Feast of Tabernacles—Day 2

Key of David  I

October 14, 2011

- Video | - PDF | Audio | [Up]

Track 1 or Download

Greetings, brethren! Welcome to day two of the Feast of Tabernacles, 2011! This going to be really a tremendous Feast. The Feasts of God are really very important for us in every single way. It brings us together to hear messages for all the Feast and the Last Great Day and brings us together to fellowship and we see brethren we haven’t seen for a long time.

When we’re scattered the way that we are, this really is a tremendous highlight of the year. And, of course, it should be. This pictures, as we covered yesterday, our ultimate destiny and tells us where we are going and where we’re headed and what God wants us to do, and to have the blessing of being those who are going to take over this world and replace all the elite of this world and the rulers and those who govern and those who run the religions. They are all going to be demoted, lose their jobs.

Because we yield to God, at the resurrection and when we receive our assignments that’s when we are exalted. Being the very sons and daughters of God and carrying out the work of God is going to be a tremendous thing. Then we also know that the thousand years—as this Feast of Tabernacles pictures—and beyond the Last Great Day and what it’s going to be like to live in New Jerusalem forever and ever and ever.

Right now, a lot of us are heading toward the finish line. We’ve got the gray hair to prove it. We don’t know exactly when the end is going to be, but we also know that if we develop the character through the Holy Spirit of God, if we yield to God, if we love God, if we serve God, then God is going to bless us and we will be in that resurrection—guaranteed!

Today is going to be The Key of David #1. Let’s come to Revelation, the third chapter, and let’s see what the key of David really is. That’s something that Christ has, but it was also something that David had. There’s the first David, which we’re going to look at his life today and what was the key of David. And there’s the second David—Jesus Christ—Who is the One Who takes over the throne of David and rule forever and ever and ever. That’s going to be a tremendous thing for us, brethren.

We’ve got part of the greatest blessings, the greatest promises that have been given to any people at any time. Of course, that includes all the saints down through time. Let’s come to Revelation 3:7. Remember all of these messages to the seven churches were for all the churches, because it says, ‘he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ We can look at this not to declare ourselves as Philadelphians. Only God knows the hearts of those who are in what category of the church here in Rev. 2 and 3. Let’s look at the instructions, let’s look at what this tells us and let’s see what is the key of David.

Revelation 3:7: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write: These things says the Holy One, the One Who is true; the One Who has the key of David, Who opens and no one shuts, and Who shuts and no one opens.” We’re going to see that it can be applied to preaching the Gospel, that is true. But also, it applies with the key of David a relationship with God and an understanding of the Scriptures that only God can open, and only God can conclude it and close it.

Let’s look and see what God has for us. Let’s understand, first of all, concerning David. We know that God was a man after God’s heart, a friend of God. In spite of the fact of the sin that he had (we will cover that), but nevertheless there’s a tremendous lesson for us to learn in our relationship with God, which we will see is the key of David.

Let’s come to Acts, the fifteenth chapter. When they had the conference in Jerusalem and they had the dispute concerning circumcising the Gentile converts. When they came into Judaism every male had to be physically circumcised. We know what happened when God sent Peter over to Cornelius and how that the uncircumcised Gentiles received the Holy Spirit without being circumcised in the flesh. Because this was an important thing to happen, and to change the way that it was operated by the disciples in following Judaism, and, of course, it was in the Bible, too, that if a stranger would elect to join himself to the Lord, that he should be circumcised.

I. Loving God—a matter of the heart

Now we have the circumcision of the heart, and that’s a greater and higher standard of circumcision. They had the discussion about that; they came to Jerusalem:

Acts 15:6: “Then the apostles and the elders gathered together to see about this matter.” It’s very interesting that it was the Pharisees who were bringing the charge that the new disciples—new believers—ought to be circumcised in the flesh, just like they had to do when they entered the synagogue. That’s why God had to do the miracle that He did with Peter going to Cornelius. All the apostles and elders gathered together to see about this matter, but notice the Pharisees weren’t there. This is the last that we hear of Pharisees in the Church. Apparently after that, they left. They said, ‘This is too much, we can’t handle it.’

Verse 7: “And after much discussion had taken place, Peter stood up and said to them, ‘Men, brethren, you know that from the early days, God made the choice among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the Word of the Gospel, and believe. And God, Who knows the heart… [you could also term it this way: the heart-knowing God! God is the One Who tries the heart and tries the reins. The heart is the most important thing with the key of David.] …bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, even as He did to us, and made no difference between us and them, andhas purified their hearts through the faith” (vs 7-9)—through belief! And that’s what circumcision of the heart is, which is accomplished with baptism, laying on of hands and receiving the Holy Spirit.

Verse 10: “‘Now therefore, why do you tempt God by putting a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?’” That statement includes all of the traditions of the elders. That was the yoke! Jesus refers to it in Matt. 23—burdens ‘heavy to bear.’

They sat in the seat of Moses, and when they proclaimed something from the Law of God and told people to do it, Jesus said that you’re to do that but don’t do ‘after their works, because their works were their traditions, for they say and do not.’ Just like it is of the elite in the world today, they say, but they don’t do! They exempt themselves from everything.

Verse 12: Then all the multitude kept silence and heard Barnabas and Paul relate what signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. And after they were silent, James answered and said, ‘Men, brethren, listen to me’” (vs 12-13). At that time James was the one who was leading the whole discussion. He was the apostle in Jerusalem. He was the brother of Jesus Christ. Notice what he told them:

Verse 14: “‘Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take out a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written’” (vs 14-15). Let’s notice what he says here; let’s notice how he phrases this, because (as we will see) the key of David is a matter of the heart in your relationship with God.

Notice how James refers to the Church, and he gives a quote from the Prophet Amos, v 16: “‘“After these things, I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David which has fallen… [What was the ‘tabernacle of David’? Very few really know what the ‘tabernacle of David was. We will see exactly what that phrase means.] …and its ruins I will build again, and will set it up; so that the residue of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom My name is called, says the Lord, Who does all these things.” Known to God are all His works from the beginning of the world’” (vs 16-18).

Then he says, ‘My judgment is no, those who are converted of the Gentiles—because they received the Holy Spirit and it’s a cleansing of the heart and a circumcising of the heart—they don’t need to be circumcised physically. It refers the tabernacle of David that God is going to build again. That is the Church. That’s why it’s referred to back in Rev. 3.

Let’s look at what is the most important thing concerning our hearts, what we need to do, our relationship with God, and how we can serve God in every way. This is the whole basis. Is this not what Jesus did? Is this not what David did?

Let’s come to Matthew 22—you all know this; you all should have this memorized by heart. This is really the key to conversion, the key to a relationship with God, the key to our understanding and how we could use the example of David to build the character and love of God so that we can build the Godly character that God wants us to have. This is what qualifies us to be kings and priests.

The world has it all backwards. They are elected or are placed into office, and their character is not tested or known. We’ll see David had his fault—yes, he did. But we’ll also see what he did.

Here was a doctor of the law tempting Jesus, and he said, Matthew 22:36: “‘Master, which commandment is the great commandment in the Law?’” I know we’ve repeated this very often, but the more we understand it, the more we repeat it, the more we read it, the more we rehearse it, the more we have it in our mind, the more we’re able to live by it.

Verse 37: “And Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart… [notice that it started out first with the heart. God wants you to be totally His—all your heart.] …and with all your soul… [or all your being] …and with all your mind.’” That’s why I did the series on The Washing of the Water by the Word. And why we have those things which are the instructions in the Bible how then we are converted greater, growing in grace and knowledge having:

• the love of God
• the hope of God
• the faith of God
• the Truth of God
• the joy of God
• the peace
• the longsuffering
• the goodness and kindness
• the gentleness and meekness

All those things are the very characteristics of God, so that we can have Godly character.

He says, v 38: “‘This is the first and greatest commandment; and the second one is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’” (vs 38-40). Jesus told us, ‘By this should all men know that you are My disciples, IF you love one another.

Here at the Feast of Tabernacles we can practice that love for one another. I want everyone to make a special effort, not just to see those friends that you have known for years, but to meet new and different people. Fellowship with those—go out to eat together, spend time together—and let this Feast be an example that we can be known by loving each other, as Jesus has commanded us.

Now, let’s continue on here and see what we need to do. Let’s look into the life of David. We covered yesterday how he was chosen, but let’s come back to 1-Samuel. After God had given him the kingdom, we’ll see how important this is and how this was done. In 1-Sam. 7 we find the time before David came to Jerusalem, and this was in the days of Samuel the prophet. What happened, you remember, the sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas—took the Ark of God on a war, a battle that God did not tell them to go on. Of course, the children of Israel were not to go to war unless God told them to, so they would know that God was with them.

Since God wasn’t with them and because of the sins of the sons of Eli, God let the Philistines capture the Ark. You know what happened when they placed it in the house of Dagon. Dagon fell down and worshipped the Ark. That happened twice and he got all broken up and God struck the Philistines with mice and hemorrhoids. Finally, they got the point: this punishment is from God, so they put the Ark on a cart with goats to pull it and headed it out toward the land of Israel.

When it got to the land of Israel, they put it in the house of Abinadab in Kirjath Jearim; so the Ark was there, and it stayed there until David brought it up to Jerusalem.

Now, let’s come to 2-Samuel, the fifth chapter, and let’s see when they brought it up. Let’s see how great this is; what a tremendous thing this is. It talks about how David was anointed first king over Judah—and he reigned seven years—and then king over the house of Israel. We find this account given of that:

2-Samuel 5:1: “And all the tribes of Israel came to David, to Hebron, and spoke, saying, ‘Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were he who led Israel out and brought them in. And the LORD said to you, “You shall feed My people Israel, and you shall be a shepherd over Israel.”’ And all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. And King David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel” (vs 1-3)—all 12 tribes of Israel.

The only time that all 12 tribes were really together was under David and under Solomon. After Solomon’s sin, it split again. We have here the account of that, and David then wanted to bring the Ark of God into Jerusalem. Here’s what happened. We’re going to learn something very interesting here, because this will have to do with the relationship between David and God. We will see will have to do with the heart of David as we see some of the Psalms that he wrote, where he wrote them and how important that this was.

1-Chronicles 13:1: “And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. And David said to all the congregation of Israel, ‘If it is good to you… [Notice what he said because we’re going to see that the good intention that David had, he made a mistake. Sometimes that’s the way it is with us, too.] …and if it is from the LORD our God, let us send to our brethren, those remaining in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites in their cities and that they may gather together to us. And let us bring again the Ark of our God to us, for we did not inquire at it in the days of Saul’” (vs 1-3). Think of that! All during the days of Saul and also after it was captured, then it came to Kirjath Jearim—apparently not many people went there.

David gathered them, all of them, they came up, v 6: “…to bring up from there the Ark of the LORD God, He who dwells between the cherubs, Whose name is called on it…. [Notice what they did; the Levites did this. It doesn’t say the Levites right here, but we’ll see that’s what they had to do in the final analysis.] …And they carried the Ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab. And Uzza and Ahio led the cart. And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with lyres, and with harps, and with drums, and with cymbals, and with silver trumpets. And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the Ark, for the oxen stumbled” (vs 6-9). Everyone wonders why did God do this Uzza?

Verse 10: “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the Ark. And he died there before the LORD. And David was displeased because the LORD had broken forth upon Uzza. And he called that place The Breach of Uzza, as it is to this day. And David was afraid of God that day, saying, ‘How shall I bring the ark of God to me?’” (vs 10-12). So, David didn’t bring it.

Verse 13: “And David did not bring the Ark to himself in the City of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. And the Ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had” (vs 13-14). Quite a dilemma! What happened, he found out—in consulting with the Levites—that only the Levites should handle it; only the Levites should bring it. So, that’s what he did.

Here’s what David did; here’s part of the relationship that he had. You might say that this was a forerunner, in the Old Testament, which pictures our privilege with our prayers to enter into the Holy of Holies in heaven above with Jesus Christ at the right hand of God the Father.

1-Chronicles 15:1: “And David made houses for himself in the City of David, and prepared a place for the Ark of God, and pitched a tent for it…. [So, there was a special tent that was made right there in the house of David.] …Then David said… [He finally understood the Scriptures] …‘No one ought to carry the Ark of God except the Levites, for God has chosen them to carry the Ark of God and to minister to Him forever’” (vs 1-2).

He finally got it straight. Just like us: Lots of times we have good intentions and it doesn’t work out. Then we figure out what we ought to do. (facetiously): I know that hasn’t happened to hardly anyone of you—of course, that’s not true. Then we figure out what we need to do right and then we do it and God blesses us. That’s what happened in the case here with David.

Verse 3: “And David assembled all Israel together to Jerusalem to bring up the Ark of the LORD to its place which He had prepared for it.” Right in his own house; a special tent. This was really quite a good thing for David. It’s interesting that he didn’t bring it to the tabernacle. The tabernacle was in Gibeon, but he brought it to his house. Quite an interesting thing.

Then it lists all the Levites who were there—gathered the sons of Aaron and the Levites. Verse 11: “And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites… [and it lists all of them] (v 12): … And he said to them, ‘You are the heads of the fathers of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, so that you may bring up the Ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place which I have prepared for it…. [then he admits he’s wrong]: …Now, because you did not do it at the first, the LORD our God broke forth upon us, since we did not seek Him according to the ordinance.’ And the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves in order to bring up the Ark of the LORD God of Israel. And the children of the Levites carried the Ark of God on their shoulders, with the staves on it, as Moses commanded according to the Word of the LORD” (vs 11-15).

Verse 25: “Then David and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the Covenant of the LORD out of the house of Obed-Edom with joy. And it came to pass when God helped the Levites who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, they offered seven bulls and seven rams” (vs 25-26). Then it talks about how David was clothed and how he danced before the Lord.

Verse 28: “Thus all Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sounding of the ram’s horn, and with silver trumpets and with cymbals sounding aloud with harps and lyres. And it came to pass as the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD came to the City of David, Michal the daughter of Saul, looking out a window, saw King David dancing and playing. And she despised him in her heart” (vs 28-29). Well, God took care of that little problem later.

1-Chronicles 16:1 [transcriber’s correction] tells us the beginning of the relationship with God and David, with the Ark in the tent in his house. Let’s see what he did: “And they brought the Ark of God and set it in the middle of the tent which David had pitched for it. And they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God.”

Apparently they made an altar of stone outside there, and they made the offerings. If you didn’t take to where the altar of burnt offerings was—up in Gibeon—then they had to build an altar of stone for those sacrifices to be accepted.

Verse 2: “And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. And he divided to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread and a portion of meat and a raisin cake” (vs 2-3). This was really a big deal. This was really quite a celebration when this occurred.

Notice what he did, and then we will see something which will answer the question concerning some of the Psalms. Verse 4: “And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel.” Then it lists all of them.

Here is the first Psalm that David composed, v 7: “Then on that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren in order to thank the LORD.” What happened was, Asaph was one of the chief ones there. When you go through and read the Psalms, what do you see? The Psalms of Asaph! Those were the ones that were also written by Asaph, because he was one of the chief administrators of the Ark of the Covenant at the tent in David’s house; it must have been a special part of the house in order to have that.

I’ll let you read all of the psalm. I’ll let you read how God blessed David because of that.

Now, let’s come to 1-Chronicles 17 [transcriber’s correction] ; we’ve covered some of this yesterday so we won’t repeat that, but just merely make note of it. 1-Chronicles 17:1: “And it came to pass as David sat in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, ‘Behold, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD dwells under curtains.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.’ And it came to pass the same night the Word of God came to Nathan, saying, ‘Go and tell David My servant, “Thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in, For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wherever I have walked with all Israel, did I speak a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people, saying, “Why have you not built Me a house of cedars?”’” (vs 1-6). Then he rehearses about David and He says, ‘Your son is going to build it’ and so forth.

So, that’s the way that it happened and we covered that yesterday. Now let’s look at the characteristics of David and let’s see that with these Psalms—when he would play the harp, when he would play the lyre, when he would sing the Psalms to God—he would come right before that tent, which was the Ark of the Covenant.

Because of that—before he sinned with Bathsheba—he was a man ‘after God’s heart’ like no other man has ever been.

Let’s come back to the book of Psalms and let’s see this; let’s see how God loved God mightily. It also shows that you must constantly maintain your relationship with God every single day. When you slack up on it, and you let things get out of hand, and you don’t draw close to God—what’s going to happen? There’s a way that seems right to a man, but the ends thereof end in death! That’s why we must maintain the relationship. What happened to David when he did sin? Well, it was a lot of trouble!

Psalm 18:1: “I love You, O LORD, my strength.” Have you ever said that to God? Oh, God, I love you! Thank You for loving me! Thank You for sending Jesus! This is the key, the heart of David!

Verse 2: “The LORD is my Rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my Rock in Whom I take refuge; He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.” He knew that he was totally dependent on God for everything. This is a tremendous Psalm here!

Verse 3: “I will call on the LORD, Who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies.” Then he shows how that was:

• how God delivered him
• how God favored him
• how God rewarded him

—and all of those things. Let’s see how David’s attitude was. With God’s Ark and with God’s presence with the Ark—as He put His presence in the Ark—right there in the house of David; that was really something!

Well, we have the same relationship with God when we get on our knees and say ‘Our Father, in heaven…’ That goes right up to the throne of God! Let’s see what David said:

Verse 30: “As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the LORD is tried…. [Yes, like seven times that silver is tried in the furnace.] …He is a shield to all those who take refuge in Him.” Brethren, that’s what we need to do in the days ahead, take refuge in God!

So, we see the first thing concerning the key of David is that he loved God! Obviously, as we read in Matt. 22, with all his heart, with all his mind, with all his soul. We will see that he was totally wholehearted to God.

Let’s come to Psalm 31 and let’s see some more about the love of God; let’s see what he also taught people to do.

Psalm 31:21: “Blessed is the LORD, for He has shown His wondrous loving kindness in a besieged city.” We can apply that to us today. When we’re surrounded with all kinds of problems, God can show His wondrous loving kindness and relieve us from the distress.

Verse 22: “For I said in my haste, ‘I am cut off from before Your eyes;’ nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to You.” Don’t let the thought that if something happens that you’re cutoff from God. Cry out to Him! He will hear you, just like with David.

Verse 23: “O love the LORD, all you His saints!…. [Isn’t that what we ought to do: love God with all our heart, mind, soul and being? Yes!] …The LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud doer. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the LORD” (vs 23-24). Fantastic!

We can be strong in the Lord! We’re never strong on our own, even though we may think we are. That’s when we get ourselves into trouble, because we get lifted up in vanity.

Psalm 40:16: “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You… [that’s the way we need to do at this Feast of Tabernacles] …and let the one who loves your salvation always say, ‘Let the LORD be magnified.’” That’s why Jesus said, ‘Woe to you when men begin to speak well of you.’ That means you get puffed up in vanity and all that sort of thing. Jesus said that this is what they did to all the false prophets; they got them all puffed up.

Always remember our situation, v 17: “But I am poor and needy; may the LORD think upon me; You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.” Quite something—isn’t it? Notice that that’s the relationship that he had:

• he loved God
• he trusted God

So, #1 is David loved God.

II. David’s Heart was Fixed and Unmovable

This is something we need to do. This is a choice we need to make. How do we remain steadfast with God? Is your heart fixed continually? If so, that’s part of the key of David and that’s part of your relationship toward God. A lot of these are in the Psalms, because that’s where we find out about David.

Psalm 57:7: “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.” When you have your heart fixed, your thoughts, your mind, control of what you’re doing doesn’t slip away from you. You’re able to pray constantly; you’re able to yield to God: ‘My heart is fixed, O Lord, I love You!’

Verse 8: Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I myself will awake the dawn. I will praise You, O LORD, among the people; I will sing of You among the nations.” (vs 8-9). And he will do that at the resurrection—right? Isn’t that going to be something? Wouldn’t it be a great thing to hear a duet of David #1 and David #2 (Jesus Christ)? Imagine what that will be like. Maybe we’ll have a service on the Sea of Glass and there will be special music by David and the son of David. Fantastic!

“…I will sing of You among the nations, for Your steadfast mercy is great even unto the heavens and Your Truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth” (vs 9-11). What a fantastic thing that is that we can draw close to God! Yes! That’s something!

That’s something, having your heart fixed! And with the glory above all the earth, it will. That tabernacle over Jerusalem, that’s going to be quite a thing! This is why in the series that I did: The Keys to Answered Prayer—21 sermons—went through the Psalms. This is why it’s good, if you feel kind of stagnant in your prayers, then you take your Bible, open it up, turn to the Psalms and start reading them and praying about them:

• ask God to help you
• ask God to give you understanding

Then your own prayers will begin to flow using the Psalms as a starting point. This will also help you to learn to pray, too.

Psalm 108:1: “O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and I will give praise, even with my glory.  Awake, harp and lyre; I will awake early…. [No Laodiceanism here—right? No! None at all!] …I will praise You, O LORD, among the people; and I will sing praises to You among the nations, for Your mercy is great above the heavens; and Your Truth reaches unto the clouds” (vs 3-4). Repeating again what he said in Psa. 57.

Verse 5: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth, so that Your beloved may be delivered; save with Your right hand, and answer me” (vs 5-6). Isn’t that something? Yes, God will hear and answer! Notice how he cried out to God:

• O God, hear me!
• O God, help me!

In the day that we’re living in, in the situation of our circumstances in our lives—yes, we need that every day. Come over here to Psalm 112—this is another tremendous and great Psalm.

• this can give us strength
• this can uplift our spirit
• this can give us joy
• this can give us peace of mind

The Psalms and this kind of relationship with God will help us to

• grow in grace
• grow in knowledge
• To love each other
• to serve God
• to love God
• to do the things that He desires

After all, isn’t that what we’re going to teach the world to do in the Millennium? Yes, indeed!

Psalm 112:1: “Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments.” I wonder how Protestants who say ‘the law has been abolished’ handle this verse.

Verse 2: “His seed shall be mighty upon earth… [that’s us; those in the first resurrection] …the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house… [which we will receive as spirit beings] …and his righteousness endures forever. To the upright… [to us now] …there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious and full of compassion and righteousness” (vs 2-4). That’s why we need to go to God.

• when we have troubles
• when we have difficulties
• when we sin

We do sin; there’s no man that doesn’t sin. That’s why we’re told every day to ask God to forgive us our sins.

Verse 4: “To the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious and full of compassion and righteousness. It is well with the man who is gracious and lends freely; who conducts his affairs with justice” (vs 4-5). That’s how it carries over into our lives and how we are to live.

Verse 6: “Surely he shall not be moved forever… [no, because his heart is fixed] …the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.” Never forget this: God loves you, has given you His Spirit, Christ is in you, and He doesn’t forget you! You’re part of the greatest work that God is doing. Really! The greatest work of God is not what preachers do. The greatest work of God is what He does spiritually in each one of us.

Verse 7: He shall not be afraid of evil tidings… [We’re living in troubled times—no need to be afraid.] …his heart is steadfast… [Fixed! That’s another translation of fixed. Never wavering, never moving, never doubting] …trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; he shall not be afraid until he sees his desire upon his enemies” (vs 7-8).

Whatever the enemy is, you put it in God’s hands. Someone is going to ask: It says to ‘love your enemies,’ how do you love your enemies? The first thing you do is pray that God will call them to repentance! If they don’t do that then you pray, ‘God, keep them far from me.’ If it happens that they won’t do that, then you pray, ‘God, execute Your vengeance upon them for whatever You desire that happens to them.’ God will do that, because you’re putting it in God’s hands.

Verse 9: “He has given freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn shall be exalted with honor.” That is the government of God under Christ. Notice what will happen; God is going to turn the tables on the evil ones.

• those who persecute us
• those who hate us
• those who don’t like God

Verse 10: “The wicked shall see and be angry; he shall gnash with his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked shall perish.” And we are going to help extinguish all of them and establish the Kingdom of God.

1. Loving God

2. His heart is fixed and unmovable

This is what we need to keep in mind, brethren when having the heart of David.

Track 2 or Download

A tremendous thing! What happens when you have your heart fixed? We read how Jesus said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and being’—right? If your heart is fixed:

• How then are you seeking God?
• How is your relationship with God?
• How much to do you derive from prayer and study?
• How much do you derive from being able to have this relationship with God?

Let’s see! Let’s see how David responded to God, and how God wants us to be. Remember, if we’re repenting Laodiceans—which we all ought to be—so we can have the key of David and the heart of David, here’s the solution to it:

Psalm 111:1: “Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart… [No secret little sin cover left for you. That’s been taken care of by the washing of the water by the Word.] …in the council of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the LORD are great, sought out by all those who have pleasure in them” (vs 1-2).

And you find that right out of the Bible. You find that right in the creation—whether it be the heavens, the earth, the things in the sea under the earth. All of those are the works of God. The greatest works of God is what God is doing in you:

• to write His laws and commandments in your heart and in your mind
• to give you His love
• to give you His hope
• to give you His blessings

That’s tremendous, isn’t it? Yes!

Verse 3: “His work is glory and majesty; and His righteousness endures forever…. [That’s what it’s going to be with us, too—isn’t it? Yes, indeed!] …He has made a memorial for His wonderful works… [What is that memorial? The Sabbath; the Holy Days!] …the LORD is gracious and full of compassion” (vs 3-4). That’s why we can come to God anytime and ask for:

• His forgiveness
• His love
• His faith
• His hope
• His healing
• His intervention
• the cleansing of the Holy Spirit with the washing of the water by the Word

Verse 5: “He has given food to those who fear Him; He will always be mindful of His covenant.” God never forgets His covenant. Remember, we’re in the covenant of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Verse 6: “He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations.” That’s what the Feast of Tabernacles is all about. We are going to inherit the nations under Christ, to rule over them; to bring them the love of God. If they get out of hand, yes, we’ll have the rod of iron—we can use that. But that will be administered in severe cases.

Verse 7: “The works of His hands are truth and justice…” That’s what God wants in us: truth and justice! We are the work of His hands. You go clear back to the forming of Adam and Eve. We’re the work of His hands, and we’re the extended work that God is doing continuously down through time in history. Every human being is a work of God.

“…all His precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever; they are done in Truth and uprightness” (vs 7-8). Notice how great this relationship of David was with God. This is the key of David and here are the parts of it that we are going through.

III.  Wholehearted to God

Verse 9—this is a prophecy of us: “He sent redemption unto His people; He has commanded His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name…. [or, as the margin says, reverend] …the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever” (vs 9-10). Fantastic, brethren! How do we approach God? Well, if we love God, if our hearts are fixed, we’re going to approach Him with our whole heart! That’s quite a magnificent thing. This is how we’re to do it—we even have a song in the hymnal based on Psa. 138. Notice how great this is:

Psalm 138:1: “I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praise to You. I will worship toward Your Holy temple, and praise Your name for Your loving kindness, and for Your Truth; for You have magnified Your Word above all Your name” (vs 1-2). Isn’t that something? Your name and Your Word is magnified above all.

Verse 3: “In the day when I cried, You answered me and made me bold with strength in my soul.” That’s how you get rejuvenated. God’s Spirit! God’s Word! Remember what Jesus told the apostles about His Word: ‘The words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are Life.’ You get from the pages of the Bible, as you read, something you cannot get out of any other book. You get that Spirit and you get that Life. Isn’t that something?

Psalm 119:10: “With all my heart… [all my heart] …I have sought You; O let me not wander from Your commandments…. [Notice what you do when you have your heart fixed and you love God, when you’re wholehearted toward God]: …Your Word I have laid up in my heart, so that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes” (vs 10-12).

Now, there’s something else that will happen, and this is a key to understanding the Bible and letting God’s Word speak to you. And with this attitude and in studying the Bible you will see this happen over and over again.

Verse 18: “Open my eyes… [Paul prayed that the ‘eyes of your mind’ may be opened. We can apply it with the full impact of God’s Spirit.] …so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.” Out of Your whole Word; out of the New Testament; out of everything that there is.

Brethren, it says here a little later that all ‘the commandments of God are worth more than gold, yea, than fine gold’; more precious! If we look at God’s Word that way and treat it that way and guard it that way as we’re supposed to, and let it become a very part of our heart, mind and being—just think how great that is going to be.

You’ll see how all of these follow in sequence:

IV. You hunger and thirst for God

Psalm 63 really tells about the relationship that David had with God, having the Ark right there in a tent in his house. This also tells us more about our relationship with God. Notice what it does to your whole being. The Word of God, the Spirit of God, are health to us. (This is one my favorite Psalms):

Psalm 63:1: “O God, You are my God, earnestly I will seek You!…. [It says seek with the whole heart, too.] …My soul thirsts for You. My flesh longs for You, as in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see Your power and Your glory—as I have seen You in the sanctuary” (vs 1-2). There’s David before the tent; probably looking right through the veil of the tent and probably see an outline of the Spirit of God there—the Shekinah, the presence of God. “…as I have seen You in the sanctuary.” How else can you explain it, because the sanctuary was that little tent right in his house? David could not go to the temple and go to the Holy of Holies and do that.

Isn’t that something? Let’s stop and think about this for a minute. David had access to the Ark of God in the tent: for prayer, for study, for praise, for worship every single day! However, the priest at the temple or the tabernacle—when the Ark was in the Holy of Holies—could only go in there once a year on the Day of Atonement. Isn’t that amazing?

Verse 3: “Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips” (vs 3-5). Notice how absolutely given to God that David was. That’s the key of David!

Notice how it affected his life, v 6: “When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches….” Wake up at night and think on God! Wake up at night and pray to God! Get up early in the morning—at dawn—and praise God! What a fantastic thing that was. Brethren, we have better than David had. We have God’s Spirit, plus we can pray directly into the Holy of Holies in heaven above through Jesus Christ every single day, with every single prayer!

Verse 7: “Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.” Notice how absolutely and totally dedicated that David was to God. Remember where we started: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Notice what he says here, v 8: “My soul follows hard after You… [That is his whole being!] …Your right hand upholds me.” That’s the attitude that David had. He didn’t worry about the enemies. God would take care of the enemies. He hungered and thirsted after God! What are we told in Matt. 5? ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.’ Notice how that carries over into the New Testament, as well.

V. David understood human nature, the nature of man

Isn’t that something? Let’s see how David understood the nature of man. We’ll get to the purpose of man—the ultimate destiny of man—a little later. This is why we have to be using the Holy Spirit of God to keep us really humble. Being humble and not being exalted in vanity, lust, jealousy, greed and all of those things is an operation of the Holy Spirit of God; that’s an operation of your relationship with God. Let’s see how David understood it. When he got involved with Bathsheba he forgot this. This is why everything is day-by-day.

It’s not the athletes that understand this, because what they always say is: They’re interviewed and someone will ask them, what are you going to do? Well, I’m going to take it day-by-day! That’s actually a Biblical principle.

• This is what we need to do.
• This is how we keep from sinning.
• This is how we overcome.

Psalm 39:1: “I said, ‘I will take heed to my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue… [Now with the New Covenant, we are not to sin with our mind.] …I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked are before me.’…. [Yes, even someone who doesn’t speak is counted as intelligent, because he doesn’t make a mistake and a fool out of himself by speaking.] …I became dumb, keeping silent; I said nothing good, and yet my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: ‘O LORD, make me to know my end and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how short lived I am.’” (vs 1-4).

That’s why I have asked people to hold their breath and see how long they can hold it. What’s the longest you can hold your breath? I suppose those who are trained could do it pretty close to five minutes—maybe a little bit more. But God made it so that you breathe; you’re going to have to breathe sooner or later. That reminds of how weak the flesh really is and how dependent on God we are.

Verse 4: “‘O LORD, make me to know my end and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how short lived I am. Behold, You have made my days as a handbreadth…’” (vs 4-5). That’s the humility in understanding human nature, and understanding that only God can help you overcome it. Think of this, and this is true: Can you overcome human nature with human nature? No! Even though there is the evil of human nature, you could use some of the good of human nature to overcome it temporarily, but it doesn’t change the heart! God wants the heart changed.

Verse 5: “‘Behold, You have made my days as a handbreadth and the span of my days is as nothing before You. Surely every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.’” Think on this!

If you don’t believe that, you don’t believe how sinful man and woman really are, just do channel surfing through however many channels you have from 25-250—whatever it may be. You will see, just as Solomon wrote: ‘Vanity! Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ You will see sin, sin, sin, sin!

Yet, the scripted reality of the world is everything is nice and happy and wonderful. If you just do this, or if you buy this car, or if you take this drug—whatever you may do—and it completely avoids how evil that human nature is. Then you look at some of these destructive war movies and you see how ugly and vain it is, and you see some of these things where it’s a cult and demonism and spiritism. You understand that Satan the devil has those people right in their grasp—right? Yes, indeed!

Verse 6: “Surely every man walks about in a vain show! Surely they are in an uproar in vain…. [Boy, does that sound like Washington, D.C.? Yes, indeed!] …He heaps up riches and does not know who shall gather them…. [I’ll tell you who’s going to gather them—all the saints! God is going to give us the riches of this world.] …And now, LORD, what do I wait for?…. [Seeing all of this, What am I going to do, Lord? What is my life when I understand this, and how foolish and nonsensical it is?] …My hope is in You” (vs 6-7).

• Not in self!
• Not in vanity!
• Not in deception!
• But in God!

Verse 8: “Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the fool. I was dumb; I did not open my mouth because You have done it” (vs 8-9). Then he talks about correction that’s necessary. Sometimes we need correction, because human nature needs to be corrected. It does not operate on its own good.

• We need to be corrected.
• We need to be changed.
• We need to be molded.
• We need to be re-programmed.

Verse 10: “Remove Your stroke away from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand. You correct a man for iniquity with rebukes, and you make his beauty to vanish away like a moth. Surely every man is vanity. Selah” (vs 10-11).

One of the keys of David, one of the keys of understanding the relationship with David is to understand the futility of human nature, and to understand the difficulties that we present to ourselves because of the evil that is within, and

• how much we need God
• how much we need the Truth
• how much we need the righteousness of God

every single day!

We see in the world—know what it is—this is what the world is in. This is what the world is built upon. Satan has deceived the whole world. How do some people think that they can avoid God and get along in the world? You know one of these days down the road it’s going to catch up with them. They’re going to be like the five foolish virgins. The disasters are going to come and they’re going to say, ‘Where is God? Yes, I heard of this. I remember that when I was in the Church. Where’s God? Where’s the Church?’ It’s going to be hard to find. I hope they drop to their knees and repent. God will forgive them, but they’ve got to realize what they have done. They live in a world that is based upon the rejection of God!

Psalm 14:1: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God! They are corrupt; they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.” You look what is happening in the world, because people operate in secular states. That means God is not allowed. Do we have trouble? Do we have problems? Do we have difficulties? You sure know we do!

Verse 2: “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any who understand, who seek after God.” That’s why, brethren, it’s so important

• that we remain true to God
• that we follow the keys of David
• that we understand what human nature is like and what the world is like

—and not be attracted to it in a way that it’s going to pull us away from God. We can live in it. God isn’t going to take us out of it. But He’s going to keep us from the evil one—especially if we have the heart, mind, attitude and key of David.

Verse 4: “Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, those who devour My people as men eat bread and do not call upon the LORD. There they are in great fear, for God is with the generation of the righteous” (vs 4-5). That’s us! God is with His people, not with this world. We’re going to see what this world is coming to. We know what it’s going to be.

Verse 6: “You have put to shame the counsel of the poor; but the LORD is his refuge. Oh, that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the LORD turns away the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad” (vs 6-7). That’s why we’re here! That’s why the Feast of Tabernacles! Here’s what we need to look at; here’s what God is going to do. That’s why any allure and appeal of the world—though there may be pleasure in sin for a short season—it’s all going to end in disaster. God says so!

Psalm 12:1: “Help, O LORD, for the Godly man ceases; for the faithful disappear from among the children of men…. [What a perfect description of this world.] …They speak falsehood each one with his neighbor… [No one can tell the truth anymore.] …with flattering lips and a double heart they speak” (vs 1-2). Sounds like the politicians—right? What will I speak to this group? This group likes to hear this, why don’t you say that to them! Okay, blah, blah, blah! What does this group over here like? Well, they like thus and such! Okay, blah, blah, blah, blah! And the politicians go on and do exactly what they want to do. Same way with the ‘religionists.’

Verse 3: “The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things, who have said, ‘With our tongue we shall prevail… [especially if you have a TelePrompTer; he’ll be sensational] …our lips are our own; who is lord over us?…. [Here’s what the world is coming to]: …For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, I will now arise,’ says the LORD…. [That’s going to take place with the Feast of Tabernacles.] …‘I will set him in safety from him who puffs at him’ (vs 3-5). That’s why we take

• refuge in God
• refuge in His Word
• refuge in the Truth

and we

• love God
• serve God
• we obey God

In the middle of all of this that’s going on in the world, v 6: “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, O LORD; You shall preserve them from this generation forever…. [Words of God never going to fail!] (again, going back to the description of this world): …The wicked walk on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men” (vs 6-8). Quite a thing to understand—isn’t it? Yes, indeed! Hey, that’s just the way it is in the world today.

This sermon has been rather easy with all of the Psalms—right? We haven’t had to go too far in the Bible, figuring out all of these things. That’s because all of these come from David, and come from the heart of David, and come from yielding to God and having that tabernacle right before him to go and to pray and to yield to God.

Psalm 94:11—again it contrasts the vanity and the thoughts of men who don’t have God, compared to what God will do. “The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity…. [notice the difference here]: …Blessed is the man whom You chasten… [We need correction, too—don’t we? Yes!] …O LORD to teach him out of Your law” (vs 11-12). Not only do we love God, we love His law, we love His commandments, we love His Word, we love His statutes, we love everything that God has done.

Verse 13: “That You may give him rest from the days of trouble until the pit is dug for the wicked, for the LORD will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance. But judgment shall return unto righteousness; and all the upright in heart shall follow it” (vs 13-15). There we go! Those are the keys of David!

• Relying on God to fight for him
• Relying on God to bless him

• He loved God
• His heart was fixed
• He’s wholehearted
• He hungered and thirsted after God and His way
• He understood about human nature and what was in man

Tomorrow we’re going to learn some more about the key of David and how that is important for us, for today in growing and changing and overcoming. Continue making this the best Feast possible.

• rejoice with the brethren
• be with each other
• serve each other
• love God
• stay close to God

and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Scriptural References:

• Revelation 3:7
• Acts 15:6-10, 12-18
• Matthew 22:36-40
• 2 Samuel 5:1-3
• 1 Chronicles 13:1-3, 6-14
• 1 Chronicles 15:1-3, 11-15, 25-26, 28-29
<
• 1 Chronicles 16:1-4, 7
• 1 Chronicles 17:1-6
• Psalm 18:1-3
• Psalm 31:21-24
• Psalm 40:16-17
• Psalm 57:7-11
• Psalm 108:1-6
• Psalm 112:1-10
• Psalm 111:1-10
• 16)   Psalm 138:1-3
• 17)   Psalm 119:10-12, 18
• 18)   Psalm 63:1-8
• 19)   Psalm 39:1-11
• 20)   Psalm 14:1-2, 4-7
• 21)   Psalm 12:1-8
• 22)   Psalm 94:11-15

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

1 Samuel 7

Matthew 5

Also referenced: Sermon Series:

The Washing of the Water by the Word

Keys to Answered Prayer