LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT (PART-25 (last part))

HOLY SPIRIT (Part 25) (last part)

Victorious living (how do we practice what we have learned?).

– (Psalm 63)
  A guide for living in victory (from morning until night).
      – (Verse 1)
        The Hebrew word for “earnestly” is “shachar”
        (dawn, early, to search for with painstaking effort;
        rise, seek diligently in the morning).

        Note:
            To paraphrase, “rising in immediate pursuit”.

        Note:
            (Lamentations 3:22-23)
            Look at what the scriptures say about the morning.

        Note:
            (Mark 1:35)
            The morning was a special time for Jesus.

        Note:
            (Psalm 5:3)
            Question:
            What did David do in the morning?
                – Made his requests to the Lord through prayer.
                  Question:
                  And the rest of the day?
                      – Waited expectantly for His response.

        Note:
            (Isaiah 50:4-5)
            It appears the morning is a great time to pray and hear from the Lord.
            Question:
            Why would you think the morning is such a good time?
            Note:
                We may not be a morning person, but apparently God is.

– Acknowledge His authority
      – (Psalm 63:1)
        The word God is used twice.
        The 1st time the Hebrew word “elohiym” is used
        (the plural form; probably pointing to the Trinity).
        The 2nd time, the Hebrew word “el” is used
        (the singular form that means, “the one”).
        To paraphrase, “Oh mighty Three in One, you are my only God”.
        Note:
            The psalmist begins the day by acknowledging God as his God;
            the only focus of his worship. He rises up to bow before the Lord.

      – (Joshua 24:15)
        “choose this day” implies to choose at the start of the day.

      Note:
          If we do not surrender our day to the Lord,
          we surrender to the flesh by default, and we slip back
          into what comes naturally for us (sin is our nature).

      Note:
          The things of the Spirit come supernaturally to us by God’s invitation.
          When we choose to serve the Lord,
          He invites the Holy Spirit to live within us.

      Note:
          Sin is basically an issue of authority, His will or mine.
          As part of acknowledging His authority, we need to
          confess everything we have done outside of His authority.

– Abound in His presence
      – (Psalm 63:1)
         The psalmist longed for the presence of the Lord.

      – (Matthew 12:43-45)
         When we empty ourselves of sin, we need to
         be “re-filled” to prevent a return of fleshly desires.
         We need to ask to be filled with the Holy
         (which gives us a supernatural ability,
             to love,
             to experience joy,
             to know peace,
             to express patience,
             to possess kindness,
             to respond in goodness,
             to be faithful, gentle and submissive to His will,
             with restraint and self-control).

– Ask to see His glory and power
      – (Jeremiah 29:13)
         The scriptures (God’s Word) instruct us to seek Him.

      – (Psalm 63:2)
        The psalmist saw His power and glory.
        Question:
        What do you think inspired the psalmist to say this?
        Note:
            “Power” represents what He does;
            “glory” represents who He is.
        Note:
            We need to look for Him in the “little things” as well as the “big”.

– Award Him with our mouth
      – (Psalm 63:3)
        “my lips will glorify you”.

      – (Psalm 39:1)
        We need to guard against the opposite of praising Him.

      – (Psalm 81:10)
        Question:
        What does this verse mean to you?
            – He will provide us with what to say
              when we yield to His will?

      – (Psalm 40:10)
        We should glorify Him openly and unashamed.

– Approach Him with praise
      – (Psalm 63:4)
        The psalmist planned to praise Him as long as he lived.
        Question:
        How can we praise Him when we don’t
        have anything specific to praise Him for?
            – Praise Him for Who He is; He is worthy.

– Attribute all satisfaction to Him
      – (Psalm 65:5)
        Look at what God does for the blessed person.

      – (Matthew 6:33)
         Jesus points out where we should focus,
         and that we will receive blessings when we obey.

      – (Deuteronomy 26:11)
        Tells us to rejoice in the satisfaction God provides.

– Audit the manifold blessings
      – (Psalm 63:6)
        Look at how the psalmist ended his day;
        he reflected on the Lord
        (and probably the blessings from the Lord).

– Allow ourselves to rest in His arms
      – (Psalm 63:7-8)
        He helps and supports us.

      – (Psalm 63:9-11)
        As a result, we can turn our enemies over to Him.
        Question:
        What are some of our enemies?
            – Worry                         – Restlessness
            – Fear                            – Bad Health
            – Loneliness                  – Sadness
            – Jobs we don’t like    – Disappointing friendships

      – (Psalm 4:8)
        Look at the peacefulness of the psalmist.
        Note:
            What a great way to end the day.
        Question:
        How did he achieve this peacefulness?
            – (Isaiah 26:3)
              He probably kept his mind on the Lord and trusted Him.