Let

Go To Meeting

Eduardo Elizondo—March 12, 2022

 - PDF | Audio | [Up]

I know that let is a very short word, but it is very, very critical and important to understand what the Bible says about let! Many times in the English language it implies allowing something, let something!

We going to read some passages about that and why it is so critical to let, and let what and how that affects us and how it applies in our lives. But before we get to those specific Scriptures about letting we're going to start from another perspective.

Proverbs 20:24: "Man's steps are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?"

This question has a lot to do with let, and we're going to get into those Scriptures that talk about that. We're going to start from this initial question. "Man's steps are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?"

How can we understand our own way? We can view this is variety of different perspectives, whether we understand our path, our own way, the way that we're walking by ourselves. But how can we really understand if it says that "Man's steps are of the LORD…" The Lord is the One Who owns our steps!

• How does this work out?
• How do we understand this?

Jeremiah 10:23: "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his steps."

We know that it is not in ourselves to direct our steps. We just read that man's steps are of the Lord. But the question remains:

• How can we understand our own ways?
• How do we understand where we are going?
• How do we understand what we're doing?

That's certainly true for all of us who have been called according to God's purpose. He has directed our steps, but how can we understand that? It's not within us to understand our ways!

This is really just setting the stage in understanding what it is our steps being of the Lord, and how we can understand our own steps!

Proverbs 16:9: "A man's heart devises his way, but the LORD directs his steps."

• How do all these Scriptures come together?
• What does this mean?

if man's steps are of the Lord

• How can a man understand his own ways?

If we devise our way, then it is the Lord that directs our steps?

• How can we understand that? It's not within us to know that (Jer. 10:23).
• How are we going to know this?

This is obviously very specifically talking to us who have been called. I just want to challenge whether that is exclusive or not, because sometimes—maybe in the past—we tend to hear that we separate and different. Yes, we are separate and we do have a special calling.

• What is the difference?
• Is it really that exclusive?
• Is it really that separate and God doesn't care about the rest of the world?
• Does He just let them do what they're going to do and not necessarily direct their steps?
• How does this work?

There's something in a bigger perspective, because what we read in Proverbs and learned in Jeremiah is about man, mankind, that it's not within us to understand our own way, and direct our own steps. It is the Lord Who directs our steps!

Sometimes we may set our way, but then God directs our steps. But to what degree does God do that with each and every one of us? Or with people who have not yet been called to see the purpose of life and being here? Here is a broader perspective:

Psalm 33:13: "The LORD looks down from heaven; He beholds all the sons of men"—not just the called out ones!

• yes, we do have a special relationship
• yes, we do stand in grace
• yes, we do have access to God

Other people do not necessarily have that access to God unless they first seek Him! God says that "…He beholds all the sons of men"

Verse 14: "From His dwelling place He looks intently upon all the inhabitants of the earth."

We were all made by God, we all come from Adam and Eve. God desires that no one may perish, but that all would proceed to repentance.

Verse 15: "Together He fashions their hearts alike; He considers all their works."

God is watching, beholding all the sons of men, all mankind, every man, woman and child on this earth. "Together He fashions their hearts alike…"

Does that mean that they're all called? No, that's not what it means! "…He considers all their works," because God see in the long term! God doesn't see thing like we tend to see them, just the here and now:

• Are you called?
• Are you not called?
• Is God working with you?

He doesn't see it that way necessarily, just binary, either in or out; now or never. God has a plan that includes everybody! He looks down from heaven and beholds all the sons of men, and He fashions their hearts alike.

He's looking intently, and that means with purpose! With intention! With His plan and everything He knows He's going to carry out on the earth. We know that, because of the fantastic plan of God, that every person will have an opportunity:

• to know God
• to learn His ways
• to draw close to Him
• to accept Him
• to really accept His way of life

That they have not been called to!

That's where this little word let is going to be key to understanding what God wants us to do right now. And what he eventually wants the entire world to do. He considers all their works. God is considering all of our works, and not just those of who have been called, but everybody in the world.

He considers the works of every single man and woman, and He fashions our hearts. Sometimes we may not see it from this perspective, but He's still fashioning even the evil ones. He might be still fashioning their hearts, letting them go through the pain and agony and suffering that they're bringing upon themselves and others.

That's part of fashioning their heart. These are hard lessons to learn, that when you go a certain path or make certain choices, there is still going to be fashioning of your particular heart because you decided those things. God gives free moral agency, but that doesn't mean that they're going to be necessarily saved or that they're going to repent, but they're going to have an opportunity; that we know for sure!

Unless it's somebody that has had the knowledge and is incorrigibly wicked and will not change and completely reject God and will refuse even that opportunity.

But He does fashion their hearts alike. This is not exclusive, it says all men, all the inhabitants of the earth!

Now that we've taken a lot of perspective of what God is doing and how a man can understand his own way, because that still remains a mystery. It really is a mystery of how God works with us. We don't know what tomorrow holds for ourselves. We really don't! we have an outline of prophecy and we have a framework to go by. God is not going to leave us completely in ignorance. But we don't really know. We don't really know in the life of each and every one of us what comes even a few months from now or a few years from now.

What we do know is that for those of us who have been called now according to His purpose, He's going to be with us and fight those battles for us. He's going to do all these things IF we LET Him!

Exo. 14—let's read something here about the children of Israel, especially as we approach the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Let's remember these words, because He did it with the children of Israel and He wants to do it with us now. It might not be the exact same situation, but it does apply.

Exodus 14:13: "And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not! Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today, for the Egyptians… [this was when they were about to cross the Red Sea] …whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again! The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall be still'" (vs 13-14).

That's what God wants us to do; He wants us to know that He will fight for us and we shall be still! We shall be still! But in order to do that:

• we have to let God fight that battle for us
• we have to let Him direct our steps
• we have to let Him dwell fully in us

We have a lot of different things and go through those Scriptures, but this is just one example of what God did and has done for His people, and continues to do for us today. He will fight the battles for us. We don't need to cross and ocean or sea right now and be delivered from our enemies, but we still need to be delivered from our enemies today. We still need to be saved!

We still need the salvation of the Lord, and He tells us that we shall be still, "The LORD shall fight for you…"

God is telling us to 'focus on Me,' don't focus on the enemy or the trial. 'Focus on Me; let Me fight the battle.'

Prov. 23—this is where it all begins. God wants to do all of this, and He does watch everybody on the face of the earth. He does do that, and He does say that He fashions their hearts alike. Like I said, it doesn't look like much fashioning to us by the way some people are acting today, but it is, it's part of the plan.

• God is not failing
• He's not ignoring things

It may seem like that, but it's part of the plan and He's going to carry it out. He's going to let those things come about. Does He let us do the things that we want to do, even if they're mistakes? He wants us to learn those lessons, and they are lessons that we will never learn:

• unless we live through them
• unless we suffer the consequences
• unless we take stock and look back and learn those lessons

Prov. 23 is where it begins for us, and this is where we're going to focus now, after taking a picture of the entire world and all humanity. Even seeing what He did for His people in the past and what He does for us now. This for us now is the key; this is what God is telling us to do:

Proverbs 23:26: "My son… [all His children] …give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways."

He wants us to go give Him our heart. He wants every single one of us to give our heart to Him!

I know that this is a concept that mainstream Christians use a lot. 'Have you given your heart to the Lord?' Where's the proof that somebody has given their heart to the Lord. It starts with one thing! The test commandments is the Sabbath Day! Mainstream Christians say that we Judaize.

But how we claim to give our heart to the Lord if we don't even give Him one day of the week as He commands. He tells us and commands us to keep one day of the week, and that is not even to work or do more things; it is to rest, and not be slaves to this world and society, and to all the pressures of daily life. We are the free ones if we give Him our heart, and it begins with the Sabbath Day.

"…let your eyes observe my ways":

• His commandments
• His judgments
• What He tells us to do

It starts very simple, at basic levels. It starts in the letter of the Law, and with the Sabbath many times. That's where it starts and:

• we have to trust Him in that
• we have to obey
• we have to let our eyes observe

We do have free moral agency where our eyes go!

It is not just a matter of letting our eyes observe His ways, it that we have to give Him our heart first, our whole heart:

• not just our external obedience
• not just looking for salvation

It has to be a matter of the heart! "My son, give me your heart…" that's exactly what God wants  us to do.

We're going to see the work that He's carrying out right now. We're going to see how the Lord is directing our steps, because it says that He does direct our steps. This is what He's doing right now with all of us in the Church.

Ephesians 5:25: "Husbands, love your own wives, in the same way that Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it."

• He gave Himself for it!
• He gave His heart for the Church

Remember that His heart was pierced, and He asks us to do the same. "My son, give Me your heart…"

Verse 26: "So that He might sanctify it… [all of us as the Body of Christ] …having cleansed it with the washing of the water by the Word."

The Word of God cleanses us, and that's what He wants to do. That's how He wants to direct our steps:

• if we give Him our heart
• if we observe His ways

Verse 27: "That He might present it to Himself as the glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it might be Holy and without blame."

Why? Because He wants to cleanse us "…with the washing of the water by the Word." That's what He is doing; that's what He tells us that He is doing with each and every one of  us.

That's why He is directing our steps. That's why sometimes we cannot understand our ways. Jeremiah says that it's not within man. Why? Because God has to show us! God has to take us to the place… Sometimes if He told us what we were going to live through, or show us about ourselves, our acts and mistakes, we might not walk there and we might not follow Him.

But that why He kind of lets us devise our way and He directs our steps toward who He wants us to be and where He wants us to go to. Only He can do it!

John l:29: "On the next day, John sees Jesus coming to him, and he says, 'Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.'" All of the sin of the whole world!

Why? Because only He can do that! The Lord directs our steps. He can we understand our way? Only knowing and understanding that it is Jesus Christ Who is cleansing the Church and us individually! The Church is all of us collectively.

The key and central point of all of this is to LET God direct our steps! LET God show us the way!

Philippians 2:5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

I know that the Word of God says to work out your own salvation, but that means something else. It says here, "Let this mind be in you…" Why let it? Because it is God Who is directing our steps. It is Christ Who is cleansing the Church. It is He Who gave Himself for it! We have to LET that mind be in us if we give our heart to the Lord. That's why He says, 'My Son, give Me your heart…' and ' LET your eyes observe My ways.' This word let means allow! permit!

Sometimes the biggest obstacle for God doing all of these things, or having this mind of Christ, is ourselves! We don't let it. Sometimes that's the biggest obstacle, because it's our nature. It takes time, it takes work. But that's why God fashions our heart. He knows that it's a process and that we're stubborn and hardheaded, and sometimes it's just very difficult to get points across. But we have to let. He doesn't want action on our part, we have to let it! He's not going to force it upon anybody. We have to give Him our heart, let this mind be in us. He's not going to force it, but we have to let it.

• IF we don't cooperate
• IF we don't let Him do this
• IF we don't letour eyes observe His ways
• IF we don't let this mind be in us
• IF we don't stand still and see the salvation of the God
• IF we don't let Him fight our battles

THEN He's not directing our steps as much as He wants to; He really, really truly wants to, but we have to let this mind be in us!

We're going to see how deep this goes, because to let this mind of Christ be in us!

Verse 6: "Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men, and took the form of a servant" (vs 6-7)—because we're made in the image of God!

That's also the form of a servant, so we are all servants of God! He made us to be servants. We have a choice: we either serve God or we serve the enemy, the devil and sin, as the Bible says. It's either one. We are all servants.

Jesus Christ Himself emptied Himself, and the empty was complete. It was total and complete emptiness of everything that He had, His Divinity, His glory."… and was made in the likeness of men…"—like one of us, in the form of a servant! Then it tells us what He did!

Verse 8: "And being found in the manner of man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

If you want an example of what it looks like to give God the Father our heart that's exactly what Jesus Christ did; He gave the Father His heart!He emptied Himself, "…He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death…"

He was always doing the will of God the Father. He never did His own will. It's a perfect alignment, a perfect example of somebody who does that. Whose way is not devised by himself, but that the Lord directs His steps.

He's totally aligned with the will of God, totally instructed and guided in everything He did and everything He said, being full of the Holy Spirit. To do the will of God the Father, and to carry out the purpose for which He came. Completely:

• to fulfill every prophecy
• to save us and fulfill the plan of God.
• to bring the opportunity for salvation to all mankind.

• What did He have to do? He had to empty Himself! He had to let God work all things!
• He had to let the mind of God be in Him
• He emptied Himself, humbled Himself so that He would be filled with the Holy Spirit

We cannot be filled with something if we're full of something else.

• if we're full of ourselves
• if we're full of ideas
• if we're full of concepts
• if we're full of pride and arrogance

God cannot dwell there as much as He wants to! We do have a measure of the Holy Spirit, but that measure can increase in the measure that we empty ourselves just like Jesus Christ did! Empty ourselves of:

• our ideas
• our pride
• our arrogance

and we can, but we have to

• let that mind be in us!
• let God work these things out
• let God fashion our heart

That's what we have to do! That's what we have to let! Let God do His work!

• How does this come about?
• How can we do all these things?

After we give Him our heart and let our eyes observe His ways; at first just be aware of it. 'Observe My ways, just let your eyes go there. Don't deny them, ignore them or say they're done away. Don't do that!

But then God says, Proverbs 3:1: "My son, do not forget My Law… [now that you're a servant, now that you have read it, do not forget it] …but let your heart…"

A matter of giving our heart to the Lord, in Spirit and in Truth; not in this fancy way that mainstream Christianity does, in this fake way, 'Oh, I've given my heart to the Lord' or 'I confess the name of Jesus Christ.'

That's not enough! God tells us what to do and how to do it. If it starts there, then we have sacrifice something, give something, empty ourselves of our ideas, this concept of you're Judaizing when you keep the Sabbath.

• Jesus Himself was a Jew!
• He kept the Sabbath!
• He said that He was Lord of the Sabbath!

Proverbs 3:1: "My son, do not forget My Law, keep… [let your heart] …My commandments."

If you're guided by God, you're going to let God guide you! You're going to let God show you His Law, and then He's going to show you—if you let Him—that your heart keeps the commandments!

• it's not just the mind
• it's not just the body
• it's not in the external
• it's not a thing of the physical only

It starts there, but the heart keeps the commandments! This is the rejoicing of the heart when we're keeping those commandments. Not only the Sabbath, but all the Holy Days and not only that, but:

• loving our neighbor as ourselves
• loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and being

That's part of keeping the commandments. Those are the greatest commandments and they all come from there. Like not coveting; that in the heart! Not envying and doing all these things. But we have to let our heart keep His commandments, because it says there that the Lord directs our steps. We don't have to, we have to:

• let it
• cooperate
• let our eyes see His ways
• let our heart keep His commandments

That's what we have to do! But we have to let—allow, empty—and let Him do His work and fashion our heart!

Verse 5: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart…"

Trust that He means what He says and says what He means! And love Him with all your heart, as well (Mark 12:30-31).

"…and lean not to your own understanding" (v 5).

Don't be confused by your own things; don't be deceived by your own human thoughts. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart…" Don't trust in yourself! Sometimes we doubt ourselves. We make a decision and doubt ourselves:

I don't know if this is what God wants
I don't know if this is God's will

Just trust in the Lord with all your heart, and if you're letting your eyes observe His ways, and letting your heart keep His commandments, that decision—Rom. 8:28—works all things together for good. All things, including bad decision that we make!

I'm not saying to just go willy-nilly and just make all kinds of bad decisions all the time. That's not what I mean! But if we are coming to God, if we are giving Him our heart so that He may direct our steps, those bad decisions are going to be less and less! We're going to be:

• walking closer to where He wants us to walk
• following the example of Jesus Christ closer and doing what He says

That's exactly what this is; He trusted in the Lord with all His heart, trusted in His Father 100%! He never leaned to His own understanding, and neither should we!

This is the instruction, and Jesus Himself said this, and this is how it comes together with what we read in Ephesians, that He emptied Himself. That's the same thing that He commands us to do:

Matthew 16:24: "And Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself… [that's exactly what He did; He denied and emptied Himself] …and let him take up his cross and follow Me." What is this taking of the cross? Bearing:

• our burdens
• our nature
• our past
• our wounds

Everything that we carry with us, that's our cross!

• our history
• our background
• the environment
• families
• all the circumstances
• all the wrong decision
• all the poor choices

All of those things are our crosses and we have to bear it! We have to own it and bear that.

Christ says, "…deny himself…" that's the first thing! "…and let him take up his cross and follow Me."

We're also told to take up His yoke—not ours—because His is light, and His burden is better. But we have to:

• deny ourselves
• empty ourselves
• let Him guide us
• let the Lord direct our steps
• give Him our heart
• let our eyes observe His ways
• let our heart keep His commandments
• let this mind be in us that is so focused on the will of the Father

Not on ourselves; empty ourselves so that He can work deeply in us! God wants to do this, but this is a matter of the heart!

Isa. 1 is something that gives us perspective of how God looks at things. Not only just the world, not only the people of Israel whom He was speaking to—physical Israel—it says:

Isaiah 1:11: "'To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?' says the LORD…."

He can be telling these things to us, too; as a way of teaching us! A way of showing us how we are to deny ourselves in all the things we now have to work on. Not ourselves, but let Him work on those things! We have to let Him go into those deep places.

"…'I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this at your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more vain sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me—new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly!'" (vs 11-13).

That's what He doesn't want. He doesn't want to see that iniquity along with a solemn assembly! He's never hated His Sabbath, because it is HIS Sabbath! If we have iniquity and we're just keeping the Sabbath in a physical and external, He says, "…I cannot endure iniquity…"

It's the things in our heart that He wants to cleanse! That's what He's wanting to do with His Bride, cleanse it with the washing of the water by the Word! But that's deep inside! That's the iniquity that He wants to cleanse, because He cannot endure it along with a solemn assembly!

So, God is talking to us, as well, who are doing these things, or striving for these things; but the key is to LET Him!

• let Him cleanse us
• let His mind be in us
• let Him direct our steps

Verse 14: "Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates…" Why? Because He saying that

Those are yours, you're keeping them your way, doing your own things, and maybe you're keeping on the right days and everything, but it's yours, you're not honoring Me!

"…they are a trouble to Me; I am weary to bear them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear… [Why?]: …your hands are full of blood" (vs 14-15).

It was in the inside! Even in the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant and physical Israel, how much more with us today. That our hands are not full of blood and that we are all really reflecting—before the Passover—in self-examining ourselves!

We have to think about these things! What are those things that God needs to cleanse from us? We have to LET Him, because He told them that "…your hands are full of blood." But He always, always honors repentance!

Verse 16: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean… [How? It has to be Him with the washing of the water by the Word!] …put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil."

Only He can do it in the Spirit and the heart! But we have to give Him our heart! We have to do that, and we have to:

Verse 17: "Learn to do good…"

It says in one of the Psalms that there's no good within us!I know there's nothing good; the only good things is what God has given us! How can we learn to do good? When we look to Him! When we deny ourselves and He lives more fully within us!

"…seek judgment, reprove the oppressor. Judge the orphan; plead for the widow" (v 17). Those are things in the external, but they have to come from a clean heart! That's what Christ says, 'Make yourselves clean! Wash yourselves!' But only He can cleanse  us!

Verse 18: "'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…'"

That's what He's dressing the Bride in, clean garments without blemish, spot or wrinkle. The white linen in the book of Revelation are the just actions of the saints, the 'righteousness of the saints.' That's the white! It says it doesn't matter if "…your sins are of scarlet, they shall be white as snow…"

Let us reason together, it says, 'My Son, give Me your heart.'

• IF we do that
• IF we let Him
• IF we go to Him

"…they shall be as white as snow…"

Verse 19: "Though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool…. [but it tells us the condition]: …If you are willing and obedient] …you shall eat the good of the land."

• We have to LET this mind be in us!
• We have to LET God dwell fully in us!
• We have to GIVE our heart to Him!

Then let Him work, let Him direct our steps! We cannot do it on our own!

Psa. 37—here are more instructions about how we are to let God work these things in us.

Psalm 37:3: "Trust in the LORD… [tie in Proverbs, with all your heart] …and do good…"

It says "Learn to do good…" Who are we going to learn to do good from? Only God! Only God is good! Jesus said that when He was in the flesh: 'Why do you call Me good? There's only One good and that is God.'

"…dwell in the land and cherish faithfulness" (v 3). Faithfulness to the One Whom we are giving our heart to! Faithfulness to Him!

Verse 4: "Delight yourself in the LORD…"

• delight that He has called us
• delight that He is working in us
• delight that He is cleansing us
• delight that He's doing all these things

It's amazing when we really think about it! It is delightful! "Delight yourself in the LORD…" Everything that He is, everything that He wants for you and give you, in your heart spiritually!

"…and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (v 4).

If we delight ourselves in the Lord, we're going to want His will! When we want His will, He will give us that desire, absolutely, because it's according to His will!

But the desire will not be ours; it will be the desire of our God, if we truly delight ourselves. We cannot delight ourselves in the Lord unless we first give Him our heart! Our whole heart!

• when we trust Him with our whole heart
• when we stand still and see the salvation of our God
• when He fights our battles for us
• when He cleanses our wounds
• when He heals our diseases
• when He has mercy and reaches down into the very depths of our heart
• when He's cleansing us as His beloved Bride
• when He's making us white completely without wrinkle or spot

That's what God wants us to do, that we delight ourselves in Him!

Verse 5: "Commit your way unto the LORD…"

It says that man devises his way, but even in that we have commit it to the Lord, empty ourselves. That's how it all works together!

"…trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass" (v 5).

Why? Because we already delight ourselves in the Lord! What we want is His will! What He wants! He will give us the desires of our heart! "…and He will bring it to pass."

• not our desires
• not for our selfishness
  • for Himself
  • what He wants to do

Deep in the spirit!

Verse 23: "The steps of a good man are made firm by the LORD…"—because it's not in man to direct his steps! It is God Who fashions our heart! It is Him Who is making those steps firm:

• IF we give Him our heart
• IF we let this mind be in us
• IF we let our eyes observe His way
• IF we let our heart keep His commandments
• IF we let all these things He will make our steps firm

but God will not:

• force anybody into anything
• make our steps firm
• if we don't let Him
• if we continue in our own things

But if we are yielding to Him it says that He will make those steps firm!

"…and He delights in his way" (v 23). God delights in the way of a man when:

• he is close to God
• he's yielding to God
• he's letting God work all these things in us

This is spiritual work in the depths of our heart! That's what it is, and it doesn't matter what trials and tribulations come.

Verse 24: "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down…"

We might be down for a while, and that's a lesson so that we learn. Even Jesus Christ Himself says that by what He suffered He learned obedience! He was God Himself and He came in the flesh, and by what He suffered He learned. How much more we! We cannot be afraid of falling, because even though we fall:

• if we have given our heart to the Lord
• if He's working with us
• if we're letting Him do all these things
• if we're letting this mind be in us

Verse 24: "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down …[that's for you and me! Why?] ….for the LORD upholds him with His hand":

• IF we're letting Him dwell in us
• IF we're giving our heart to Him

Verse 39: "But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble."

We're already in a time of trouble! Let's remember that God is our strength, and our salvation comes from Him!

No matter what happens, no matter what comes our way—even though we fall—we will not be utterly cast down! We will not be down forever! He will uphold us with His hand. God is our strength in he time of trouble.

Verse 40: "And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them because they take refuge in Him." But:

• we have to give Him our heart
• we have to deny ourselves
• we cannot do this half way

It has to be all in! We have to give Him our whole heart!

• that's what we have to do
• that's what He tells us to do

We have to trust and give Him our heart!

We find a contrast in Prov. 9, because this has to do with the choices that we make and what we let happen! This is a contrast; this is wisdom, which is crying out in the streets and standing on top of the hill where the ----meet.

Proverbs 9:4: "'Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.' As for the one who lacks understanding, she says to him, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed'" (vs 4-5).

Passover, the bread and the wine, coming to Christ! "…let him turn in here…." Allow this, come in it's a free invitation! Come and delight yourselves in the Lord. If you lack understanding, come and eat of the bread and drink of the wine. That's the instruction, but we have to let that, we have to let ourselves go in there! Go with all our heart!

The contrast v 13: "A foolish woman is…"

Verse 16—she says: "'Whoever is thoughtless, let him turn in here.' And to one lacking understanding, she says to him…"

• Which one are we going to let?
• The foolish woman?

or

• Wisdom?

Wisdom invites us to Christ! That's the Passover! The foolish woman leads us to:

Verse 17: "'Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.'"

Let's just do this in secret, just so that nobody knows. Don't let God see that! You can have this façade; have this on the outside. That's not for us! We're not to go in there!

Verse 18: "But he does not know that the dead are there; her guests are in the depths of the grave."

Do we go and let ourselves go into where wisdom tells us to go? or where the foolish woman? Sometimes it's a little bit of each!

We try to heed to what wisdom tells us to do; what God tells us to do. Obviously, this is God, like wisdom personified. This is God's wisdom! God really wants us to do this. He wants us to:

• let Him cleanse us
• let Him guide our steps
• let Him fight the battles

He wants to be all in all! That's what He wants to do!

Psalm 50:14 this is what God wants us to do: "Offer to God thanksgiving; and pay your vows to the Most High."

That's what He wants us to do. He wants us to know Him and to thank Him, because our vow that we pledged our entire lives at baptism. We said that 'If I don't keep this covenant I'm going to die. This is a watery grave!' That's our vow, to give God our whole heart and life so He can transform it and cleanse it.

That's why He says, "Offer to God thanksgiving; and pay your vows to the Most High." Give Him your heart!

He will not accept less than 100%! He will not be okay with just part of your heart. If we made this commitment and vow He wants 100%!

Verse 15: "And call upon Me in the day of trouble; and I will deliver you, and you shall honor Me."

Sometimes we may not give 100%, because it's a process and He's working toward that! That's what He wants and what He's going to get to IF we let Him! But we have to let Him! We have to call upon Him in the day of trouble! He will deliver us and we will honor Him, because that love is going to grow every trial that He brings us through!

He's going to grow exponentially, even as things are getting worse in the world, that love of God is growing day by day! We have to give Him our heart; we have to do that!

Psalm 101:1: "I will sing of mercy and justice; to You, O LORD, I will sing praise."

David's heart was there! He knew God His refuge was God! That's why he was inspired to write all these things; his heart was full! He said, 'My heart is overflowing' with all these things, 'My cup runs over. My heart is overflowing with God's love.'

That's why He was singing praise. He knew he had to let God dwell in him! He had to give himself to God.

Verse 2: "I will behave myself wisely in a blameless way. O when will You come unto me?…."

David knew that it is not in man to direct his steps! It is not within himself to behave wisely in a blameless way. That's why he asked: "…O when will You come unto me?…." He knew what was going to happen!

"…I will walk within my house with a perfect heart…." (v 2)—when You come to me; not within myself, and he told God that!

David acknowledged that, and that's why God loved Him, because he was sincere and straightforward with God. He didn't have secrets with God, because he loved Him in everything.

Even though David suffered a lot, many of those things were by his own doing and as a result of his sin with Bathsheba. He knew that! He knew God! And he knew that there was nothing good in him.

• David let God guide him
• he let God fight the battles for him

that's why he never lost one

• he let that mind be in him

that all his prophecies would come from God and save himself and his descendants, his linage

David knows that there is nothing that he could have done to deserve that. That was only the will of God! That's how he aligned himself with the will of God. See the power of just one man letting God grow fully in him. Just one man giving his whole heart to God.

It's something truly powerful! David lived it! He did all these things because he knew!

Psa. 39 is an example of all these things that we've been talking about. This is how David lived it! This is exactly what he wrote about.

Psalm 39:1: "I said, 'I will take heed to my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked are before me.'"

I'm going to do this: I will take You to my ways, I will guide my path, I will make myself good, I don't want to sin, not even with my tongue, so I will do all these things: "…I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked are before me.

Verse 2: "I became dumb, keeping silent…"

Let's just do this! David, you're good; let's just put our whole effort into this.

"…I said nothing good, and yet, my sorrow grew worse" (v 2).

Why? Because he tried it by himself and really didn't approach it in the right way! He reflecting on what he did. He's reflecting on his own nature and his own impulse. Many times we do the same, because God has given us so much and so many things and blessings. He's given us many things to do and so many commandments, and we're observing them. We're trying with all our heart to worship God and keep His commandments with all our heart.

But so many times we do fall into this, fall into our own way, our own devices and methods, our own words out of our own lips. This is what happened. His sorrow grew worse:

Verse 3: My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue… [he was a mess] …'O LORD, make me to know my end and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how short lived I am'" (vs 3-4).

Put in perspective, Lord, please help me. I tried and it doesn't work, the fire is burning worse! I'm in worse shape than before. This reminds me of what I am:

Verse 5: "Behold, You have made my days as a handbreadth, and the span of my days is as nothing before You. Surely every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah." Meditate on this! I'm nothing!

Verse 6: Surely every man walks about in a vain show!…."

Just vanity; just on the outside, it's a façade. Inside there's a lot of hurt, pain and sorrow; it's vain show.

"…Surely they are in an uproar in vain. He heaps up riches and does not know who shall gather them" (v 6). Why? Why become a slave of things?

Verse 7: "And now, LORD, what do I wait for? My hope is in You."

David recognized there's nothing more! Outside of God there's nothing really worth it!

Verse 8: "Deliver me from all my transgressions…"

He saw what he did in v 1, trying his own methods and strength. He was not letting God dwell in him.

"…make me not the reproach of the fool" (v 8).

Don't put me to shame because of my foolishness, and he acknowledges it:

Verse 9: "I was dumb; I did not open my mouth because You have done it." David understood that it is:

• God Who carries out the battles for him
• God Who gives him goodness
• God Who takes care of the wicked for him

That's why He was doing all these things while the wicked are before him. 'I going to be blameless.' You can't on your own and he recognized this "….because You have done it."

Verse 10: "Remove Your stroke away from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand." David couldn't endure it anymore!

God had to bring him to this point where he finally yielded and saw. This is so true:

Verse 11: "You correct a man for iniquity with rebukes, and You make his beauty to vanish away like a moth…."

God does destroy what we love the most so that we don't have any idols, crutches, anything else above Him! Commandment #1 in the Ten Commandments.

"…Surely every man is vanity. Selah" (v 11)—think again!

The only thing that has worth in this life is a heart that God is fashioning, the work that God is doing, the cleansing that Christ is doing of His Bride.

Verse 12: "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry. Do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner, as all my fathers were. Look away from me, that I may recover strength before I depart and am no more" (vs 12-13).

Sometimes we feel like that, that we just need time, to meditate! It's amazing what it says here, because Psa. 40 is a continuation of what we just read:

Psalm 40:1: "I waited patiently for the LORD, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry." He did!

Why? Because David cried out to God! Remember that he asked God to correct him, to show him what he was: just vanity! It's what all of us are, just vanity on the outside without God. The only thing that's good is God in us!

Verse 2: He brought me up also out of a horrible pit…"

How many of us have gone to that horrible pit in one way or another? We don't compare. Some pits are worse than others, but in our own mind that's our horrible pit.

"…out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a Rock… [upon Jesus Christ Himself] …and established my steps"—in Him!

Only He can do that; that's why we have to LET Him!

Verse 3: "And He has put a new song in my mouth…"

Why? Because David loved God! He rejoiced! Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart!

"…even praise to our God; many shall see and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust… [because we've seen what He's done for us] …and does not respect the proud, nor those who turn aside to lies" (vs 3-4).

It's all vanity! It's all lies! Then his meditation of someone who really LETGod be in him! Who really LET that mind of Christ be in him. Even though Christ had not yet come in the flesh and had not done that, yet; He was the same Being that David was talking with in prayer all the time.

Verse 5: "O LORD my God, many things You have done, Your wonderful works and Your thoughts which are toward us; there is none to compare unto You; if I could declare and speak of them, they would be more than can be told"--because everything good comes from God!

Verse 6: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened…"

That's what God wants! He wants to open our ears, open our eyes so that we LET our eyes observe His ways, so that we LET our heart keep His commandments.

"…burnt offering and sin offering You have not required" (v 6).

Even though He has not required it… this is not a contradiction, because David knew that what mattered was the heart!

Verse 7: "Then I said, 'Lo, I come; in the Scroll of the Book it is written of Me… [prophecy of Christ] …I delight to do Your will, O My God; and Your Law is within My heart'" (vs 7-8)—because He LET it!

• Christ LET that Law be there
• He LET that Spirit be fully in Him
• He completely emptied Himself

Whoever wants to come to Me LET him deny himself! That's exactly what Christ wants us to do! That we deny ourselves and LET God in us, then we can do:

Verse 9: "I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I have not kept back my lips, O LORD, You know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not hidden Your loving kindness and Your Truth from the great congregation" (vs 9-10).

That's our destiny! That's what God wants for us! There are so many things, but this is how it starts! It starts with God directing our paths and calling us to this way of life, then:

• letting Him in
• lettingHim show us things
• letting Him show us His Law, commandments and way of life
• letting Him show us His heart
• letting Him cleans us by the washing of the water by the Word
• letting His goodness dwell in us fully

Colossians 3:15: And let the peace of God… [something we have to allow] …rule in your hearts, to which you were called into one body, and be thankful."

We all know collectively for it to be one body. LET that peace of God rule in our heart even in the midst of trials and afflictions.

Verse 16: "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." We can only do that IF

• we're all giving Him our heart!
• we're all letting Him guide our steps
• we're all letting Him fashion our heart
• we're all letting Him cleanse us and sanctify us

Making us ready as the Bride of Christ! We have to LET that Word of Christ dwell richly in us.

Verse 17: "And in everything—whatever you do in word or in deed—do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…."

• not just from words, but from the heart
• not in the external, but in Spirit and in Truth

"…giving thanks to God and the Father by Him" (v 17).

Scriptural References:

• Proverbs 20:24
• Jeremiah 10:23
• Proverbs 16:9
• Psalm 33:13-15
• Exodus 14:13-14
• Proverbs 23:26
• Ephesians 5:25-27
• John 1:29
• Philippians 2:5-8
• Proverbs 3:1, 5
• Matthew 16:24
• Isaiah 1:11-19
• Psalm 37:3-5, 23-24, 39-40
• Proverbs 9:4-5, 13, 16-18
• Psalm 50:14-15
• Psalm 101:1-2
• Psalm 39:1-13
• Psalm 40:1-9
• Colossians 3:15-17

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Mark 12:30-31`
• Romans 8:28

EE:bo
Transcribed: 4/6/22

Copyright 2022—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.