"Can You Pass God's Test?”

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Rev. Dr. Levi Howard Wright, Pastor & Founder

Psalm 26:1-12

A Psalm of David. A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption

1VINDICATE ME, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; I have [expectantly] trusted in, leaned on, and relied on the Lord without wavering and I shall not slide.

2Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; test my heart and my mind.

3For Your loving-kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth [faithfully].

4I do not sit with false persons, nor fellowship with pretenders;

5I hate the company of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.

6I will wash my hands in innocence, and go about Your altar, O Lord,

7That I may make the voice of thanksgiving heard and may tell of all Your wondrous

works.

8Lord, I love the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.

9Gather me not with sinners and sweep me not away [with them], nor my life with

bloodthirsty men,

10In whose hands is wickedness, and their right hands are full of bribes.

11But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful and gracious to

me.

12My foot stands on an even place; in the congregations will I bless the Lord.

Introduction

“CAN YOU PASS GOD’S TEST?” I thank the Lord for the Spirit of Reassurance and Deliverance, the people of God should never be intimidate or afraid, because God has not given us the Spirit of Fear.

Luke 21:26 tells us that men’s hearts will fail them because of fear in the last days.

Today, many people are afraid and live in fear. They are afraid of being the victims of crime, terrorism, nuclear war, global pollution, sickness, death, economic collapse, and many other things.

But in Psalm 27:1 the Word of God teaches us, “The Lord is our salvation.... Whom shall we fear?”

David knew that God was his salvation; and in verse 3 of this text he boldly declared, “My heart shall not fear” As Christians Believers own hearts should be like David.

David was in exile and being pursued by King Saul. Even though David knew that he was to be next King of Israel, he would not lift his hand against Saul.

Saul had already been rejected by God and his reign was coming to an end but, in David’s eyes, as long as God allowed Saul to reign, he was still God’s chosen man and David would not fight against God’s anointed.

Therefore, David was a man of integrity. Integrity meant that David would be as steady as a rock in his obedience to God no matter whether the circumstances where in his favor or not.

Even though David was a man who walked after God and a man who Paul refers to in Acts 13:22 “… David the son of Jesse, a man after mine (God’s) own heart.

David was not perfect in all his ways, for he too had many great sins and failures in his life.

Even in all of his sin, David was still a man of integrity!

Integrity doesn’t mean that we will never make mistakes or stray from our mission to serve the Lord.

It does mean that our ultimate goal and our final decisions always lead us back to the same place, a place where we will follow the Lord.

David, now in exile and running from Saul, writes this Psalm to God, asking God to put his heart to the test.

HOW MANY OF US REALLY WANT GOD TO TEST OUR LOYALTY, LOVE, COMMITMENT AND INTEGRITY TO HIM?

I don’t know about you but it is a fearful thing to know that God will test us by examining the motives and integrity of my heart. I can only pray and trust that I could pass that test! I can only hope and pray that all of you would pass it too.

ILLUSTRATION: God does not grade on a curve as many of teachers do. His tests are absolute with only one answer that will be right. Too many of our youth today are graduating from high schools across America without the basic knowledge and skills to even get a mediocre job.

Teachers who grade on a curve actually cause the standard of excellence and integrity to be lowered.

With God the answers with His TEST, it’s either right or wrong.

In Psalm 26 Vs 1-2, David said “Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.”

David was willing to stand up to God’s test: are we?

Are your heart right with God?