God Is Faithful, You Can Trust Him - Best of Bill Johnson Sermons | Bethel Church

0:00 I'm going to trust God. He's the God who works wonders. I don't understand what he's going to do. I don't know how he's going to do it, but I'm going to trust him. God is faithful in impossible situations. Verse 8 says, Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. you king have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, psaltery, and symphony with all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the golden image. Whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast in the midst of a fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon. So these are leaders now. Because of Daniel's favor, these guys literally rode in on the coattails of Daniel to be appointed as leaders in various responsibilities in Nebuchadnezzar's government. All right. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke saying to them, is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the image which I have made good. But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver you from my hands?

2:00 Glad you asked. Glad you asked. You're about to meet him. Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this manner. Oh, Jesus. Oh, just savor the taste of those words. We don't have any need to answer you. they're not going to yield to a political spirit to talk themselves out of a problem. They don't have the need to answer. Where else do we see someone not needing to answer when they're accused? Jesus. As a lamb that is silent, led into slaughter. Wow. Verse 17, if that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace.

2:58 He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar was very happy. filled with joy full of fury expressionless face changed towards Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and he spoke and he commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated and he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans and their other garments and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace therefore because the king's command was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Thank you.

4:09 Man, how hot does that have to be? these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished. He rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? they answered and said to the king true oh king look he answered i see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt and the form of the fourth is like the son of god I want that video. verse 28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke saying blessed be the God that's a good idea you change your tone blessed be the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego who sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him and they have frustrated the king's words and yielded their bodies so that they should not serve nor worship any God except their own God.

5:38 This is a tremendous story. I love the children's stories because they are children's stories, they are memorable. Through the years, pastors and Sunday school teachers and the like have found the stories that are easiest to relate to, easiest to remember, and articulate them to children. How many of you heard this story of Shadrach, Meshach, when you were growing up? Even in business, you hear stories of Daniel in the lion's den. You'll hear analogies. You'll hear David and Goliath, and it'll be used in business of the small company facing the big company. And they use these biblical stories because they're so easy to remember. And quite honestly, they're so profound in their impact. But this story has one element to it that is an absolute treasure to me because it clarifies, at least for me, it clarifies for me this journey that is nonstop, unrelenting, non-negotiable into the absolute demonstration of God's love and power in every situation.

6:51 There's this one phrase, actually it's a sentence, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego say to their king, God will deliver us. Period. but even if he doesn't we're not going to bow before your gods let me tell you I've got one point to the message tonight there's one thing more important than the miracle that's your faithfulness in the midst of mystery That was it. that was it being faithful is the supreme challenge and gift that God has given us because of his faithfulness we have the ability to make the bold confession of faith I like they didn't say we don't know what God's will is they said God's going to deliver us but even if he didn't I'm not bowing before your God.

8:06 I feel like I feel like it's wisdom for us not to dilute faith. I'm finding it a little difficult how to express this. Do you get the picture here? God will deliver us. The absolute confession of faith. I believe so much in that because I've seen times where nothing happens until there's that bold confession of faith. But somehow I have to know how to maintain my absolute non-negotiable position of pursuing the miracle in every situation but also being able to say my faithfulness is not dependent on that happening that's it my faithfulness does not depend on that I've watched through the years and I've noticed that some people unintentionally put God on trial.

9:09 put them on trial in that, God, I confess that you're good. I know that you're good, but we really need this breakthrough. And my devotion to him is dependent upon that breakthrough. that doesn't work out very good very often. It's the person who lives in abandonment to the Lord that most often sees the extraordinary breakthroughs. Every breakthrough releases glory. just picture this for a moment I was walking around the room this morning I was just occasionally I'll just go in history mode and give thanks for what I've seen and I was walking through the sanctuary I get here early, early in the morning and I love it they turn the music on for me the lights are off and just a few spotlights on the stage or something and I walk, I have the whole room to myself nobody bothers me because I'll yell at them no that's not you there's nobody here so I walk around the room and as I walk by this spot I say God I thank you for the day I saw you heal colon cancer right here and I walk up here and I said God you healed esophagus cancer right here and you gave the woman a brand new esophagus and I thank you Lord for the jaw that was broke 10 years ago and she couldn't even open her jaw very far for 10 years because of excruciating pain, and you healed it.

10:45 And Lord, for the ankle that was healed over here that broke 14 years ago, and there was such torment on her life because of this. And the gal that got up under the wheelchair over here that was paralyzed from a stroke, and she walked, God, I give you praise for that. And for the MS that was healed right over here, a gal that couldn't walk from here to the front row without being exhausted, was able to sprint and was just fully restored. And the woman that was born deaf in her 40s, it was over here that began to point at the speakers in the ceiling and was overwhelmed by hearing. And she couldn't, we tried to talk to her, but she'd never heard words before, so she couldn't communicate. And we just walked through the room and just remembering the history of extraordinary breakthroughs with the Lord, celebrating his kindness, celebrating his goodness. I've seen too much and if I never saw another miracle I am responsible to be faithful because I've seen the age to come I've seen the kindness and the goodness of God demonstrated in a way I didn't know if I'd ever get to see I'd read about it in books I'd cried over it for years and I've seen it with my own eyes and now we're driving another stake into the ground. Yes, he's good. Nothing's impossible. Everything was accomplished at Calvary, and you as an individual are significant, but there's another stake.

12:12 Regardless of what we see happen, we will remain faithful because he has been so perfectly faithful to us. Verse 3, trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. Whenever you see dwell in the land, it's a picture of Israel in the promised land. What does that foretell? It foretells the kingdom living lifestyle that is available to every New Testament believer. When Jesus said the kingdom is at hand, repent for the kingdom is at hand, what he's doing is he's saying dwell. In fact, here's another way to put it. Abide in Christ.

12:51 Live in that place of communion and fellowship, because in that place you have perfect peace and you have continuous access to unlimited resources that enable you to accomplish all you were assigned to accomplish. Dwell in the land. feed on his faithfulness that's a command to review the testimony feed yourself on the record of what god has done i concern i'm concerned a little bit that if i were to give uh to the bethel family specifically if i were to give you a questionnaire and ask you to ask certain questions you could answer the right answers but is it what we do when we're in crisis is it what we do when we're in trouble Is it our first response? You understand what I'm saying? Feed on his faithfulness. What does that mean? It means I've got to look where he's been faithful. And I have to feed on it.

13:44 What does that mean? It means I have to dwell on it until it becomes nourishment. It doesn't mean it's a passing thought. It means I stop there and consider it a meal. It's not fast food. dwell in the land just abide in christ stay connected to the presence stay connected to your purpose you don't always have to be mindful you don't always have to understand what god's doing i rarely do but if i honestly i i don't i don't i mean i i i have moments where i see direction and all that and i'm thankful when i do but most of the time i'm abiding i'm just maintaining peace. I'm just doing whatever is at hand what I'm supposed to do next. I don't, I don't concern myself with having to understand everything. I don't remember the last time I asked God why.

14:39 It's brought a lot of peace to my life to stop asking him why, because he never answered. I found it's easier just to not have the frustration. I will do this. I'll say, God, I don't want to go through that one again. And if you can give me understanding, if there's any part of that breakdown that just happened, any part of this problem we just faced, this loss that we just experienced, if there's any part of that that I was deficient in that I'm asking this next season that you teach me. But I don't ask them why, because usually what we end up doing is we make up answers. we make up answers that have some sort of a spiritual root to them and they're not at all what God is saying I hear better going through life than I do stopping. Now, it may not be for you.

15:37 If you say, God, what does this mean? And he speaks right to you. Consider yourself the most blessed person in the room. For me, when I ask the question, if I stand there and wait, I'll wait till I die. Generally, he speaks to me in doing life. is anybody else like that or am i the only one all right all right so here we are dwell in the land feed on his faithfulness delight yourself also in the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart this is actually the verse when i thought about tonight that i felt would have the greatest importance for us Delight yourself in the Lord. It's interesting, if you look at the Greek language, and I just have the books. I'm not the smart guy in the languages.

16:38 I just read the books. And what I noticed was the word joy actually has a root word. And the root word is rejoice. Let's put it this way, where does joy come from? Rejoicing. Let me try this side. I've got really good news for you. A lot of people wait for joy to come crashing in on their heart. And you can wait, because sometimes it happens. Or you can have it now.

17:15 in the world we we did things because we felt like and in the kingdom we do it because it's right and in the kingdom feeling proceeds it follows action in the kingdom feelings follow actions in the world feelings precede actions And I feel like the Lord illustrated it in the language of scripture, is that the word joy actually comes from a root word that means to rejoice. So rejoice is an action, joy is a condition. and for those who don't like the idea of feelings feelings can be misleading but none of his feelings are misleading so just learn in your journey to recognize the difference Self-will has a similar gratification to it as does the voice of the Lord.

18:23 And you have to learn to recognize the difference between the two. That went over quite well, but it's all right. I'm just going to press on, press on through. Delight yourself in the Lord. choose to celebrate the goodness, the kindness of the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Now, this is fascinating to me, because what this is saying, to me, this is what he's saying. He's saying, listen, you make me your chief joy, your chief desire. And then he goes on and says, and I'm going to provide for you what you desire. Do you know what he just said by that? When you desire me, you have permission to desire other things. I don't know how this works for you, but I never gave myself permission to desire anything outside of a relationship with Jesus. And quite frankly, I don't want anything outside of my relationship with Jesus. But what I'm finding is that when you're with him, he liberates you to dream outside of what everyone else would call spiritual.

19:39 And there's something that happens to a person that is intensely connected to the presence, to the person, to the purpose, to the heart, where things start happening outside of what has been called spiritual, and it is actually spiritual from his perspective. Keeping the testimony basically means this to me, is that I hold the record of God's interventions among people so close to me that they become the lenses through which I see present problems or challenges. In other words, I interpret them through a history with God. A prescribed history with God has now given me lenses through which to see possibility in a problem instead of just a problem. The nature of God in a situation. How is God going to become triumphant now in this situation?

20:34 Oh, it's amazing. It's amazing. Because we actually have the ability to steward the record of God's supernatural intervention so well that they become how we see. They become the place from which we think, the place from which we see, the place from which we act, the place from which we pray. Testimony. It's not just an exciting, encouraging moment, just a moment in a service or in our life, we just kind of get a boost of encouragement and strike. It's much more than that. It is imagine Elijah standing in front of you prophesying. That's what a testimony is. It is prophesying. This is the heart of God. This is the nature of God. This is the covenant of God, and it is available to you. That's what a testimony is. I want you to look with me at Psalm 68, if you would. I had a guy come up to me once at a conference. He said, I'm 34 years old, 25 years ago when I was nine, I broke my leg. When it healed, it grew past the other one, an inch and a half. And I've got problems with my back now. I'm a contractor. I've got issues with my back because my broken leg when it healed, it just got happy and went past the other one.

21:49 Happy was my turn, not his. And he said have you ever seen a leg shrink before? Because he's wanting to know if there's a testimony for it. So I figure if we haven't, there's always got to be a first time, right? So I paused for a moment. I thought, let's see. Yes, I have. I've seen it happen. I was in an Italian restaurant with a pastor friend of mine in Sacramento. He had been in a snowmobile accident when they put him back together. Apparently they had too many parts because he had a leg that was too long. So he's telling me in the restaurant, I said, I'll just turn your chair aside. So in the Italian restaurant, you know, the nice linen tablecloths and everything. We just, I just, give me your legs. So we lift his legs up and I command a long leg just to shrink. So it just shrinks just like that. And he goes back to the therapist. He told me later, he said, therapist said, it's perfect. Everything's just right. So I, so I told the guy, yes, I've seen it happen. I said, get a chair. And of course, if we've never seen it, get a chair anyway, because there's got to be a first time. So he sits down and I'm holding his leg and sure off, he's got a leg that's an inch and a half longer than the other one. Sorry, I'm laughing.

22:54 I'm holding his legs up and sure enough one is an inch and a half longer than the other and I just had this moment where I thought should I shrink the long one or should we see if God would grow the normal one it took me 10 seconds to ponder but I just kind of surprised myself by saying, you know, to the normal leg to grow. It's kind of like the guy who says, I don't want to think before I speak. I want to be as surprised as everyone else. And that was, that was kind of how I, how I was in that moment. I found myself saying to the normal leg, I said, in Jesus name, grow. And we just watched. Oh, this one's too long. I've got to watch my time here. This one's kind of a weird story. It grows, it grows, and then it shoots past the other one. I'm not kidding. I would give anything to have a video of this moment because the guy's in pain. How many of you had growing pains when you were a kid?

24:03 Yeah, so did he. 34 years old. He got like two years of growth in a moment. His leg is sticking out there and I'm on the outside. I'm acting like, oh yeah, this happens. on the inside I'm saying oh Jesus I'm searching my heart how do I pray now that's honest my question how do I pray now and I remembered the word shalom in the Bible the word shalom is of course we know it as the word peace but it is one of the fullest most pregnant words in the Bible it's sound mind it's prosperity financially it's divine health it's all these things. Anything you'd ever ask for in life, it's wrapped up in that word. So what I'm thinking is, that word's gotta cover this. And so I prayed with all the confidence in the world.

24:57 Jesus, help me. I just prayed, no, Lord, I just pray that you release the peace, the shalom of heaven over this man and it just evened out perfectly. The testimony prophesies. Sometimes you just do dumb things. and sometimes the Lord just honors it. Anyway, I was in another city, and there was a gal there, completely deaf ear that opened up. She had bone cancer, and they replaced this bone with metal, and they made it. She had the surgery when she was 15. They made it an inch and a half too long because they knew she'd grow into it, but she didn't grow anymore, and so she's got the same kind of issue, and so she asked for prayer. Her deaf ear opened, and then prayed for a leg. Having had a recent experience with drawing the wrong leg, that whole situation, it was fresh in my mind.

25:54 I thought, I'm not messing with this. So she was laid out on the floor. So I got out on the floor and spoke to the leg. And it actually, the metal part actually shrunk, came back into the line. She came to me the next day. She said, I'm so glad that you had the metal leg shrink. I said, why is that? She said, because if you didn't, the doctors would have said, see, we told you you'd grow into it. If I grew the other way. So sometimes you look good when you don't deserve it. That's my conclusion is I did not know what I was doing. Psalm 78. Are you there? We've got a few minutes left. I went.

26:33 78 is what I meant. Did I say 68? Well, you know what? Just have a good time at 68 because it's a great chapter. It's a let God arise as enemies be scattered. It's a great chapter. but I'm going to be reading out of Psalm 78. So if you want to join me, join me. Psalm 78. we'll start right with verse 3. He's referring to dark sayings and parables. He says, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he has done. What just happened there? Now, think while you're reading this. They are being exhorted to train their children on not only the report of the law of God, the commandments, but to train them with the report of his wonderful works, which is what?

27:28 That's a testimony. Yes? Yes. All right. Verse five, he established a testimony in Jacob. He appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children, that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children. So if you can see, this was a pattern of a value system for the spoken and written record of all that God's done to be given to this generation, they would give it to the next generation, they'd give it to the next generation. Now it tells us why, and this is important. Verse 7, that they may set their hope in God. There's something about the testimony that conditions or positions a child or an adult to position himself to place hope in God when a trial comes. Their instinctive response is, I'm going to trust God. He's the God who works wonders.

28:23 I don't understand what he's going to do. I don't know how he's going to do it, but I'm going to trust him. Where did that come from? It came because the cloud of their heart, so to speak, was seeded with this thought that God is faithful in impossible situations. So here it says, it says, that they may set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, keep his commandments. Are you guys still alive? You sure you're still alive? All right. What I want you to notice is not forgetting the works of God and keeping the commandments. The testimony and the courage to obey, they're connected. this is really a big deal because what we do for ourselves what we do for our children, our grandchildren we set the stage for them to have courage because it takes courage to obey God it takes courage we want courageous obedience, radical obedience out of my life, that's what I want so here he says we keep the testimony going multiple generations why? so that they'll put hope in God and that they won't forget the works of God and they'll have the courage to obey God Now, he illustrates it in the next three verses.

29:32 All right? Verse 9. That the children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God. They refused to walk in his law. They forgot his works and his wonders that he had shown them. Okay, walk through these three verses with me. Verse 9. The children of Ephraim are armed. In other words, they're prepared for battle. They're skilled. They're trained for battle. They've got all the equipment necessary. He said the children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle. So why did they turn back in, why did they become cowardly when there was a conflict? Verse 10 tells you, because they didn't keep the covenant of God, they refused to walk in his law. How many of you know if you're not walking in obedience, spiritual warfare is not where you want to be? Because you become very vulnerable. So they turned back in a day of battle.

30:23 Why? Because they had not been walking in obedience. Why weren't they walking in obedience? Verse 11, they forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. There is something about the testimony that instinctively breathes into our soul a courage for radical obedience. It's a part of the process. It's how you keep strong in your confidence and faith in God. what happens if the testimony of the Lord if we decline in sharing testimony then we see miracles less if we see miracles less we expect them less if we expect them less we talk about them less if we talk about them less we see them less there's this downward spiral into the point where miracles have become a mere part of our history some time ago God used to do such and such, which is where so much of the church is right now.

31:20 It was in their history. It was in Israel's history. It was in the book of Acts. It was the memory of something that happened back there, but it's not a current reality. It's not a present tense experience. And the testimony is supposed to become that which invites us into this relational journey where we learn how to take these things that God has said and we simply trust God. We put our lives on the line to take risks to see what he might do. And it's simply because I've been built up by the record of the supernatural interventions of God. He says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I mentioned it this morning, second service. I'll say it again here. be more connected to what God has said about you to the point where you declare it over your life. In other words, this is what I mean.

32:15 Declare over your life. I shall not want. I shall not want for anything. I shall not. There is no lack. I am not in lack. There is no lack in Him. I am rich in Christ. I may have a challenge here. I may have a challenge there, but I don't see the unseen realm. And I am in Christ where there is no limitation, no restriction, no restraint of answers and breakthrough. When this was declared, the Lord is my shepherd. He's my pastor. And because of that, I shall not want, I will never lack for anything. I will never lack. Yeah, but Bill, you don't know my circumstances.

33:03 Yeah, I do. Yeah, I do. And some of the most important times to speak opposite of circumstances is when you're in the middle of what looks impossible. I personally think there's very few things you can do to bloody the nose of the devil quicker than to look in the middle of an impossibility and say, I shall not want. I shall not want.

33:35 I was born for divine health. Yeah, but you're in the hospital. Yep, I was born for divine health. I am being trained and equipped for divine health. I, it sounds crazy to anybody outside of the Lord and crazy to a few that are in the Lord. I just don't have right thinking yet. The Bible says, let the weak say, I'm strong. Why reinforce what the devil says about you? Really?

34:24 He says, he makes me to lie down in green pastures. That room didn't look like a green pasture to me, but I did lay down. He led me beside still waters. Yep. I could only look at them. I couldn't drink them. I tell you, I've always admired those who fasted. I have gone on many fasts. Not as many as Lou Engle and some of my heroes. Jeez. I don't even want to. It's not in my heart to fast like they do. I know people that when they fast, they see visions of God. I see visions of food.

35:20 Now, some of you have heard the story. Several years ago, I did a 40-day fast. And during the 40 days, I bought, I ordered on Amazon.com, 29 cookbooks. I did. I don't even cook. But I would look at this picture of this food and think, that's the will of God for my life. That's the will of God right there. I would order it, because I'm on that one-click thing. I've just got everything all figured out. I don't have to fill in everything, anything. I go one-click, boom, mine. And then they bring up pictures, and they say, those who bought that cookbook also bought these. And I would look at them and go, well, I see why. I even bought, on that long, I even bought a fryer, a deep fryer.

36:26 If you know my wife, we don't eat fried foods. But I started having visions of sweet potato fries. Because sweet potato fries are not fried food. I don't care what they tell you. It's right down the center of health food, mandate, right? There are sweet potato fries. So I sat in the hospital room, horrible channel selection on TV, horrible. But they had public television. And in the mornings, they have cooking shows. I didn't know this. And so I sat there, hour after hour, watching. I couldn't drink water, but I'm planning the rest of my life. And I'm food.

37:20 People say, why do you torture yourself? All I'm doing is building up hope. I am addicted to hope, and I'll do anything I can to strengthen hope. And so I just watched them cooking, and it was just beautiful. I actually would sit there with my phone, and they would put the name of a restaurant there in San Francisco. I'd get my phone up, I'd get the name of the restaurant, and I'd go, I'm going there. done, I'm going. When I can eat again, I'm going to that restaurant, because I've got to go there.

37:54 Pitiful. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. You know, most of the time when God's working deeply in you and me, we really don't have a clue what he's doing. the most profound things aren't even recognizable for months sometimes years vegetable gardens grow quick, fruit trees take a while and this lasting stuff that we like to see happen in our lives really happens over time he restores my soul, he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake here it is, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. I don't know how to tell you that I knew this, but I knew towards the beginning of this little journey that it was going to be the valley.

38:59 Excuse me. The valley of the shadow of death, not the valley of death. The Valley of the Shadow. I will fear no evil because you are with me. There are measures of the presence of God. There are realms of his presence you can only find in the shadow. You can't find it in the party. I'm the party person. I mean, I like the breakthroughs. In 20 years, I've talked about things of this nature.

39:55 I doubt a half a dozen times, probably two or three times, four at the most. It's just not what my life is about. I realize it's a reality, but it's like I live for the breakthrough. I live for the continuous hope. I live for the promise that is yet unfilled. I sat there in my home, sicker than a dog with my iPad in front of me, just reviewing prophecy after prophecy after prophecy, bringing up scripture after scripture after scripture in the hospital room before going into surgery, reading the prophecy, the words spoken over my life, spoken over my family. I cannot afford to lose sight of what he said. I can't afford it. I cannot afford it. I just rebuke over and over again. I would pray them. I would pray these words.

40:49 I would give thanks for them in advance. I would declare, let the weak say I am strong. I would declare strength in the middle of weakness. Declare health in the middle of anything but health. And sit there and just go over it again and again. Benny would head home for the evening having been there all day and I'd just review it again just review it again just never being more than this far away from what God is saying I didn't have the Lord speak to me during that time but sometimes he doesn't need to speak if he's already spoken I need him to speak when he's saying something new. But if he hasn't changed the subject, I just need to review what he said. Verse 7, I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel.

41:49 My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I love that thought. I actually, I like to go to sleep. I just like to go to sleep, but I like to go to sleep at night believing that God's going to touch me while I sleep. Now, what I don't do is wake up in the morning and try to measure it. because some of what he deposits are like seeds that grow over time.

42:20 It's best just to believe what he says. In Job 33, he says that he visits us in the night and he seals up instruction in our heart that if he were to do it during the day, we would become proud. In other words, the word he deposits in us reveals our significance to such a degree degree, without the right maturity, we would respond in arrogance. Look at who we are. So God puts it in seed form so that in maturity, it develops as we grow. But it's in the night. But this says, my heart instructs me in the night. Don't expect your heart to instruct you if you're not feeding it. Yeah, that's good. Come on. That's good. Come on. If you're not putting this in there, don't expect it to come out when you need it.

43:14 I think it was the Quakers, they developed this. I forget the phrase. It might have been this one. We're going to sleep on it. It was that theme anyway. The thought was, is that we will just trust the Lord with this problem. And we'll just go to bed in rest. Just believing that God will instruct us in the night. And I think it's one of the most important ways for us to learn, to grow, and to hear from God. Because we're not working. And sometimes we associate breakthrough with our works, with our efforts, with our labors. And we have to have certain parts of our life that just simply unfold without our efforts. And this is one of those moments. So he says, my heart instructs me in the night. My heart instructs me in night seasons. Verse eight, he says, I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved.

44:10 I have set the Lord. That's, I don't know what you do with that phrase, but here's what I do. This isn't the Lord. This is a bottle of water, all right? But I'm going to set the bottle of water before me. The psalmist says, I set the Lord before me. now can you actually grab God and put him in front of you or is it the determination of heart I'm going to discover who is already there God is not manipulated by us. Here's the way I like to put it. Since I can't imagine a place where he isn't, I might as well imagine him with me.

45:04 what would it be like if when you got up tomorrow morning you became actually aware of the manifest presence of God right in front of you i have set i have set my heart on it on the Lord in such a way that the presence of God i i live with the awareness of the manifest presence of God before me verse 9 therefore my heart is glad my glory rejoices my flesh will also rest in hope I love that phrase my glory rejoices did you know that you can't give God glory unless you have some everything that God has made has glory the psalms psalmist talks about the planets each planet has a measure of glory upon them that God has given them everything that God has made has a measure of glory we are far as I know the only part of creation that has the privilege of bringing the glory that God has put upon us and bringing it back to him, giving him all the glory.

46:23 He's the source of the glory in the first place. My goodness is nothing apart from him. Chris talks about Moses when he laid hands on the elders where he was imparting that authority to take Israel into that next season. And the term that is used there is that he took of his own majesty and he put it on these elders. there's a certain majesty, a certain measure of glory that rests upon each person. And to think inconsistent with him is to think below his design and our potential. Amen, Bill. Verse 10, you will not leave my soul in Sheol. Sheol is the place of the dead. And you will not allow your Holy One to see corruption.

47:18 That verse right there is a prophecy about the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection of the Messiah. You will not allow your Holy One to see corruption. In other words, he will be raised from the dead before his body decays. now let's take the last verse and this is one of the two verses i want to spend time on verse 11 you will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore look at it again you will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy i love that phrase so much and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore Benny, would you come up here? Oh, that's a lot better. All right. Now, verse 6 says, the Lord...

48:21 I had somebody prophesy to me once and basically said, the voice of the Lord often sounds like the voice of your wife. and I've discovered this to be true. Sometimes I cannot tell the difference between the two. So this says that the Lord is at my right hand. Let's stand right over here. The Lord is at my right hand. All right. But then when we get to the end of the psalm, it says that I am at his right hand. so how can the Lord be at my right hand and me be at his Thank you. Thanks, thanks.

49:22 All right. She made a good God, Chris. Is that what you said? I'm not going there, but I understand what you mean. So the whole point was, is in the same psalm, we have these unique themes that would appear to contradict, but they don't. They actually enhance the other. The Lord puts himself in a place to influence on my behalf, but he invites me into a relationship where I bring influence on his behalf. here's the phrase in his presence is fullness of joy in his presence is fullness of joy i love the phrase fullness of joy to me that is a phrase that is synonymous with prosperity of soul fullness of joy i don't know how many times it's in the bible but there are two that stand out to me the other one is in john 16 where jesus speaks to his disciples and he says up until now you've asked nothing in my name but in that day you will ask the father in my name and anything you ask for will be done for you, and here's the phrase, that your joy may be full.

50:49 Anything you ask for will be done that your joy may be full. I would like to suggest that these, this 16th Psalm and John 16 are parallel passages in that you were designed to live in joy because the cries of your heart have been fulfilled. People tell me, I just, I don't know, I pray, nothing happens. Try talking to God about something he wants to talk about. yeah well I thought he was my father he wanted to talk to me about anything yeah I'm all in but he's not listening apparently so talk to him about something that he wants to talk about that may sound silly to you but it's a different way of phrasing seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added it is so easy in this Christian life to turn the affection towards the things that are added and not on the king and his kingdom.

51:51 This issue of breakthrough, here in your presence is fullness of joy. I'm going to make, this will just be silly. Say you need a car. And so you pray hard, you work hard, you finally were able to get that car. And it's a good thing just because it happened in your life and it was a goal and the Lord honored it. But there are some times where the Lord actually works a work in us where he releases, in this case, provision in such a way that it actually happened in the context of discovering the presence of God. I don't want to over-spiritualize prayer for a breakthrough for something, but I'm trying to paint this picture. When this car comes into my life... in the journey and the value of the presence, the affection for the presence of God, this car will never become greater in my affection than my affection for God.

52:55 Why? Because in the relationship, it is the product of prayer. And the product is never worshiped above the producer. And so this life that we have in Christ, in the presence where affectionately embracing, enjoying the presence of God, being a people of purpose, something happens where he's able to supply, provide, bring breakthrough, open this door, give increased anointing for this. All of these things, though, testify of his nature. None of them have the place of being elevated above our affection for God himself. it enhances my relationship with God some of you I hear stories of God's provision of a house and you just every time you drive into the driveway you're so grateful because you know this was a gift of grace what happens?

54:00 You're not worshiping a house. You're not a materialistic person. You're celebrating a material thing that God gave you, but it testifies to you. It prophesies to you. It preaches to you about who God is and who you are. It enhances this affection for God. You could lose it tomorrow, God forbid, but nothing has changed in the revelation of who he is. There's something enhanced in their relationship with God because of this simple little item that he provided for you.

54:36 Years ago, I remember I was saving money to buy a hunting rifle. If you're from another country, I was buying photo equipment to go on a photographic safari. Yeah, yeah. and I was honestly I was saving money for this we were just newly married we were broke but I had birthday money this and that and I finally got enough where I thought I could I could buy go buy a camera You've heard of photographic shoot, right? Yeah, yeah. Photo shoot, yeah. and I felt I felt of the Lord I wasn't to buy I was to pay some bills off that we had so I did begrudgingly I did and it was like that Sunday night one of the old-timers here at Bethel came up to me just I hadn't told anyone only Benny knew I hadn't told anyone I come to church that Sunday night. He comes up to me. He says, Bill, he was one of the old, dear old saints of this place. He had led so many people to Christ in the church. He said, Bill, you need a hunting rifle? I said, yes. Yes, I do. He said, come to my house after the service. So I mean, here, here was this thing that nobody knew about. I was going after, but I wanted to obey the Lord.

56:10 know what he said. I laid it down, and that Sunday night, he says, come to my house. I had this, I had this gun, this camera. I had this camera. my house was actually broken into several years later, many years later. I had three guns. Two were stolen. They were all together. It was the most valuable one. And the thief didn't see it because in my possession, yeah, it's a gun, but it's more than that. This is a season. This is a father. This is from a father who knows the desires, the intents of your heart. This is from a father who celebrates sacrifice and hard choices.

56:59 And I have a physical reminder in my possession of what he's like. It will never be exalted above him. But it testifies of him. And there's a breakthrough that God has designed for every person in this room. And that breakthrough, I believe, is available to us in these next four weeks. So I want you to stand.