Start Time:	08:30 AM
End Time:	09:26 AM
Date:	July 26, 2014

 

TITLE: TRUTH, TESTIMONY, & THANKSGIVING - Receive the Truth, Make it Your Testimony, and give your Thanksgiving!

Scripture: Psalms 18:1 – 50

God’s Message / God’s Commands / God’s Promises:

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1) David got a "TRUTH" revelation - God is David's safe refuge (Ps 18:1 – 19)

David stood on the truth that God is His safe refuge.  He recognized that he had no control over his enemies and only God has so He is his only safe refuge!

Let's focus on more obvious examples in our lives: the typhoon, earthquake, flood, etc...these tragedies are definitely out of our control and there's no way we can ever stop it.  Only God can!

Also note that David did not indicate King Saul as his enemies, in fact, he noted that it was "death" that has its ropes wrapped around him.  And so he doesnt have any control with death.  He saw death as an enemy and not the man who was pursuing him.

How many times have we considered the wrong people/things as our enemies?  We hate this person becuase he hurt us or he betrayed us but we forgot that the reason behind his betrayal or actions toward us is the main enemy here.  Was he driven by selfishness when he betrayed you?  then selfishness was your enemy and not him. Was he driven by anger when he did what he did to you?  Then anger is your enemy and not him.  Or maybe, we feel like we are not able to succeed in life because we don't have the opportunity in life.  Now opportunity is out of our control too.

So most of the time, our real enemy in life is really out of our control.  It may be the circumstances that happen in our lives or the reasons behind the person's actions?  Can you control someone else's anger?  Can we control someone else's selfishness?  Can we control the weather?  Can we control opportunities?  No, we can't!

So in our conflicts, our struggles, our problems in life, we must recognize that we don't have control over it.  Only God has and He is our only safe refuge!  So like David, let us stand on the truth that in everything that happened to us, only God has control and so HE is our only safe refuge.

2) This truth became David's "TESTIMONY" - God is the center of David's life (Ps 18:19 – 45)

David did not stop after learning the truth.  He made it His life's testimony.  When he recognized that he has no control over his enemy, death, he ran to the Father and saw the truth of God being his safe refuge came to pass in his life. 

Many times, we heard the truth and we know it but we don't get to see it visible in our lives. God said He is our healer, yet we are sick and we have not been healed. God said He is our provider, yet we are in debt and in lack. God said He is our safe refuge, yet we experience the tragic strike of Glenda, or yolanda, or henry or any other typhoons.

Why is that? - Because we have not made Him the center of our lives

David did not just stood on God's word of being his safe refuge.  He lived it. 

Vs. 19 - 24 say, "He was pleased with me, so He rescued me.  He took me to a safe place.  The Lord rewarded me for doing what is right.  He was good to me because i am innocent.  The Lord did this because i have obeyed Him.  I have not turned against my God..."

David made the truth of God being his safe refuge a testimony in his life.  Meaning, when trouble comes, he ran to God.  He obeyed the Lord's commands.  He did what was right.  He followed God's instructions because He is his safe refuge and only He can take control of his problems. It's like when we are sick and the doctor says, don't eat this and don't eat that, we follow it knowing that what the doctor says will help us get healed.  David knew that God was his only safe refuge so whatever God says, he follows because in God, he is secured and protected. So do we do the same?  Or maybe we still want to do things on our own?

I got a revelation from God a few days ago...a question popped up in my head.  The question is, "Who is the main character of your story?"  Obviously, I answered, "Me".  And then God revealed to me that i was wrong.

Many times we ask God to write our story and we expect Him to make us the "bida" of our story.  But we failed to realize that when we ask God to write our story, we literally become the supporting cast of our story.  Because the main character is now God!  God is the author of our lives and so He is the "bida" of it also.  I felt ashamed when i realized this but I'm glad that God corrected me early.  So we need to put God the center of our lives, like David did. 

As you notice in the whole chapter, David is always referring to God.  God is the subject of all of David's sentence and not the other way around.  example, verses 37 - 39 say, "I chased my enemies and caught them.  I did not stop until they were destroyed.  I struck them down, and they could not get up again.  They fell under my feet...(David did not stop here, his next words explain why he was able to do all these).  God, you made me strong in battle.  You made my enemies fall before me." - so literally David is saying, yes i chased and caught my enemies.  I struck them down and they fell under my feet but it was all because You made me strong in battle Lord.  You made them fall before me."  Here we can clearly say that David made God the center of his life!

Do we recognize God as the center of our lives too?  Do we recognize that all our successes is possible because of Him and Him only?

3) Resulting into David's "THANKSGIVNIG" - God is praised & glorified in David's life (Ps 18:46 – 50)

Lastly, David received the TRUTH from God, made the TRUTH a TESTIMONY in his life which ultimately led him into THANKSGIVING and PRAISE TO GOD!

Verses 46 - 50 shows that the truth became his testimony and when you experience God's truth alive in your life, it will only lead you to one thing...and that is to give Him glory and praise because this is our purpose in life!  To praise and glorify God!

So to fulfill our purpose, our main design in life.... we need to receive the truth and make it a testimony in our lives so it will lead us into thanksgiving!