Be Faithful to Him, so He Hears You

STUDY: #918- CHURCH IN THE HOUSES FROM: NOVEMBER 6 @ 12, 2016

TOPIC: “Be Faithful to Him, so He Hears You” Psalm 66:1-20

God is to be praised. In order to worship Him, we need joyful sounds. ("Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise!" "Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard..." Psalm 66:1-2, 8) But instead of praising, all many do is abundantly doubt, complain, and share bad news. If we think about it; to give glory to God means to give Him what is already His. ("Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!" Psalm 66:3) Devotion, unless it is distinctly addressed to the Lord, is nothing but whistling in the wind. His power will bring man to their knees before Him. ("So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you." Vs. 3) In hell there are surely thousands of knees that on a bad day bowed down to Him. But they did not do it as a heartfelt tribute. For the Almighty, it was a forced act out of despair, and not devotion. This is the only way men submit; because it is the last thing they can do. This is not loyalty. It is the power of God that keeps them submitted under His unlimited dominion. He is the Lord of all creation, the Almighty God. "All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name." (Vs.4) All the earth will worship Him, and sing to Him. This happens when He replaces the sighs and sobs with music, to get rid of our misery. This is the way we’ll be able to see Him face to face. When you pass through the bitter sea of this life, and arrive safely at the eternal land of promise. Learn to worship Him! We should worship Him loudly ("Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard…" Vs. 8). Saints live and stand because of divine grace. Those whom God preserves are immortal and unshakable. ("Who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip." Vs. 9) "For you, O God, have tested us..." Vs.10 God has no child who has not been put through tests. The day comes when the hymns of our afflictions are sung more sweetly because our mouths have been purified by bitter tastes. It is said that we do not know how much the actual maize crop will be until it is completely grounded. Nor will we know how much the grapes will give, until its juice is pressed. God refines us like silver; to get from us what He wants. (Vs.10 "You have tried us as silver is tried."). A well-built oven is needed to refine silver. The person that builds the oven must have great experience and skill to ensure the precision and accuracy of the final product. GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE THESE STEPS UP TO ANYBODY ELSE! He will do it Himself and bring out the best in us ("You laid a crushing burden on our backs." Vs.11). God puts afflictions upon us; do not forget this! If you acknowledge this, you will patiently submit to the pressures that afflict you. There will come a day when for every ounce of burden, we will receive a great envelope, and eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17 "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison..."). "You let men ride over our heads." Vs.12 These men are the proud pursuers. Lions do not fight other lions. Snakes do not use their venom on other snakes. But man is the main cause of the tribulations and afflictions of other men! God tests us. ("We went through fire and through water." Vs.12) How many cruelties and attacks come from man! We have survived the tests unharmed, and so the church of God has survived all! Pharaoh came to Israel, and he made them murmur. It wasn’t the hunger, nor thirst. It was this human enemy against them. It was a man who put them in a bind, and according to them: nothing was worse than the Egyptians! The thirst, poisonous snakes, pestilence, and so on were not the worst thing. The worst thing was the cruelty and attacks of man himself. But, the Liberator is great. Release is certain. The affliction is painful, but the exaltation glorious. ("Yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance." Vs.12) The enemy or enemies cause us wounds; they bring us challenges and betrayal. But we are the ones who receive the most help. We see that Jesus appeared before Paul and said, "Why do you persecute me?" Men ride on us, but He will come out to defend us.

We will bring a burnt offering to God no matter what. ("I will come into your house with burnt offerings…") A grateful praise offering! The smallest sacrifice we can offer God is obedience. Extreme distress should open the door of our lips. ("... that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble." Vs. 14) We will give God the very best. A good man will do so (Vs.15). We have to say what God has done for us ("Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul." Vs 16). Such generosity, and abundance from Him! "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." Psalm 66:18 Iniquity lodged in the bosom hinders prayer. If you listen to the devil, God will not listen to you. If you refuse to listen to God's commandments, He will surely refuse to listen to your requests. If God were to accept our devotions when we are still delighting in sin, this would make Him the God of hypocrites; which is a name fit for Satan. But not for Him. We see that it is best to be faithful to Him, so that He hears us. As a child of God, He will test, and refine you like silver. But you: praise Him, and exalt Him. Bless Him, and sing to Him! You will see that the Lord who loves you will bring you to abundance, and preserve your life; freeing you from your enemies! Amen.