Psalm33

Sing Joyfully

V1
when a dress fits you, you wear it happily.
when a jewelry looks good for you, you will adore yourself with that.

The Word says, The Praises of the Lord fits perfectly for a righteous person.
For a unbeliever/ for a person who is not washed by the blood , for them the praises does not suit because they dont know the joy of being clothed with righteousness,

but for you and me the righteousness of Christ s given and the praises of the Lord fits perfectly for each one of us.
You may be of any color of any region of any language, it doesnt matter, but what matters is if you are a person washed by blood of Jesus Christ, the no matter who you are , the praises of the Lord fits you.

Remember the dress or jewelry is good, somebody will tell you.
But here the Word o God says it fits you perfectly.

When you have a nice dress or jewelry that fits you, if you dont use it or just keep it a locker, never uses it then it is of no use.
Similarly, the praises fits you perfectly and if you dont sing it and just look depressed all the time then it is of no use.

When some nice dress or nice jewelry suits us, then we try to wear it very frequently because we look good in it and we love it.

Similarly, the praises of God suits a believer perfectly why not wear it every time.


V 2 & 3

The message translation says
Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!
    Play his praise on a grand piano!
Invent your own new song to him;
    give him a trumpet fanfare.

This verse says play skillfully, give your best. Give him a trumpet fanfare
When a football team or cricket team returns victoriously, the people arrange parades and give them  big fanfare, nobody forces them to do it but out of love they give that fanfare they give their best.

How about us when we gather as Church, give Him the best, instruments give your best.
just think how much skillfully David would have played the instruments for His God.
singers give your best.
not only people who lead us, do your best.
ushers do it skillfully,
Sunday school teachers, give your best to the kids,
people who cook food and bring it,
Do everything because you are not doing to please a man.
But you are doing it for the glory of God.


V 4 - 9

The Lord loves the righteousness and justice.
If a wife loves the husband she will know what he likes and cooks accordingly.
Know what the Lord loves and do it in your life.

He made the heavens with His Word.
by His breath he made all the host.
Psalmist says He is might creator, let all the earth fear Him. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
When you come to the presence of God, be gripped with that awesomeness of God.
Have Reverence to the Most High God.

Sadly, these are the days where people gripped by gadgets, whats going on in whatsapp, what email i get,what textmessage that i got and even when you come to the presence of the Lord, you some play a video game, some keep looking at whatsapp messages, some keep texting.
Remember what God said to Moses, by striking the Rock,

"Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."

Do you wan to see what is to have reverence to God.
God who is enthroned above Cherubim.
God of glory, God of Might,God of Power.
Children of Israel looked at God as God who is enthroned above Cherubim.
Psalm 80:1 - Go who is enthroned above the Cherubim.
Psalm 18:10 -God who rode upon Cherub

To understand this God who is enthroned above Cherubim.
Cherub are different types of angels in the presence of God.
Ezekiel 10:21 - gives the description of how Cherub looks like
21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands.

Now coming to Man, when Adam and Eve sinned and were thrown out of garden of Eden
and in Genesis 3:24 it says

24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

So whenever anybody try to transgress to go to the tree of Life, the Cherub and the Flaming Sword will slain them.

Now after that times passed by then came Moses.
When God gives commands to Moses on how to build the tabernacle.
In Exodus 25:V17-22

7 “You shall make a [p]mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half [q]cubits [r]long and one and a half cubits [s]wide. 18 You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work [t]at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub [u]at one end and one cherub [v]at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and [w]facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall put the mercy seat [x]on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. 22 There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.

So we see that Cherub were on either side of Mercy Seat.
Whenever the high priest enters the holy of Holies.
Exodus 26:V1 and V
1 “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and [a]blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. 
 31 “You shall make a veil of [at]blue and purple and scarlet material and fine 
twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.

So we see that even the tabernacle curtains and even the veil was crafted with Cherubim.
So whenever a priest enters the tabernacle, he always sees the cherubim, on the curtains, when he in the holy place and when he goes to most holy place there also he sees this Cherubim.

The Holy of Holies:

Ark of Covenant,(golden pot(manna), Aarons Rod,tablets)
Cover t with Mercy seat
Upon Mercy seat  - put 2 Cherubim.
And I will dwell in the midst of Cherubim

This is how we understand the Word Shekinah. God dwells between Cherubim.

I will dwell in the midst of Cherubim, brought a huge weight upon people of Israel.
they say we have a God who dwells in our midst that we cannot go to Him.

when a high priest enters only once a year.
The picture of Cherubim always gave them the picture of Adam sent out of Eden.

Since Israelite's moved from one place to another.
When people come to move the Tabernacle.
when they lift up their heads,they would see curtains with pictures of  cherubim
Oh God who dwells between Cherubim.

Even the Veil has picture of Cherubim.
So as soon they came to worship

2 people went to the temple
pharisee was so proud
another guy looked at Cherubim and fell on his face and confessed his sin.

When Solomon built the temple, the pictures of cherubim is all over the walls.
So any one comes into the temple, they would see cherubim all over the place, and there was fear of God.
Today we need to say to people please turn off your cell phones.please don't talk.

If it is like this that God dwells in the midst of Cherubim, but thanks to God that Lord Jesus came and torn the veil.
Dear Church, Living in this prosperous country, Let us have the fear of God.
Let us reverence to this God Most High.
It is not a destructive fear, It is a constructive fear, the fear of God.


V 10,11
whose counsel are we taking in every aspect of our life.
In our every decisions, do we take the counsel of the Lord or do we go by counsel of the world.
God frustrates the plans of the peoples.
when a man gives counsel, he can think of it for that moment or the effect of that decision for some years.
But when God gives counsel, He looks at generations to come and gives the counsel.

Example of Saul not killing out all the agagites.

Do you take the counsel of the Lord.


V 13-15

The Lord looks down from heaven and see the hearts of man.
We should always be in the constant reminder that God is seeing.

Many times we are concerned whether  people seeing or not.
Whatever you do, do it knowing fully well that the God is looking down into my life every moment.

Lords Second coming

1 Thessolonians 5:2

2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 

For the day of the Lord will come like a thief.

In saying that the Lord comes like a theif.
these are things that are involved.

1) Unexpected coming:
    The thief will not announce that he is coming. Or the thief will not come when everybody is awake.

That is why in revelation it says.
Revelation 3:3
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you

If you are awake, it wont be a theif.
When you are awake, you will know who is coming to you. 
you are not surprised that somebody came to you.
Matthew 25:V13 says Keep watch 
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Verse 5 says all of them fell asleep.

So keep watching is not about whether you are physically sleeping or wakeup..

it is about whether you are filled with Holy Spirit and led by the HolySpirit when the Lord comes.

Have you ever filled the gas in your car and drive life time.

No every time the gas runs out youwill fill it.

its everyday filling of the Holy Spirit and being awake for the Lord.

Point 2: Second things is

The Lord does not come like a theif for believers.
1 Thessolonians 5:4
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
The Lord does not come like a theif for believers because believers are not in darkness.
I am not saying people who just come to Church and go, but people who truly believed in the Lord, actually they wait for the Lord.
for those who wait, the coming is not a surprise.
Suppose if a guest said that he is coming to your house at evening 5, and then you will have all preparations done by afternoon and you will be waiting for the guest, even if the guest is delayed for 2 hours you will still wait and when the guest comes you will not be surprised.


Point 3: The thief comes to to steal, kill, destroy.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full

The thief, actually comes for these things
Analogy Steal:  The thief comes to steal for which does not belong to him.
            When a theif comes to your house, nothing in your house belongs to the theif, but a thief comes and steals what belongs to you. or what doesnot belong to him.

But in contrast, Lord Jesus comes to take the people brought by His Precious blood.
1 Corinthians 6:19
 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

We should very clearly know that we are not our own. we are completely His.
This will make life very easy. 
Suppose if you are using your car, then however is your car does nt matter.
but suppose i took some very good car of yours, then i will be mainting it.
Knowing that we are not our own, but we are completely belonging to God makes life easy and we will be very careful to make sure to keep this body as how the owner likes it.

Remember, although Jesus Christ is coming like a theif, but He is coming to take His own.


Steal Analogy - Theif comes to steal precious things/ Jesus comes to take His precious Church.
   The theif comes to steal precious things in your house.
have you ever seen/heard a thief coming to steal the trash in your house. that would be silly. Similarly the devil comes to steal what is precious for a person.
He does not comes to make you look ugly, but he comes to steal your inner joy, to steal your faith, to make you sin. because he knows that is the precious thing in Gods sight.

But Lord Jesus Christ comes to take the precious Church.
Church is so precious in Gods sight. The most precious thing for God on this earth is His Church. 
Because 
Church is His Body, 
Colossians 1:18 
he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy
Church is His temple.
The world did not recognize the Church.
It is the through Church that God reveals His Light .
It is the through Church that God changes the lives of people.
It is the through Church that changes sinners to saints.
It is the through Church that God establishes His purposes for this world.
Colossians 1:18


Analogy Kill  - A thief comes to kill - we know in many cases, when poeple try to resist or even without resisting the theives kill the people in the house so that nobody will complain.
But Lord Jesus Christ comes to give life and life in abundance.
 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

this Theif kills- how it kills
James 1:14,15 says
but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

The devil tempts the people and sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.
But the Lord comes not to kill but to give a life with Him.
Can you every imagine a life with Him. It is so beautiful it is so wonderful.

Analogy Destroy.The thief comes to destroy.
The ultimate goal of the devil is that it knows it is going to be destroyed, but it want the mankind to see the death.
It is like a person who fails in exam is not concerned about his failure, but wants everyone else also fail.

But the Lord Jesus, is coming to restore the mankind.
1 Thessolonians 4:16,17

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lordforever. 

The glory that mankind has lost because of sin, because of the thief, now Lord Jesus is coming back to restore that glory. 
First dead in Christ will rise.
Then we who are still alive will be caught up in the air and will be with the Lord forever.

Why I shared all these things is: because in verse 18 the Word says that share all these things

18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Kingdom and Righteousness

Base verse for todays word is Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well

Some verses in bible are spoken more and practiced less.
Many verses in the bible we know and we can quote any time, but very few we practice what the Word says.
Matthew 6:33 is one of that verse. People use it in talk, prayer and very few do what it says.
Actually many people do it reversely. people seek all things of the world and they ask from God and they think they are living for Gods kingdom, because they are asking from God.

When you ask anybody what is this seeking of His Kingdom, and His Righteousness, many will have vague answers, the first answer you get is putting God first in all things (when i get up first i pray, before i eat food i pray, before i goto bed i pray, i give the tithe).

But let us see what bible says about His Kingdom.

Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Eating and drinking is kingdom of the world.
Eating,drinking actually represents all the worldly things,
Luke 17:26,27
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark

Devil tempted Lord Jesus with bread.
But Since Lord Jesus always looked at the kingdom of God, He said many shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that comes out of Gods mouth.
You substitute any thing of this world like going after money or anything you name it.
Why people keep going after these things
   a) because they are not content
   b) because they don't have faith that God can supply all these when they seek after Godly things.
So first let me make things clear, if you are thinking that kingdom of God is about going to God and asking God about all the things of the world then you are actually seeking the things of the world, but not the things of Kingdom.


So we clearly know from this verse is Righteousness,Peace and Joy in Holy Spirit.
So when you say Seek His Kingdom, it means Seek His Righteousness, Seek His Peace, Seek His Joy.

Not the righteousness, peace, joy that the world talks about, but the righteousness, peace and joy that comes from the world.

So what is this Righteousness, peace, joy that Holy Spirit gives.

To understand this
we should know what righteousness of the world.

The righteousness of the world is like this:
It is self righteousness- Any righteousness that does not come with Holy Spirit,is self righteousness.
Doing an act of righteousness for a gain - gain could be some honor, becoming famous, or indirectly gain more money, self satisfaction.

Many people get deceived by lies.
2 Thessalonians 2: 
            Verse 11,12 - they are deceived from lies.
            Verse 10 :Because they did not love the Truth.
                            Love the truth - When Holy Spirit reveals something in your heart, you love the Truth. Many times the Spirit revealed something i was little hesitant to believe and love it.
But sometimes i loved and sometimes i failed to love and i confessed it.
           
            Verse 13:
                        But those who love the Truth are saved by Sanctifying work of the Spirit.

Let us look at Matthew 5:20
 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

           My Righteousness should surpass the righteousness of pharisees and teachers.

What is the righteousness of pharisees - Matthew 23:25-28

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Pharisees always say Do as I Say, they don't say Do as I Do.(they teach but not practice).
Pharisees are more concerned about what people see , what people think about them.
Have you ever gone home after Church, what does people think about my curry i cooked, about the dress i wear, about the songs i sung,
I used to that every time after going home, i used to ask did people got impressed by what i told in psalm reading. but God convicted me and then i repented and now i consider how the psalm that i talk is helping me and others in our lives.

It is like the outside they do all the things. they fast, they give tithe, they pray, but if you go and look at their heart, it is like rotten.
It is like you see a most beautiful person in world, and out side the body is beautiful, but inside all diseases then you will go away.

But when the Holy Spirit came , He convicted a person's sin and thus made realize that a person need in Christ. and it doesn't stop there, If you continue to yield to what Spirit leads you, you will see the fruit of Spirit ( Gal 5:22),
Gives Kindness- and in that kindness , you help the one who is in needy.
Gives Patience and Gentleness - and this helps a believer to be righteous in being patient with those who are provoking, being gentle with others.
All you are deeds of righteousness will come out of the Holy Spirit work in your life.
and one great thing you will notice is for every work of righteousness that you do you will be thankful to God.


The problem with self righteousness is it does not lead me to repentance, it does not lead me to the need of savior.
One good test if we have self righteousness or the righteousness that comes from Holy Spirit is
any act of righteousness which does not need the grace of the savior, but can act on its own is self righteousness. but any act of righteousness that recognizes the grace of the savior and as a result the act of righteous deed is poured out., then it is righteousness from Holy Spirit.

Romans 9:30-32 says
What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is [t]by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law


What Righteousness are we seeking today?
I can seek the Kingdom of God that is the righteousness of God through the fruit of HolySpirit, and I can see the fruit of the HolySpirit in my life when I yield to what the Spirit teaches me.

Remember, Isaiah 64:5 - God looks for those who rejoice in doing righteousness.

2) Joy in HolySpirit
           Clearly we know that from Galatians 5:22, that Joy is the fruit of HolySpirit.
When we abide in Lord Jesus Christ and continously yield to Holy Spirit, then we can see the fruit of Joy in our life.

   John 15:11 
These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

How our joy is made full:
When you are full of love, than  you can have joy.
for example, the whole day my work will be hectic and will be working hard.
but when i come home and see my daughter and my wife, i am full of love for them and i just rejoice in their presence.

Lord Jesus says, these things I spoke to you, -- these things are.
In John 15:10, our joy can be full when we  completely abide in His Love.

How the Joy in Holy Spirit is revealed 

1)When you see the power of God working in our lives, rejoice in it.

Acts 8:7,8 
7For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 So there was much rejoicing in that city

When they see power of God doing signs and miracles, and people are coming to salvation, then rejoice in it.
I will give a personal testimony, that recently how joyful i was when i see the power of God.
when my wife was going through some leg cramps in the night, and i prayed and declared the she is healed, within moments, the cramps left her and she went to sleep. and similar testimonies, i was just thankful and rejoicing in God, that the power of God is manifested in our lives.

Dont rejoice in what others can do for you in their power.
But rejoice in what God can do for you.

2) Rejoice in your fellow brother/sister.
      1 thessalonians 2: 19,20
For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His[z]coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

Some people are very joyful when they buy a property, or when they got a expensive gift.
for Paul, his fellow bretheren are his joy.
Actually this kind of joy lets us work more for kingdom of God.

3) Rejoice in every moment, not just when we hear a wonderful message, or some one prophecies about us. Rejoice in  every moment.

Sister Sonal sent a whatsapp message it When a small baby is thrown into air, she laughs because she knows you will catch and does not lose her joy.
When we are thrown into situations, if we abide in His Love, we still be joyful.

The key for seeking Gods Kingdom is
1) Setting our minds on the things above.
Colossians 3:2
                   Set your minds on the things above.
                           When faced with provoking situation - you will set your mind on heaven and forgiveness is key and you will act with grace.
        John 18:36
              Lord Jesus said " My Kingdom is not of this world"
              If it is of this world, then I would fight.
              Many times we end up fighting with colleagues, spouses, neighbours, relatives.
              Why because we always seek the worldly kingdom and forget about the Kingdom of God.
              Jesus said, I will not argue nor fight for my release because my Kingdom is not of this world.

When seeking for His kingdom we should not fight for this world but should fight for Gods kingdom.

if we keep seeking the things of world, we can never be overcomers.

That is why it says Some take kingdom of God by force.

Matthew 11:12
       
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

Psalm 32

This Psalm is Psalm of David.

David starts this psalm with a blessing.

Apostle Paul quotes this psalm :

"Romans 4:6-8"

Blessed is the one whose sins are forgiven, Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them.

David says a person is a blessed man or a blessed woman when God forgives that person, or God does not count your sin against you.

There was a time when King David sinned and he kept silent. and When he was silent, he says the Lord's hand was heavy upon him, and he struggled.

Have you ever been like that? you sin and still you will be silent as if you have not done anything wrong.

1 John 1:8

" If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

When you sin and you act as if you have not done anything, then you claim that you are not a sinner and you deceive yourself

sometime back i met a sister and I asked her whether she confessed her sins, she said  "I am not that big sinner to confess."

For God whether you are a big sinner or small sinner.

what matters in Gods view is that  Whether your sin is counted against you or not counted against you 

V 9 If we confess our sins, He is Faithful and Just and He will cleanse us and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.

God says, come let us settle the matter. Can you find any God like this who says Come let us settle the matter.

That is our God, He says come let us now settle the matter 

Verse 9:

Do not be like the horse or mule which needs controlling, But live a life that is led by the Holy Spirit.

A christian life is not a life of rules. but a christian life is a life of love towards God.

Any time you apply rule you are bound to fall.

For example: you prayed for 1 hour in the morning.then you got some free time in the evening and the Holy Spirit prompts you to pray and then in your mind , you said I finished my today's 1 our prayer, no need of prayer for today. Today's quota is done,then you are bringing yourself into a rule.

Verse 11: Finally the psalmist says because God has made you righteous, Rejoice in Him,

Because God has not counted your sin against you.

Psalm 26

V 1.
Psalmist says he trusted in the Lord and also he walked in integrity, so he shall not slip.

Trusting in the Lord - Walking in integrity. are connected things.

Let us say I don't have a job for 1 months. and now i have to pay the bills.
I trusted in the Lord, but slowly my trust is fading, because I don't see the job coming
Now there came a opportunity, that if you fake your resume for 10 years of experience then you will definitely get the job.
and you decided that since my job is not coming, I dont know whether God will give or not, but let me just put some extra experience.
Since your trust in God has come down and you compromised on integrity , and the result is you slip in your character.
lots things christians do these days, faking medical bills, rental bills,

Shedrach Mesach Abednego -
Forget about jobs , bills and food, people are ready to lose their lives.
Pastor Dinesh - If you put gun on your head and asked if you are christian, then true Christianity will come out
We sit here comfortably and get compromise on lots of things.

This is a challenge today, Do we truly trust in the Lord or like Esau are we saying forget about birthright, first let me have a meal and compromising on integrity.

Luke 18:8
 Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

what this verse means, When Lord Jesus comes back, will he find people who did not compromise with the world and fully trusted in Him.
Not for how many times i came to pulpit and preached, not whether choir has performed well or not.
Did you walk in the righteousness He has given.

V4,5
Its replica of Psalm 1.
In Psalm1 he says blessed is the one who does all these things, and here in psalm 26  he says i did all these things.

V8 - Lord I love the habitation of your hourse and your glory.
Loving Gods presence.
many of us like to be with people are rich.

Exodus 33:15 
Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here
Daniel 6:10
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

For us, God should be like our breath.Can you live without breathing. God should be like that for each one of us.

Lord If you are not there, I don't exist.

Church, let us trust fully in the Lord, and our walk in integrity depends on how much we trust the Lord and Love the presence of the Lord.