Psalm 63:1-8
O GOD, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirst for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see your power and Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is Better than life,
My lips shall praise You
Thus I will bless You While I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name;
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.
Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.
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Colossians 3:1,2
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
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The church is not dead because God is not dead but alive and powerful and active in day to day life. The supernatural is not some hocus pocus extreme Pentecostal/ Charismatic theology, it is a heavenly reality. Let’s not forget that our eternal home is in heaven and we are pilgrims on this earth. “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:18) We have been born again and God has given us His very Spirit so we can know Him, because without the Holy Spirit it is impossible to know God. We could exhaust all of our remaining days learning about Him and studying spiritual things but when do we finally come to a place of experience?
When I read the Psalms I see a man who did not just know God intellectually but knew Him by experience. The word know in Psalm 46: “Be Still and know that I am God” is the Hebrew word Yada, the same word used for, “and Adam knew his wife.” Oh, so your talking about that kind of knowing? Yes a knowledge that invokes not just the mind but the whole spirit, soul, and body. {That is why sexual immorality is not to be taken lightly because that also involves a knowing of spirit, soul, and body, but that is another message.} I also read, “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8) and also “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Ps. 42:1-2). And my main text tonight Psalm 63 which is listed above.
The Word of God reads: “O GOD you are my God.” This is a declaration, and a revelation of the intimate relationship between the author and His God. God is not just King David’s God, He is not just the apostle Paul’s God, He is not just John Wesley’s God, He is not just Bill Johnson’s God, He is not just my Pastor’s God. He is my God and when I pray He answers, when I seek Him I am found by Him. When I worship Him I am in His Presence. I love corporate praise and worship services but God cannot just be our God He must also be my God.
It then goes on: “Early will I seek You.” And I didn’t see a question mark here or else it would read, “Early, will I seek You?” Now I have taken this verse as a motivation to seek God early in the morning which I believe is a healthy godly habit to get into. But God is showing me that He is not a habit to develop but a Person to enjoy. And thus goes my dilemma, “I want to seek God early but my flesh is tired, I do it for a few days then fall back into old habits of sleeping in or getting preoccupied with something else. So I muster up willingness and a determination after a little guilt has crept in and I say, now I will develop a morning habit with God.” But my focus is still on the habit and the benefit of seeking God first (I have noticed that every time I seek God first my day is much more blessed), I have lost the desire that is rooted in passionate love when I take this approach. And then comes that subtle voice that says, “if you really loved God you wouldn’t have to strive to be with Him. If you practiced what you preached, which is a “love” relationship you would delight in Him, your no good, you don’t really love Him.” Sounds like an accuser if I ever heard one.
But the reason this lie hurts so much is because it is mixed with some truth. If we were truly lovers of God would we not spend every waking moment dreaming of Him and rearranging our schedule to make excuses to be with Him? David was a man who fell prey to the greatest love affair of all time and no I’m not talking about Bathsheba, that was adultery, not love. I’m speaking of his love affair with his God. He was caught up in a divine love affair that affected every area of his life. And this lover was also a mighty warrior, like I heard Heidi Baker say, “lovers fight better.”
So moving on, the next verse read: “My soul thirst for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” We know from the Scriptures that water speaks of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 7:37-39) David had learned to drink of that Spiritual Rock, the Spirit of Christ. (1
Question 1: How many glasses of the Spirit do you drink a day?
Question 2: How content are you with His Presence and His Word (1 Tim 6:6)? Are they enough to satisfy you or are you constantly seeking other things to entertain or gratify yourself?
Question 3: Do you know what kind of condition your spirit man is in? Is he malnourished or could he go twelve rounds easy?
It is very important that we develop an awareness of our spiritual state or else we open up ourselves to becoming spiritually sick which can in turn affect our bodies, minds, emotions, and ultimately our will. We were created to have fellowship with God. We were designed to drink of the Spirit, just like our physical bodies were designed to drink water or we will die. But if you are feeling discouraged after reading those questions have hope because God wants to teach you some healthy spiritual habits and the Holy Spirit is a great teacher. If you want to learn to drink of His rivers just ask Him to show you how.
When Jesus said to come to Him and drink I believe that the Word really means to come to Him and drink. It is an actual experience not just a good idea or something to study. One thing that may keep you away from receiving this heavenly drink is a mind that has not been renewed or a religious mindset that ultimately says, “you cannot really know God and you cannot partake of those things you hear about right now.” Or unbelief that says, “yeah I know what this guy is talking about and its that whole, sensual/ emotional belief. Those crazy people who claim to be drunk in the Spirit and have no foundation in the Word.”
I’m not here to have an intellectual debate or to argue with you, if your are thirsty and willing to turn to the Lord for your portion He will satisfy. Remember God’s ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8) I’m here to declare that God is real and we can really partake of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) One thing I will no longer be ashamed of is His Spirit manifesting in my life. The Holy Spirit is a Person and He is God, He is not a doctrine or a school of thought. He is not weird or freaky, He is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Prov. 18:24) He loves to reveal Jesus to us and He is the one who will empower us to be soul winners. He wants what is best for us but we (the church) have held on to what we know and our comfortable with and in doing so have eliminated the Spirit from being part of our comfortable Christianity. We have too much EGO (Edging God Out).
Which brings me to my next point in Psalm 63: “So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.” So where is the power and the glory in the western church today? Do we even have a context for the apostle Paul’s statement to the church in
So in conclusion I urge you to consider these things and to meditate on them in your secret place. Learn to wait on the Lord (Is 40:31) and receive from Him. Take time to listen and focus your thoughts on Him, ask the Holy Spirit to help you in this and you may just find that being a child of God is much more exciting and fulfilling then you ever have know. I pray that you, like King David, would become intoxicated with the love of God. Amen.
May 18, 2007 11:56pm
