(This is an edited transcript of an audio teaching from 10/20/2009)
If you would take your Bibles please and turn to Psalm 31, I think that would be a good place to begin today.
Psalm 31:19–20 says,
“Oh, how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shall hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man. Thou shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.”
I know, as we live our lives, it gets busy. Lot of things going on. I would say if you’re pretty much a normal person, you can’t get accomplished everything in a day that you would like to get accomplished. So, then you begin the next day and start all over again.
But right here, verse 20 says, “Thou shall hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man. Thou shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.”
It’s really important for us to be refreshed and strengthened in God’s presence, and that’s so that we can continue with some joy, some joy? We should be really joyful in our lives. Something that God’s Word directs us and talks to us about is that our joy would be full. There’s a verse in Psalm 16 that says, “In thy presence is fullness of joy.” In I John, it says that, “we write these things unto you that your joy may be full.”
So, my encouragement is, is that we’re going to learn the importance of being joyful and quiet. I know we live in a world where everybody wants to speak up and speak their mind and make known their opinions and how important what they have to say is. But the title of this teaching is called “Our Secret Place” and when we spend time with God in prayer and in the Word, we enter into that secret place, which is a place of peace. It’s a place of rest, and it’s a place of security. It’s where we give our cares to God, and we trust God to take care of us. It is where we are protected. And certainly some of the things that the enemy tries to attack us with are untrue thoughts, hurtful words and/or the circumstances of life. Anybody ever had an attack in any one of those categories? If you’re not raising your hand, you should be. Because if you have never had a thought in your mind that’s not true, then something’s wrong with you. You’re perfect.
That’s one of the ways that the enemy introduces the deception of his lies, is with the thoughts that he promotes and promulgates. He doesn’t care how it gets across to you, whether it’s through your administration at your work, the media, your best friend. It doesn’t matter. But what these tactics do and what they’re used for, and they’re used actually very effectively, is to bring pressure, to bring anxiety, and to bring stress.
I would like to say before you all that I have had stress in my life this week. Is there anyone else here who has had some form of stress in their life this week? Yes, absolutely. Absolutely! You know why? We are in a spiritual life here, and we have been studying and spending so much time talking about praising, about worshiping, about giving our hearts to God, opening ourselves up to God, giving God the one thing he really desires to have, that we may receive some pushback spiritually.
John 4:24, remember? “They that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.” The one thing the enemy wanted was to be like the most high God and it caused his fall. What did he primarily want behind the scenes? Worship!
The devil’s like the Wizard of Oz, kind of. He’s controlling things and manipulating things, but when you pull the curtain back, you see it for what it really is. The one thing the adversary, the devil, really wanted was praise. See? So in some respects, maybe it comes as no surprise that he’s trying to put pressure on people, fill them full of anxiety, get them all stressed out. Why? So they completely forget about praising and thanking God and remembering the benefits of the things that God has given them. That’s why it’s so critical for us to get into the secret place, get into that environment where we are fellowshipping intimately with God.
And I’m talking outside of this environment. (the weekly fellowship) Because if this is the only environment you’re getting it, then pressure, anxiety, and stress can pretty much be a guarantee of the type of fruit that you will see and be putting up with.
How do we defend ourselves against those things that the enemy would throw at us, because we’re all pushed for time. Maybe you could sit there and ask yourself, “Well, easy for you to say that, but I don’t have any time in my life. I already get up at 4:30 in the morning. I get home at 6:30 at night. I have kids. I have responsibilities. I have fellowship.” Wow!! And I’d say, “Man, you are busy.” But look, verse 20 of Psalm 31 says, “Thou shall hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man. Thou shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.”
You see, we can be assured that whatever others speak against us or whatever circumstances or situations arise, it can’t hurt us. It can’t get to us. It can’t get to our hearts because we’re protected by His presence. Look in Isaiah chapter 54 verse 17. “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
Because I’ll tell you, to try to walk as a man or a woman of God with no joy in your life, it is a drudgery. It is hard work. And many times what ends up happening is we then try to do it in our own strength, and we become religious in our activities rather than realizing it’s not in us. I mean, it’s in us, but it’s not in what we have done or are doing to bring these things to pass. A lot of traditional Christianity has taught do, do, do, get out there, do it, do it. But the true heart of God’s Word says it’s already done. Done, done, done. And that’s why so many times there’s this push to control people’s behavior when behavior is not really the issue. The issue is really more of that people don’t understand who they are, truly. I’ll bet that’s something we could go into that secret place and talk to God about. And let’s say, “Father,” or however you start it, I don’t know. “I don’t see my life that big. I don’t understand this. I know I hear what Barney’s teaching, but I need to see this for myself.” (Part II to come)
“If silence is golden, not many people can be arrested for hoarding.”-Unknown
Chosen Gems 