Today we continue our series entitled, “Back to the Bible,” with Part 42. We have been looking at Psalm 119. Let’s continue to walk through this amazing psalm. We are reading from The Passion Bible Translation.
David said:
(v.144) Give me more revelation so that I can live for you, for nothing is more pure and eternal than your truth.
(v.145) Answer my passionate prayer, O Lord, and I’ll obey everything you say.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. David asked God to give Him revelation to he could live for Him (Psalm 119:114). Without God’s revealed knowledge we often don’t know what to do or say, especially in situations where God leads us to do things that far exceed our level of expertise. Remember, David grew up as a shepherd boy. He did not have the best education. He didn’t go the best schools. He was not groomed to be royalty. He spent his time with sheep and dogs, protecting his father’s livestock. So when God anointed him to be king, at the tender age of 17, he had no idea how he was going to get to the throne, nor how he was going to lead/rule when he got there. David needed to hear from God. Guess what? We all do. Your name may not be David and your story may be different than his, but chances are, God has called you to do something that far exceeds your education, formal training, social status, and overall preparation. Further, God calls us to fund projects we don’t have the money for and walk into rooms we don’t have the grooming for. He does this so we are somewhat forced to rely on Him. Where our ability ends, His ability can kick-in. This is the life of faith. So pray like David and say, “Father, give me your divine revelation, so I can live for you. So I can do what You have called me to do. I cannot do it without you!”
2. David asked God to reveal Himself to him and he promised God up front that he would DO whatever God told him to DO. This is critical, because if you establish a track record of asking God for direction, only to receive the direction and then NOT obey it, God will see no need in revealing Himself to you. You must be willing to do whatever God tells you to do, however God tells you to do it, whether you want to or not. On those occasions where God tells you to do something you already wanted to do, and you do it, you did not really obey, you agreed! It’s when God tells you to do something you don’t want to do that you truly have to OBEY Him. But determine in your heart right now, that whether it is something you want to do, which requires agreement, or something you don’t want to do, which requires obedience, either way, you are going to do what God says.
3. Many Christians come up with things on their own, they lay it before God, they ask God to bless THEIR plans, and they then add, “IN JESUS’ NAME,” to the end of their prayer, and they call that faith. That’s not faith. Faith is not you attempting to get God to put a “YES” on your plans. Faith is God attempting to get you to put a “YES” on His plans.
4. Faith is not what happens when you attempt to convince God. Faith is what happens when God convinces YOU! It is true faith when you are so convinced of God that you are compelled to ask for it in prayer and to then provide the corresponding actions required to bring it to pass in the earth realm, despite a lack of sense-realm evidence to support it, and often in the face of opposition.
5. Living by faith means living in sync with God’s realm (the Supernatural), even if it means you seem out of sync with the realities of this present world.
6. When you live by faith you don’t come up with things and then ask God to bless it. You spend the time in God’s presence to discover what He already came up with and you pursue that. At that point you don’t have to ask God to bless it. The fact that He told you to do it means it is already blessed!
7. When you live by faith you are not always going to pursue things you want. God often leads us to do things we don’t want to do or things that just don’t make any sense to us in the moment (although looking back we are always glad we did it). True faith means you set your heart to agree with God’s Kingdom plans and purposes, you submit to His will over your own, and you then pursue it as if you really wanted to do it in the first place. In the end, God’s plans are always better than yours!
8. Hearing from God is critical to living by faith. If you can’t hear from God, you don’t know what to ask for in prayer or what to pursue in person. But once God speaks and He reveals to you what He already provided by grace, you are then in position to release your faith. Where there is no grace, there can be no faith. Faith begins where the will of God is known.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I am the just and I live by faith. I live by every Word You speak to me. My heart is open to hear and my heart is also ready to agree with and submit to everything You say. You reveal to me what You already planned and I release my faith to receive it. My faith accesses Your grace. I live in sync with You, even if it means I am out of sync with the people down here. I choose to do what You say, by faith, even if it means I have to do so without any sense-realm evidence to support it, and even in the face of opposition. Living this way, I get to be an example of Your power and glory in the earth! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
