Revealed To Little Children

Luke 10.21

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, LORD of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."

I love being around kids. This past Monday, after we had prayed with the nursery school staff, Kevin and I went into the 4 year old classroom and drew pictures with crayons. When we were almost done Kevin said, "Let's turn them into Get Well cards."  So we did and brought them up to Alice.

I love hanging out with kids, being with them, doing things with them, worshipping with them, praying with them, learning from them. They can teach us some things!

I love praying with my grandkids. Their hearts are free before the LORD.

Our Father in Heaven looks at us as little children!

How different from how many see themselves:

Old

Aging

Sophisticated

Educated

Highly Educated Aristocratic

Beautiful when an elder with great learning remains like a little child in their faith.

We are tracing the steps of Jesus to Jerusalem in those days of the gathering storm before Holy Week.

This verse of scripture explodes with spiritual truth!

The Trinity is revealed.

One of a number of instances where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in the same sentence.

1. Praising God

*It is a good thing.

*We need to do more of it!

*We are very blessed.

Jesus sets the example.

First of He was praying.

His prayer was not long.

His prayer was one of praise.

Look at what He was praising God for.

We need to praise Him more for the eternal things.

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Look through verse 14!

When we are full of joy through the Holy Spirit we will praise the LORD. To do that we have to become more attached to heaven and less attached to this world and everything in it which is passing away!

We need to find our joy in God. There is no other place to find joy.

Joy is not dependent on circumstances.

Jesus was on His way to the cross yet He was filled with joy. Why?

2. Our God Reigns Over Heaven and Earth

Jesus has all authority over them given to Him by the Father

I need to remember that when Satan buffets.

I need to remember that when I read the news.

I need to remember that when struggles come.

He is in control.

I believe in some small measure our suffering can be understood in the words of Jesus to Peter after He wielded the sword in the Garden the night Jesus was arrested.

Matthew 26:53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 

Suffering in a believer's life can be the will of God for that time.  We dare not tamper with it like Peter had been and was continuing to do.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD makes His  life a guilt offering,  He will see His offspring and prolong His days,and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. Isaiah 53.10

We need to reminded we are following Jesus and where He was heading and what He said about following Him.

And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”Then He said to them all: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 

Luke 9.22-23

How could Jesus be filled with joy on His way to die?

Hebrews 12:2-3 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 

Go in God's Will.

Don't think something is permanent when it is not. 

See Into The Future

3. The Riches of the Kingdom Have Been Given To Us.

Unlikely recipients

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 

The hidden things have been revealed to little children. 

Revealed= Uncovered, disclosing something up to this point which was unknown to anyone.

Humble

Teachable

Loving

Childlike faith

When I see the learned and the talented and those much more capable than me I am in awe that God chose me. When I see how simple and childlike my faith is and I read this passage I am told why.

We have this treasure in an earthen vessel. We are in filled with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. God has chosen to use us in these Last Days. We have a small role in His kingdom, one that has come from Him.

Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 

Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. 

Remain childlike in you faith. God will reveal wonderful things to you.

The Great Confession

Luke 9.18-22

Look at verse 51. This was not Holy Week but it was a transitional time in Jesus ministry. His focus had been around Galilee, now His face is set for Jerusalem. The cross becomes His focus. Jerusalem His new destination. Whereas He spent His time in the fishing villages around the Sea of Galilee for the most part. He is preparing for His Death (and Resurrection and Ascension) at Jerusalem.

Matthew tells us that this took place in Caesarea Philippi. Luke tells that it was a place of prayer. 

The place is significant, particularly to the Jews to whom Matthew was writing.

Banias originally called Paneas, in honor of the Greek god, Pan whose shrine is located here. Rebuilt by Herod's son Phillip and called Caesera Philippi after Caesar Tiberias and himself, this is where Peter made the great confession about Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

William Barclay writes, "The area was scattered with temples of ancient Syrian Baal worship. Here was an area where the breath of ancient religion was in the very atmosphere. Here was the place beneath the shadow of the ancient gods.

Not only the Syrian gods had their worship here... by Caesera Phillipi there rose a great hill, in which was a deep cavern; and that cavern was said to be the birthplace of the god, Pan, the god of nature. So much was Caesera Philippi identified with that god that its original name was Panias, and to this day the place is known as Banias. The legends of the Greek gods gathered around Caesera Philippi.

Further, that cave was said to be the place where the sources of the Jordan River sprang to life. Josephus writes, 'This is a very fine cave in a mountain, under which there is a great cavity in the earth; and the cavern is abrupt, and prodigiously deep and still full of water. Over it hangs a vast mountain, and the under the cavern arises the springs of the River Jordan.' The very idea that this was the place which the Jordan River took its rise would make it redolent of all the memories of Jewish history. The ancient faith of Judaism would be in the air for anyone who was a devout and pious Jew.

But there was something more. In Caeserea Philippi there was a great temple of white Marble built to the godhead of Caesar. It had been built by Herod the Great. Later (as mentioned earlier) it was Philip, Herod's son, who further beautified and enriched the temple, changed the name of Panias to Caeserea- Caesar's town- added his own name to distinguish it from the Caeserea on the coasts of the Mediterranean. No one could look at Caeserea Philippi, even from a distance, without seeing that pile of glistening marble, and thinking of the might and of the divinity of Rome.

Here is a dramatic picture. Here a homeless, penniless Galilean carpenter, with twelve very ordinary men around Him, at the moment the orthodox are plotting to kill Him, stands and asks the question, 'Who do men say that I am?' He stands there in an area littered with the temples of the Syrian gods; in a place where the ancient Greek gods looked down; in a place where the history of Israel crowded in upon the minds of men; where the white marble splendor of the home of Caesar-worship dominated the landscape and compelled the eye. And there- of all paces this amazing carpenter stands and asks men Who they believe Him to be and expects an answer, 'the Son of God.' It is as if Jesus deliberately set Himself against the background of the world's religions in all their history and splendor, and demanded to be compared with them and to have the verdict given in His favor. There are few scenes where Jesus' consciousness of His Own Divinity shines out with a more dazzling light."

The remote place of prayer.

Caesarea Philippi today is in ruins. It is part of a large National Park where one can walk for miles on paths. It is beautiful. Away from the hustle and bustle of Galilee, it was to this area Jesus brought His disciples for some rest, prayer and to get away with them.

God is calling us regularly to get away with Him, to spend time with Him alone or with other followers. He bids us come. He has things to reveal to us in the quietness. It was in the secluded place of prayer that the great confession was made. Jesus said to Peter, "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you , but my Father in Heaven." This revelation came in the place of private prayer. The Revelation of Jesus Christ came to John, the apostle on the Isle of Patmos where he was exiled. John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress in a jail. Paul wrote a whole group of letters termed "The Prison Epistles". Dietrich Bonhoffer wrote letter s from prison and they have been placed in a book by that name.

Make time for prayer. We can be busy in the kingdom to the point where our prayer life suffers.  Jesus shows us how to avoid that. Luke 5:15-16 Yet the news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Pray continually. 

Take time to talk to God and to listen to Him. Sit quietly before Him and wait.

Lamentations 3:25-26 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeksHim; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. 

It was while they were on this prayer retreat that Jesus asked these two questions. Matthew tells us a little bit more.

.  

Matthew 16:13-16 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

1. The Great Confession was Personal.

Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is seeking to get people to confess Him as LORD.

He asks.

He does not force, manipulate, coerce, threaten. He asks.

He asks simply, directly, awaiting for an answer.

Peter, the first to do so.

Romans 10.9-10 

Acts 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.

There are the opinions of men. We will speak about the current ones in a moment.

During Jesus' ministry: Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Jesus and Peter had more personal  recorded conversations than any of the other disciples. Peter was the spokesman, John was the writer.

Confessing Christ as LORD, the Son of God is what life is all about. You are not living until yo do that. You may be seeking or getting close but you are not living until you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is LORD. When you do you are saved. Christ comes into your heart and you are made alive in Him.

People you know may be a thousand miles away from Christ today but they are really are only one step. If they turn, look and live!

2.  The Great Confession was in the backdrop of comparison. 

Greek gods, Roman Government

Who do men say I am?

What do they say today?

Liar

Lunatic

Legend

LORD

Great Teacher

C.S. Lewis's quote 

In his famous book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis makes this statement, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg--or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call him LORD and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us"

We need to ask  people the question today, "Who do you say Jesus is?"

No one has had more influence on the human race than Jesus Christ.

No one even comes close.

The Fulfillment of the Ages. I Corinthians 10.11 

3. The Great Confession Led to More Revelation vs. 21-22

Where He was going. They were His followers.

What was going to happen there.

The confession of Jesus as the Son of God, His Messiah leads us to discipleship and suffering. It means following Jesus to the cross.

The Calvary Road- I am crucified with Christ.

It is a daily walk.

It is a denial of self walk.

It is a walk with destiny but not always one of awareness of all God is doing.

It involves a cross, your cross- suffering in your life makes you like Jesus.

Matthew 16:13-19 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 

Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 

Habakkuk, A Conversation With God From Sobbing to Singing

Habakkuk 1-3

Habakkuk 1.1-5

The nation is going down the tubes. Every day brought more shocking news of the deteriorating conditions. When it seemed like things could not get any worse, more news would come of even further decline. Living in those times brought special challenges to the people of God. It tested their faith and perseverance.

Things were spiraling out of control. The economic situation, the moral mess, the problem with the legal system were all part of the nation's demise. The law was paralyzed. The wicked had the righteous in a place where they could not make a move in the courts. Judges were ruling against the Word of God. God's people had the courts turn on them, ruling in favor of wickedness. The judicial branch of the government and the decisions handed down from the judges' bench is a good indicator of where the nation is spiritually.

There was violence all around.
There was widespread breakdown in relationships, conflict was everywhere. There was no peace.

Things are falling apart. It seems as if the downward trend will not stop.

Habakkuk grew frustrated.
Human frustration... not being able to work my weed wacker. Go to Mr. Pawson... lawnmower tires.
Spiritual frustration... praying and getting no answer.

Habakkuk was perplexed and on the verge of despair. Yet he was still praying. He was still going to God with the things that perplexed him. Our prayer life is a spiritual barometer of our where we are spiritually. Are you still going to God? Then All is not lost!

God is letting us see the heart struggles of a man of God and how He worked in his life to bring him peace.

There are lessons in this little book for you and I as we pray for our families, the church, our nation, the world and ourselves.

1. Chapter One A Burden: The Problem
Habakkuk's complaint
LORD, You're showing me these things and You are not doing anything!
The "seemingly" indifference of God to our prayers.

He was perplexed vs.2-4
The silence, the seemingly inactivity of God, the "apparent" unconcern of the LORD troubled his soul.

Habakkuk appears to be a contemporary of Jeremiah. We know both of these men struggled with the ministry God has given them.
Jeremiah 9:2 Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers,so that I might leave my peopleand go away from them;for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.

Jeremiah 12:1 You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before You.Yet I would speak with you about Your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

Jeremiah 20:14-15, 18 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying,“A child is born to you—a son!” Why did I ever come out of the wombto see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?

But even after God judged Jerusalem, Jeremiah's faith held firm! And God was faithful to the prophet.
Lamentations 3:22-26 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietlyfor the salvation of the Lord.


So Habakkuk persisted and God spoke. v.5

Do not judge by mere appearances. "I am doing a work."
God has given us great promises and is working out His great purposes.

A further problem is our inability to understand what God is doing.
Many times we do not understand. Many times we don't understand the workings of God in our lives, what He is doing, why He is doing what He is doing. God told him he would not believe it.

The second problem: How can a holy God use a wicked nation to punish His chosen people? 1.12-17
It certainly was not the answer Habakkuk expected.

It is good to wrestle in prayer over issues that trouble us but it we need to remember to wait and listen to God speak to our hearts.

So often we do not understand what God is doing. We are told plainly in Isaiah 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

We are told that but we do not always receive it. We want to know what God is going to do, how God is going to work this problem out, when God will do it.
He has given us His Word. We so often, like Habakkuk want more information. We want the specifics. God gave them to him and he struggled more.


2. Chapter Two A Vision The Solution

Habakkuk decided to wait.
To the on who waits, God does not remain silent.

One of the wisest things you can do is wait for the LORD. It brings the best for you and brings added benefits of peace and strength.

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

In waiting God spoke finally.

God's answer

The just will live by his faith. Habakkuk 2.4
Romans 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Galatians 3:11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”

Hebrews 10:38 And,“But my righteous one will live by faith.And I take no pleasurein the one who shrinks back.”

God is just.
Israel had sinned: pride, greed, selfishness, murder, drunkenness, lust and idolatry.
God is faithful.

Affirming our faith in the face of "seeming" contradictions.
God is good.
God is in control.
God loves me.

3. Chapter Three A Prayer The Assurance
Habakkuk's response

I heard what You said LORD and I didn't like it. But I am going to live by my faith. I am going to trust You. Don't stop doing what You are doing! v.1-2

Verse 17 Jump up and down
Verse 18 Spin around for delight in God.

Habakkuk started in the depth of a valley, stood on his watch tower and ended up dancing on the mountains.
His faith in God lifts us up, He restores our soul, and He gives us hope for the days ahead.

Maybe today things have you down in the valley. Maybe the nation's spiritual condition has you down. Maybe things in your life. God is working a work in you.

Leaning On Your Own Strength

II Samuel 24.1-10

As we shared last week David knew the victories he experienced came from the LORD. He wrote Psalm 124 with this thought in mind.

Psalm 124:1-5 If the Lord had not been on our side—let Israel say— if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us,the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.

He knew that if the LORD had not been on their side, there would be no more Israel. God is a Promise Keeper. He was keeping His promise made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

David used the pictures from nature's floods in Psalm 124 to describe the disaster that would have happened if the LORD had not been on their side in battle. He taught it to Israel.

Yet we see David leaning on his own understanding and therefore his own strength here. Here the man after God's own heart has a lapse of faith, yielding to the temptation to lean on his own understanding. When a person God has chosen makes a bad decision it has ramifications that are always larger than one can imagine:
*Abraham's decision to father a child with Hagar
*Joseph's brothers selling him as a slave
*David deciding to number the troops

David failed to keep his own words of Psalm 124

1. Numbers Do Not Tell The Whole Story. vs.1-3

God has resources we know nothing about. He knew that! Goliath...
On the run from Saul, he wrote how it was the LORD Who kept him safe.

David's desire to number the troops was a move away from God's help, a turning from depending totally on the LORD, a shifting of his confidence in God's ability to protect and deliver them to having confidence in the flesh.
Paul wrote to the Philippians about this.
Philippians 3:3-7 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence.If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

Do we look at our resources as that- loss for the sake of Christ. David faced Goliath in the power of God. He refused the armor and took his sling. He depended upon God.

Leaning on our own strength as a believer is like David is Saul's armor. It does fit, it encumbers us and makes it hard to walk. Yet it is a temptation. As a young shepherd boy David refused it, now as the king, and he had so many instances of God helping him to remind him, he still caves in and depends upon man's strength.

Joab and his commanders advised against it. Joab's question in verse 3.


Why would he want to do such a thing?
1- Curiosity
2-Laspe of Faith
3-Worry about the Future

1 Chronicles 21:1 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

The temptation to prepare for battle if the we have to it alone is ridiculous.
David was going against his own words, "the battle is the Lord’s."

We are in a spiritual battle today and the battle belongs to the LORD. We cannot fight the spiritual battle in our strength. If we try we will be defeated an depressed an discouraged.


2. Ignoring Good Sound Advice is Pure Foolishness! v.4

David overruled good advice from those who had seen the power of God firsthand.

To not take advice is a form of pride. "I know better."

When pride comes in and it is insidious, any good counsel is rejected, often not even allowed a hearing. Maintain a teachable spirit always. Some of us because of our background or the make up of chemicals in our brain have to fight against this need to be right (even when we are wrong). A teachable spirit must be developed and maintained. The strong willed and the gullible must develop it.

Joab had been a good commander, a faithful friend, a loyal subject to David. His question (v.3) is worthy of thought and an honest answer. David gave neither. He had this in his mind and we really don't know what caused it but we need to take the warning here.

Beware after God has been faithful to you your whole life that you do not doubt on Him on the very areas He has proven Himself faithful before. Be careful that you always feed your faith the Word of God.

It is possible that David, after the LORD had blessed him so abundantly with military success that he neglected the prescribed reading of Deuteronomy 17.14-20 and the rest of the law. It would not be the first time this happened to a child of God. Spiritual breakdown occurs when there is a lapse of feeding the spirit... beware of substituting service to the LORD for this.
We must continue to press in. Retirement is in heaven!


3. Too often we don't realize the wrong until we have done it and guilt kicks in.
- vs. 8-10

But before we do the wrong God is faithful in warning us. He spoke through Joab.

He speaks through His Word.
He speaks through people.
He speaks through His Spirit to our spirits.

The census was completed.

Way more than originally came into the land under Joshua.
The difference between Numbers and numbering under David was this. In Numbers God gave the command. Here David is doing it. It was for different motives.

The tendency to trust in numbers rather than God. Finances... age are all measured in numbers.

Why do we concern ourselves with things God is taking care of?
So many things have grieved the LORD because we began to count or take stock.

Perhaps much of failure in the past has come through numbering our own capabilities. How much do we count on the power of God? Today everything is numbered, projected and figured out leaving no room for God to move... and then we wonder when He doesn't!

We are given spiritual armor for this battle we are in and with it we will win! Don't rely on your own strength, your own resources, your own abilities. Rely and trust in God.

Remembering the lessons of the past, Relying on the LORD in the present to take care of the anxieties of the future. Make this the theme of your life.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Proverbs 3.5-6

Praising the LORD

II Samuel 22:1 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

David had his struggles in life, early on.
There was the jealousy of his brothers, after he, the youngest was annointed by Samuel.
There was the jealous rage of Saul, which after the victory over Goliath, drove the King mad. Jealousy is never justifiable. In these cases even more so because David was a humble person.
There was the battles with all the surrounding nations to bring peace to the land of Israel.
David was at war in some form or another for about 20 years.

David never forgot, never got away from the fact that it was the LORD Who gave him all these victories.
His mantra his whole life was rooted in his early days of the conversation with Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:45-47 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”
The Battle is the LORD's. Victory comes from Him.

David expresses this even more fully in Psalm 124, no doubt after the victories spoken about in our scripture this morning.


1. Believers Should Sing To The LORD.

Ephesians 5:18-20 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Singing is the language of the heart. The times when I am among brothers and sisters of a language other than English, when they sing, I can join in with them in English with the songs I know. To the ones I do know the words to I can enter into the praise of God in my spirit as they sing.

I sing little ditties to my grandkids, make up words to well known tunes or tune that I make up.

David had a relationship with the LORD where he would take up his heart, let loose of praise within and worship. Probably Psalm 23 was composed this way.

God looks at the heart, not the voice quality. Where does music come from? from your heart!

This was a song of praise to God for the victories He had given David.
We can sing to the LORD and we should all the time, in all circumstances.

David sang this when he was on the run from Saul:
Psalm 34:1-3 I will extol the Lord at all times;his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord;let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.

Our music heritage is deep and wide. As believers we have the Psalms, we have the hymns of the church, we have worship choruses and it continues to this day. God gives a song!

Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lordand put their trust in Him.

He even gives us songs in the night to sing to Him.
Job 35:9-10 “People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night..."



2. When God Answers Prayer We Ought To Praise Him

Always but especially at these times.

I have to confess. Sometimes I need the LORD to remind me. He has interesting ways of doing that in my life. As I was going over my notes Saturday.

David was doing that here. The Psalms are full of requests from David.
But they are equally full of full of thanksgiving. The Psalms reflect what should be in our prayer life. They are the prayer book of the Bible.

So often we do a little praising then rush right to our requests. It shows our faith but lacks gratitude! We have to be obey the promptings to thank God much the way children need to be by their parents. He prompts us in many ways. Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

This Psalm, this chapter of II Samuel, is a response to God answering prayer in the life of David particularly when it came to his enemies.

He wrote out this Psalm. We ought to write down the blessings. Speak of them often. Not just in church but always! I was taking my kids to the airport the other night and the sky was gorgeous with the clouds and sun. I took a few pictures, then we began to talk about God being with us. The grandkids were listening. We talked about moments when the LORD put on these displays in the heavens. It was so good.

Psalm 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.

No wonder David wrote
Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

3. When God Delivers Us We Should Express Gratitude.

David prayed over Saul more than any other person.
Saul was the king but David was God's anointed.
Saul was rejected and David was God's chosen.
There was no way this was going to end well.
It went on for 10 years. A decade of nightmarish hell for David.
He lived like a dog, being hunted like an animal.

Then God brought him to the place of being king over all Israel.
Then he led the army of Israel in battles.

2 Samuel 7:1 After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he wanted to build the temple.

God told David through Nathan it would be his son but that God would build a house for David and there would never cease to be one of His descendants on the throne!

God gave him some wonderful promises. He wrote this Psalm in that time. A Psalm could be written from each one of our lives concerning what the LORD has done for us!

Many have done that in the hymns they have written.
Like this on Fanny Crosby wrote.
Blessed Assurance