The past few weeks, we have been talking about the power and the authority available to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Last week, we learned that one of the keys to experiencing that power in and through our lives is simple obedience.

We learn that this was the key to the incredible success of Jesus, God in the flesh, and so it still is for us today.  He said:

John 5:19

… “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

Obediently cooperating with God is the key to unlocking the power of God in and through our lives.  It enables us to be overcomers in life; victors and far more than conquerors!

When we more fully realize our position as sons and daughters of God, our Father, we’ll begin to see that anything is possible for us!  All of the petty things that trip us up and entangle and ensnare us will seem so insignificant as we step right out of them.

This is all made possible because of Jesus!  There is a much bigger picture regarding what is happening around us to cause our everyday struggles.  How do we overcome them?

Ephesians 6:10-12

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

This struggle began long before you and I chose to follow Jesus!  As a bit of a history lesson:

Revelation 12:7-12 (NKJV)

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

The devil was cast out of Heaven to the earth along with what are now called demons; fallen angels who joined Satan in his rebellion against God.  Now, their goal is to war against God through His creation; especially us who are created in the very image of God.

They work to prevent anyone from realizing their full potential and all that God has done for them.  They have established their kingdom of darkness here on the earth and don’t want to lose an inch of ground or a single soul to God’s Kingdom!  The wrath of Satan is being poured out onto the earth because he knows that his days are short. 

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that the devil can be overcome!  The kingdom of darkness can be pushed back by the kingdom of light!  Those held captive by the devil to do his will can be set free!  Those possessed and oppressed by the devil can be exalted from it!

Satan thought that he had won the ultimate victory of God when he had Jesus crucified and buried.  Three days later, he learned that he had been defeated! 

Fifty days later he found that not only had he been defeated, but that he just paved a way for the power of God to become unleashed throughout all the earth when the Holy Spirit was poured out into the lives of all followers of Jesus.

Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God

Last week, we learned about the incredible power accessible to us in the name of Jesus.  Jesus has been given the name above every name.  All power and all authority have been granted to Him.  Then, He chose to entrust it and His continued ministry to us, His church, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into our lives!

This morning, we’re learning about one of the keys to us unlocking the power of God in and through our lives.  This key unlocks not only God’s power, but also God’s rich blessing.  This key transforms chaos into peace, lack into plenty, confusion into confidence, and fighting to rest.  This key is obedience.

Obedience and submission carry extremely negative impressions in our culture and, to a degree, for good reason.  This is because of the forced oppression that many have sadly experienced in their lives at the hand of abusers. 

Obedience to God, however, is never forced.  Submitting to God is completely a free choice. 

God extends to us a simple invitation into His plans and purposes for our lives.  It’s an invitation into His sheltering Presence.  He invites us to follow His ways which lead into an abundant life and rich blessing.  Obediently submitting to God doesn’t strip us of our power or individuality or dignity.  It actually empowers us and leads us more fully into our God-designed uniqueness and crowns us with glory and honor!

Obediently submitting to Jesus, the One who first gave their lives for us, who truly loves us perfectly, who has only our best interests in mind, who desires only good things for us, and who created us on purpose and for a purpose is all gain and very little loss for us.

Obedience to God, as a child of God, is the key to unlocking the transforming power of God in and through our lives!  Whereas selfish pride and arrogance set us up for a great fall, humility sets us up for great promotion!

To see all of this happen within a real life in a practical way, we’re taking a look this morning at the life of Asa.  He came from a bit of a rough background.  His father was king, but was an evil one who only reigned for three years.  He continued his family traditions of going their own way into sin and rebellion against God and against themselves.

1 Kings 15:3

He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.

His grandmother also was wicked and held a position of authority as a queen mother (gebirah in Hebrew).  A king often had many wives, but only had one mother.  Her position was often one of counsel and intercession to the king granting her a lot of influence over the nation.  She would even rule the land between kings.  It was so bad that Asa eventually fired his own grandmother from her position of queen mother because of her unrelenting wickedness.

All this being background information is being shared for one reason.  It is to encourage us that we have the opportunity to break generational habits and curses.  We don’t have to follow in the wrong traditions that our families may have followed in before us.  We can forge new traditions and begin new legacies and new patterns to follow. 

We can choose to proclaim, like Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!”  Asa did just this.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but Asa pioneered a new path for his own life, for his family, and for his nation!  His story begins in tragedy.

2 Chronicles 14

1 And Abijah (Asa’s father) rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high pla

There is tremendous power in the name of Jesus!

Joel 2:32

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

(Quoted in Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13)

There are some who argue that the appropriate name of Jesus is the Hebrew form Yeshua.  Others argue that only name that should be used for God is the one that He assigned to Himself; Yahweh. 

The reality is that there are many names given to God mostly based on some attribute or act of His.  Jesus was also a very common name during the time that He was born and is still very popular in some cultures today.  Joseph and Mary gave Jesus His name because that is what the angel instructed them to do (Matthew 1:21).

There is tremendous power in the name of Jesus!  However, there is nothing “magical” about the name of Jesus in and of itself. 

There is only power in the name of Jesus because when we speak it, we know that we are referring to the Son of the one, true, living God.  We are referring to God in the flesh, the fullness of God in human form who is now exalted and has been given the name above every name and granted all power and all authority!

Hebrews 1:1-4

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Philippians 2:9-11

9 …God exalted him to the highest place

    and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

    to the glory of God the Father.

Ephesians 1:17-23

17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

After Jesus died and rose again, He appeared to His disciples and He spoke to them and this still applies to us, His disciples today:

Mark 16:15-20

15 … “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

The rest of the New Testament is full of testimonies of the work of Jesus continuing through common and ordinary people like you and I who simply choose to follow Him.

The full service audio from our pastor appreciation service.

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Worth Dying For – Destroy (Isaiah 59)

Isaiah 60:1-2;17-20

1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,

    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

2 See, darkness covers the earth

    and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the Lord rises upon you

    and his glory appears over you.

He says:

17 …I will make peace your governor

    and well-being your ruler.

18 No longer will violence be heard in your land,

    nor ruin or destruction within your borders,

but you will call your walls Salvation

    and your gates Praise.

19 The sun will no more be your light by day,

    nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,

for the Lord will be your everlasting light,

    and your God will be your glory.

20 Your sun will never set again,

    and your moon will wane no more;

the Lord will be your everlasting light,

    and your days of sorrow will end.

Revelation 21:1-5

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 21:22-26

22 and I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Daniel 12:1-3

1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

Isaiah 42:6-9;16

6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

    I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

    to be a covenant for the people

    and a light for the Gentiles,

7 to open eyes that are blind,

    to free captives from prison

    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!

    I will not yield my glory to another

    or my praise to idols.

9 See, the former things have taken place,

    and new things I declare;

before they spring into being

    I announce them to you.”

16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them

    and make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do;

    I will not forsake them.

And so we respond:

Psalm 118:19-27

19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;

    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.

20 This is the gate of

Wisdom in how to remain under God’s protective covering and blessing and avoid stepping outside of it where we are open to curses.

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Psalm 119:68

You are good, and what you do is good;

    teach me your decrees.

Oh the goodness of God!  He is good and what He does is good.  It’s all good!

Our understanding of goodness doesn’t even come close to the goodness of God, though.  We’ve honestly cheapened and decreased the meaning of the word good. 

That was some good pizza.

They played a good game.

Pumpkin spice is good. (Blach!)

That song is really good.

God is good.

God’s goodness is so, so much “gooder”, better, than anything that we call good. God’s goodness is exceptionally gooder than even the goodest thing that we can imagine!  In fact, Jesus directly approached this subject as recorded here:

Mark 10:17-18

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone.

There is no good that we can experience in this world that even begins to compare to God’s goodness.  Even Jesus, God in the flesh, the living Word of God, did not permit a comparison to be made between His own goodness and the goodness of the Father. 

Although Jesus said that if you saw Him, you saw the Father (John 14:9), He very directly and intentionally made it clear that nothing compares to the goodness of God.  Jesus, God being wrapped in the weakness and temptations of flesh, did not allow Himself to be labelled as good in that state.

I love this quote regarding the goodness of God:

“God is better than we think, so we have to change the way we think.” ~ Bill Johnson

God is good and what He does is good.

This is what I love about the goodness of God.  God’s goodness is not just a theological concept to study and intellectually believe.  God’s goodness is something that we get to experience!

Psalm 34:8

Taste and see that the Lord is good

When we experience the goodness of God, when we are fully convinced that God is good and all that God does is good, it radically transforms our lives. 

It strengthens and increases our faith.  It gives us assurance and confidence in approaching God and seeking after Him.  It invokes a spirit of generosity within us.  It gives us peace and certainty in every season of life, especially when we can’t see and don’t understand what God is doing.  We know that God is good and God does good.

When we are fully convinced that God is good and that all God does is good, it takes the pressure of needing to perform off of us.  God is so good that even if I miss it, even if I sin, I can repent, be forgiven, receive mercy and grace.  I can confidently know that God can still do good in and through my life, even through my mistakes.

God, who is good and who does good, can bring life from death, beauty from ashes, bring joy from mourning, and praise from despair (Isaiah 61:3).

Being fully convinced of this gives us perseverance and endurance through seasons that aren’t good from our worldly perspective because we know that it is going to end in goodness.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

David had such an assurance.  His life revealed that He knew that God was good and that all that He did was good.  Listen to what he wrote from that place of believing that God is good and that God does good.

Psalm 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation –

    whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life –

    of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me

    to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes

    who will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,

    my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

    even then I will be confident.

4 One thing I ask from the Lord,

    this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

Last week, we learned about trusting God from Hezekiah.  I love that even when we lose some battles, even when we give in to fear and doubt and begin to compromise, even if we give to our enemy that which belongs to God, there is still hope for us!

If we lay everything out before the Lord and surrender it into His hands, no matter how much of a mess it may be, He is able to redeem our situation.  God is able to give us a victory and restore to us that which has been lost.

There isn’t a whole lot in this life that we can trust, but the Lord is certainly One who is always trustworthy.  He is the only constant in this ever-changing life.

We recently completed a Bible study going through the book of Isaiah.  We learned the heart-breaking and painful result of not trusting God and walking in rebellion and sin against Him.  When God removed His covering over His people, their enemies came rushing in to overcome and destroy them.

Even in the midst of this correction and discipline, God still pursued His people and reminded them of His promises to them.  If only they would return to Him and place their trust in Him once again, He would deliver and restore and bless them.

Still, the people would not listen to God.  They refused to admit that they had sinned, refused to admit that they had done anything wrong.  God used Assyria as a tool of discipline to correct His people in hopes that they would turn their hearts back to Him, that they would repent.

Isaiah was faced with a decision.  He had to either go along with the rest of God’s people, believing and trusting what they say and do, or, trust in the Lord.

Isaiah 8:11-13;17;19-22

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”

This word of the Lord to Isaiah is just as relevant and impactful today to us now as it was to him then.

12 “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”

What is the difference between conspiracy and prophecy?

Conspiracy connects the dots of facts in such a way as to paint a picture that usually leads us to distrust and fear and anger and many of the other fruits of the flesh.  Conspiracies can even contain the word of God and be mislabeled as prophecy, which can make it tricky to discern at times.  Its source is ultimately man’s imagination planning and scheming.

Biblical prophecy has the goal, even when it is a word of warning, of this:

1 Corinthians 14:3

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.

Prophecy connects the dots of facts in such a way as to paint a picture from God’s perspective that leads us into His promises.  Prophecy causes us to place our trust in the Lord, to possess peace that surpasses all understanding, and to have hope and many of the other fruits of the Spirit.  Its source is God, Himself.  Therefore, it speaks and reveals truth.

Isaiah responded to God’s warning to him with a commitment.  It is a commitment that we should all make here and now as well.  Isaiah committed not to trust people, not to trust conspiracies, and not to trust the bad reports spreading throughout the nation.  Isaiah said:

17 I will wait for the Lord,

    who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.

I will put my trust in him.

He went on to encourage God’s people to do the same.  He encouraged them to seek after God for themselves and reminded them again of the dire results of failing to do so.

19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and sp

Trust. 

Merriam-Webster defines it as one in which confidence is placed as a noun or to place confidence within as a verb.  Trust is such a fragile thing in the days which we are living.  Who and what can we trust?

Can we trust our government?  Do they really have our best interests in mind?  Our employers?  Our spouse?  Like, are they really working late and how close are they really to that coworker?  Our friends?  Our pets?  Will my dog dig through the trash can the moment that I walk out the door?  Can we even trust ourselves?

Trust is built over time and through relationship.  Trust grows as it is tested and tried and proven to be reliable.  Trust, however, can be destroyed in a matter of moments.

There is only One who is truly trustworthy because there is only One who never changes.  As the scriptures reveal, anyone who puts their trust in the Lord will never be put to shame (Romans 10:11, Isaiah 18:16, Hebrews 13,8).

Truly trusting in the Lord is so much more than mere words, however.  I can tell you that I trust a lawn chair.  I can tell you that it is completely safe to sit in.  I can tell you that it can totally support your weight.  Talk is not the same as trust.  Trust both speaks and acts.  Trust is jumping up and placing as much force as I can with my own body totally and completely into that lawn chair.

Do we truly trust in the Lord, or do we just say that we trust the Lord?

I love these lines in a song of praise that will arise in the end times encouraging us to place and keep our trust in the Lord alone:

Isaiah 26:3-4

3 You will keep in perfect peace

    those whose minds are steadfast,

    because they trust in you.

4 Trust in the Lord forever,

    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

This morning, as a real-life example of trusting in God, we turn to Hezekiah. 

2 Kings 18:1-8

1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)

5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

Like many of us, Hezekiah starts strong trusting in the Lord.  He boldly removes any stumbling blocks and hinderances in God’s people following His lead putting their trust in the Lord.  They quickly see the fruits of this choice.  They were successful, they stood up against oppression, they overcame any and every obstacle and enemy that tried to stand between them and God’s promises to them.

Then, like many of us, that trust began to waiver as it was put to the test.  Hezekiah’s enemy, the king of Assyria, found a weakness.  He attacked and successfully overtook the fortified cities of Israel.  This was the northern kingdom of God’s people whereas Hezekiah was the king of the southern kingdom of God’s people, Judah.

Unlike Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord, Hoshea refused to trust in Him and rebelled against Him.  This lead to the nation’s downfall in Hezekiah’s fourth year as king:

2 Kings 18:12

This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant—all that Moses the servant of the

Last week, we were challenged to expand our mindset and view of worship.  We were challenged to see it as God sees it; not just a genre of music, but a lifestyle of laying down ourselves to exalt God. 

It’s kind of like looking at an acorn not seeing it not just for what it is, but for the potential within it.  Worship is not a silly-hatted little nut, it’s a vast, dense forest of mighty oaks producing acorns and other oak trees until Jesus returns!  Worship is so, so much more than a song!

This morning, we’re continuing to allow God to stretch our perspective and understanding by listening to His voice and not hardening our hearts. 

We begin again with worship by turning to a Psalm written by David:

Psalm 95:6-11

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,

    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

7 for he is our God

    and we are the people of his pasture,

    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,

8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah (which means quarreling),

    as you did that day at Massah (which means testing) in the wilderness,

9 where your ancestors tested me;

    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;

    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,

    and they have not known my ways.’

11 So I declared on oath in my anger,

    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

Paul quoted this same scripture emphasizing what the Holy Spirit spoke here through David and went on to say:

Hebrews 3:12-13

12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

We do not want to be like the generation that Moses lead out of Egypt to the promised land!  They were never able to enter into God’s promises because of their sinful, hardened hearts.  They grumbled and complained and quarreled and pretty much did everything but what God desired them to do. 

They covered their ears and didn’t want to hear God’s voice.  Instead of drawing near to God’s Presence in awe and worship, they stayed away at a distance and hardened their hearts against God.  Instead of bowing down their lives to be filled with God’s Presence, they bowed out and left God’s Presence.

Exodus 20:18-21

18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

No, we don’t want to be like them!  We want to instead be like the Joshua generation that took hold of all of God’s promises and defeated everything that stood between them and their promised land!  They listened to God’s voice and allowed it to lead them in fullness of trust.

How do we know if we are suffering from hardness of heart?  After all, sin is deceitful.  The deceitful thing about deceit is that we’re deceived and truthfully, honestly believe that we are not being deceived by deceit.  

We can’t know on our own if sin’s deceit has hardened our hearts.  It often takes one of our brothers or sisters in Christ coming alongside of us to show us where our hearts have become hardened by sin’s deceit. 

Why?  Because when our hearts are hardened, we’re not usually hearing God’s voice on our own.  Or, if we are hearing it, our fingers are in our ears ignoring it.

Several times, David wrote this prayer:

Psalm 26:2

Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind

So today, if you