the power to inspect you. And then look at Psalms 119, quickly. We're gonna land this plane. But I want you to see these truths. Psalms 119, look if you would at verse 71. God has the power to correct us. Verse 71, if you're there. Say amen. It is good for me that I have been what? That I might learn thy statues. Listen, that's what pride and arrogance does. I don't need God, I got this. God says you do, watch this. Now you know America's in that situation. You know the church of Laodicea, the pastor brought that out. He brought out prosperity this morning. What great truths to remind us that you can see that trace all the way through the Bible. where it causes men to get their eyes off of God and gets them on himself. Here's what he's telling you and I hear in these verses, and look at verse 72. He says, the law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and what? I'd rather for God to meet my needs than for me to break the law of God to fill my bank account. I'd rather learn to be content with what God's gave me than for the law a prosperity to take over. So the idea is he has the power to correct us. Now listen, I mean I can just think back some things, dumb things I've done in my life, but I didn't understand scripture. And there's laws, amen, in scripture that you just gotta honor it. Because if you don't honor it, then that law will teach you to honor it. It's kind of like, you know, you might drive down here and, you know, to 35, and you might get by a few times at 50. But if a cop's doing his job, there'll be a time, he's gonna say, hello, darling. And you're gonna think, well, why is he there? He's doing his job. The problem's not him, the problem's, you know, and I've been there. You get mad, but here's what the Bible says. Don't ever forget he has the power to correct us and then I gotta hurry. Bible says he has the power to protect you. Remember Joseph in the midst of all of his troubles, you know what God did? God took care of Joseph. Bible says he can also perfect you in Romans chapter five, verse three and four. God, listen, he wants fruit, more fruit, much fruit, but here's the bottom line. He wants to perfect you. Any problem that you might have in the old life, you gotta go back to the cemetery and say, you know what? When Christ died, I died with him. When he rose from the grave, I rose from the grave. You know, I've been united with Christ. I'm not gonna live that way anymore. You realize when you and I got saved, three things happened. Number one, we was birthed. Number two, we actually went to a wedding. We was united with Christ. But simultaneously, not only was we united, we went to a funeral, because now we died. So you was birthed, amen, you was united, married, and we know we got the public marriage coming, but also, you died with Christ. And there's times you gotta go back out to that cemetery and say, there's a time I united with Christ, I'm a new creature in Christ, and I don't do those things anymore. that he has the power to do those things. Here's my last point. Thank God we have a song in our heart because of his provisions. All through the Bible, here's what I learned. Even though Adam and Eve and their disobedience failed, God stepped in and provided. He provided, he provided the blood for them. You'll find not only their children of Israel, Pharaoh, God dealt with Pharaoh, took the people over the Red Sea, He united them with Moses, amen. All the challenges they had there on the way to Canaan and in the desert and all those things, you know what God did? He provided for them morning and night. Manna, quail, whatever they needed, God says, I gotcha. And he provided for them. Even in the midst of good days and bad days, you'll find God this, faithful to provide for his children. That's all through the Bible. You'll find in the time of the flood, during the various times, Psalm 37 verse 25 says it like this. Have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread. It's a great reminder. And then he says this. Thank God, I have a song in my heart because I've got the greatest family in the world, church family. Thank God I got a song in my heart because I have chosen a new circle of friends. My friends are God-fearing friends. My friends help me to serve the Lord and go to the right places. It's my friends that become a friend that helps me to understand God's plan for my life. I got a great family, I've got great friends, and then the Bible says I've got a song because I've got the richest fellowship that man can ever have, I fellowship with my creator, my sustainer, and my savior. I don't know how long it's been since you've walked in fellowship with God, but there's nothing any sweeter than when you get in his word, prepare your heart for the people, prepare your heart for your friends. God, with that light on my path, I can make better decisions God, because of better decisions, I can bear better fruit. And God, when it's all said and done, you'll say, well done. Amen? Well done, thy good and faithful servant. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed.