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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?
Are your motives for “serving Jesus” righteous and holy?
Do we serve God because we love Him or do we do it out of a sense of duty and fear?
Do we really love Jesus?
Are we coming to the House of God because it is a place to meet friends or to show how “godly” we are, or are we coming to God’s House because we want to praise Him, worship Him and serve Him and serve His people?
Surely, it is a wonderful thing to be faithful to God’ and to work “faithfully” in the ministry and calling that God has given to us, but we must never forget that doing so is just fulfilling our “reasonable service” and unless we come simply because we love the Lord and want to work for Him then our motive isn’t right and our work will bring no reward in the end.
My cry is this, “Lord, I want to be faithful because I love you!
“Lord, I want to serve you and your people because I know that is what you want me to do.
“Lord, I don’t want any glory, any recognition, any praise of men for it all belongs to you.
“Lord, I just want to be what and where you want me to be with a clean heart.
“Lord, Don’t Let me slide into self-gratification.
My cry is this, “Lord, Don’t allow me to slip into the pride and love of the praise of men.
My cry is this, “Lord, Keep my motives pure before you and my heart right in your sight, oh Lord!
Can you pass God’s test in your heart and life?
If you can honestly say, like David, I have never coveted what another person has and I have never sought after the job or ministry that God has given to another person, then just maybe, we can pass the test.
HOW MANY OF YOU WANT TO TAKE GOD’S TEST RIGHT NOW?
David asked God to test his motives and test his heart. “Try my reins and my heart” was his statement to God.
Now David was a brave soul who did not shy away from God’s testing but actually step up and ask the Lord to test Him.
Are you willing to let God try your reins? What are reins?
Well, if you have ever ridden a horse, or driven a horse drawn carriage, or watched an old western movie, you will know that the reins are like a steering wheel for the horse or whatever animal is providing the power for you to move along.
Are you willing to allow God to steer you? God will surely test your power steering!
He will try you and allow you to face some great obstacles in life and some huge potholes in your road.
He may even allow a few of the “road signs” in your life to disappear so that you will really have to let Him do the steering of your heart and life or you will wind up some place where you don’t want to be!
In Psalms 23:2-3, David said..... "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."
The one thing that we must always remember, is that God will never steer you away from the right path.
You may not always see it with your eye or feel it is there, but God will never lead you wrong and the paths of righteousness and peace are always there. If we just learn to allow Him to do the driving and then learn to completely trust in Him then we will always pass His test.
We fail the test when our trust disappears and we try to take the reins back into our own hands. That’s when we begin to stray from God.
In Psalm 26:3- 5 David said..... For thy loving kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. 26:4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 26:5 I have hated the congregation of evildoers; and will not sit with the wicked.
David was confident that his heart and his motives were right and he was not afraid to be examined by God.
➣David knew that he could pass the Test.... because.... He had kept his love of God and of man in his heart.
David knew that he could pass the Test.... because.... He had walked in the path of righteousness that God had placed before him, even though that path sometimes seemed dark, dangerous and even deadly as Saul was pursuing him.
David knew that he could pass the Test.... because.... He had kept away from those who would lift his heart in pride through their vain praise of his leadership ability.
David knew that he could pass the Test.... because.... He had not listened to the voices of those men, in his own ranks, who had encouraged him to attack and destroy Saul and take what God had already said was his anyway.
David knew that he could pass the Test.... because.... He would not listen to those voices that would bring war, strife and disunity to the nation of Israel.
David knew that he could pass the Test.... because.... He hated sin, in any form, whether it was from within his own life, his own army or from the camp of his enemies.
David knew that he could pass the Test.... because.... He would not listen to the advice of those whose hearts were not right with God, no matter how logical or reasonable their counsel may have seem.
How do we prepare ourselves for God’s tests!
We must..... Keep ourselves unspotted from the sin of the world around us.
We must..... Walk in holiness and sanctification before the Lord.
We must..... Not allow pride to rise up within our heart and convince us that we have the “right” to cause division or strife in the church.
We must..... Not allow Satan to convince us that we need to hear the “voice of reason” above the “voice of God that is telling us to love ONE ANOTHER and keep unity within the church”.
Satan loves to sow discord among the brethren... either through direct spiritual intervention with the heart and mind, or through the use of our friends and associates.
Satan loves to sow discord among the brethren... to make us think that we are right and everyone else is wrong.
Satan loves to sow discord among the brethren... to make us think that we have it all figured out.
Satan loves to sow discord among the brethren... to make us start pulling on our own reins and doing what we think in best instead of what the Lord and the Holy Spirit wants us to do.
David said..... 26:6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so that I can compass thine altar, O LORD: 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
Washing of the hands was frequent done among the Jews, and it was sometimes an action by which a man declared his innocence of any wicked deals.
Pilate did so, to protest his innocence of the mal-treatment and death of Christ.
Also, the priests that served in the Tabernacle in the wilderness were required to wash their hands, signifying the washing of sin from their hands before they could serve in the Holy Place.
David knew that his hands were innocent and that he was cleansed from sins of rebellion and hatred against Saul. He wanted God’s test to show that he was right.
David stay around God’s altar... placing his confidence, trust and respect in the awesome God of Israel who was able to deliver and to perform that which He had promised to him.
Because he had stayed right with God and had stayed on his face before God in prayer and confession and allowing God to steer his thoughts and his heart, David’s testimony was intact.
His salvation and innocence was not compromised. He had remained faithful and true and therefore he was not afraid of God’s testing of his heart. He could testify of God’s mercy and love because he had personally experienced it, not because of some head knowledge of God but because He knew God with His heart and had personal relationship with God.
How can we witness that which we have not seen, felt, heard or know first hand?
How can we tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ unless we know Him intimately?
How can we lead others to the testing of their hearts before God if we have not passed the test first ourselves?
Banner of Praise the Lord is TESTING US.....
Evangelist Brown the Lord is Testing us.
Evangelist Smalls the Lord is Testing us.
Minister Green the Lord is Testing us.
First Lady Wright the Lord is Testing us
Mother White the Lord is Testing us.
Children the Lord is Testing us.
When you have passed God’s test and you know that your heart and motives are right, its not hard to tell others the right answers so that they too can pass the same tests. But, if we can’t pass God’s test ourselves.... then we cannot help anyone else.
David said..... 26:8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth. 26:9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: 26:10 In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
Again, the question arises – Why do we come to the House of God?
I hope we come because we know that the Lord will meet us here in His Shekniah Glory and we desire to be in His presence and in the presence of His people.
I hope we come to learn more about Jesus; more about His ways and to learn more of how we can become more like Him.
If we are come to church for the right reason then... we will have the same attitude as David did when he wrote in Psalms 122:1, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
If we don’t have the right attitude and we fail God’s test, then our desire won’t be for the Lord and eventually we won’t attend church at all.
I hope that we all will pass the test and remain faithful to the Lord.
Again David says that he won’t hang around with the world’s crowd. He doesn’t want anything to do with those who would be guilty of having the blood of lost souls on their hands at the judgment.
David knew, as we should know, that if we hang around with worldly people, we will become like them. Not only will they bring themselves to destruction but they will drag us down with them.
If we hang around them long enough we will not fell the Holy Spirit convicting us any longer and we will be deceived into believing that all is well when it isn’t.
CONCLUSION
Several years ago I listened a tape that was titled “Pigs Don’t Know That Pigs Stink”. In that tape, the speaker eluded to the fact that when a pig in down in the pigpen long enough, the only thing he wants to do is find more mud and filthiness to wallow in. He isn’t happy unless the mud is deep and the stench in terrible. If one pig decides that he wants to get out of the mud, the others will often force him back in as if to say, “who do you think you are. Do you think that you are any better than us? Get back down into the mud with us, that’s where you belong!”
“My Mother use to say..... Misery Loves Company”......
I don’t know whether pigs actually behave that way or not but it makes a valid point. People often won’t allow us to leave their circle easily. They don’t like it when someone tries to leave them and make a better life because it makes those who won’t change look bad. They may claim that they love you and that they will miss you, but in reality, they just feel guilty and refuse to make the change that you are willing to make. Don’t let those lies keep you from rising out of the muck and mire. Let Jesus help you. Give him the reins and let him lift you out of the miry clay and place you on the rock where you can experience God’s best for your life.
Once you leave the pigpen of sin, then you will be able to look back and clearly see just how bad that life was. Only then will it begin to stink to you too. Only then will you see the reality of the filth and sin that was there.
God has to open your eyes and clean you up before you can realize just how bad you smelled too.
In Closing today David said..... 26:11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. 26:12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.
Are you ready to face and Pass God’s TEST?
Are you ready to say Lord..... bring the TEST ON.... and take hold of my reins and I will walk uprightly.
Are you ready to say Lord, I will maintain my integrity and I will love you and serve you with all of my heart!
Are you ready to say ..... You have redeemed me, bought me with your own precious blood.
Are you ready to say..... I am founded upon the solid rock. I am standing on solid and level ground through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Turn to your neighbor and say.... “I Will Pass The Test.... .
I will pass that test! ...I won’t fail God’s examination! ....I will obey the Lord’s commands... and I will stand and praise the Lord for all that He has done for me!
Turn to your neighbor and say.... “I Can Pass The Test.... because......
“I Can Pass The Test.. because.... I’m Saved ..... “I Can Pass The Test.... because...... I’m Holy Ghost Filled...“I Can Pass The Test.... because...... I’m Fire Baptized
“I Can Pass The Test.... because...... I’ve been Washed in the Blood of Redemption
I Can Pass The Test.... because...... I’ve been pulled out of the Miry Clay, I‘ve Survived through the Storms and Walk through theValley of Fire, and crossed over the Bridge over Troubled Water. Amen...Amen.....Amen.....
