Rabbi Schneider - How Can You Learn to be Wise?
We're looking at David again today, his prayer. We're going to Psalm number 25. Jesus, the Scripture tells us in Revelation, held the key of David. I believe the key of David represents intimacy with God. So we're gonna look at some selected verses today, beloved ones, in Psalm 25, and we're gonna pull them out and apply them to our own lives. Hear the Word of God as I begin with Psalm 25, verse number 4. David says this: Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Let me read it again: Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all day.
What's the focus of the prayer here? That David wants God to teach him of his ways and that David is asking God to reveal to him the truth. What an awesome prayer. Think about this prayer as compared with so many of the prayers that we hear prayed today that are all about superficialities, that God would bless me with a new car, that God would bless me with a new house, that God would bless me with my marriage mate. I mean, all these things are really important and we should commit everything to God, and I'm so thankful that he answers these prayers and he blesses us with these things, but the deepest issues, beloved, are the issues of the heart.
You know, Jesus said, don't be concerned with what you're gonna eat, or having a roof over your head. He said, God's gonna take care of all these things. But Jesus said, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and everything else shall be added unto you. Where is the kingdom? Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you. And so the thing that we should be focusing on is the kingdom of God within us, matters of the heart. And so in this series we're focusing on the deeper issues of life, the place where the river runs deep, where deep calls to deep. And I hope that your prayer life is lining up with the heart of David because these are the types of prayers, beloved, that God will answer. There's no question.
If you ask God to teach you his ways, I promise you, he's gonna teach you his ways. You don't have to wonder about that. There's no will he or won't he. He will. You're praying according to what he wants for you. He wants to teach you his ways. When you ask God to guide you in his path, the path of salvation, and you really mean it and you keep at. He's gonna do that for you. There are some things we can ask God for we don't know for sure if he's gonna say yes to those things, because we don't know his will about some things. I mean, some things in the, in the material world, you may say, well Lord, you know, give me this job.
You know, it's like, it's like a, if you have two football teams, okay. They both get, they both pray before the game. You know, the one team, let's say the red team, they're praying right before the game, Lord, we pray that you'll give us victory today. Now the team that they're playing is the blue team. And the blue team is also on their knees. They're saying, Lord, give us victory. We don't know, you know, what God's gonna do there. We don't know if the red team's gonna win or the blue team's gonna win. One of them is gonna lose.
So there are certain things that we don't know for sure how God's gonna answer. But when you pray, beloved ones, the things that have to do with the heart, the things that have to do with the nature of God in us, the things that have to do with what God is wanting to bring forth from our innermost being, when we pray about those realities, we can have complete confidence that God not only is gonna hear but that he's gonna answer, and get this, beyond that he's gonna add, get it, everything else unto us. Jesus said seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added unto you.
So let's look at David's word again. Psalm number 25, verse 4: Make me know Your ways, O Lord, Teach me Your paths. David is trying to understand the mind of God, the ways of God. What does it mean to understand the mind of God? Let me know your ways, O God. I mean this prayer is so vast. Listen again: Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me. You know that one of the things that involves knowing the ways of God is developing a supernatural mindset because God is supernatural. Jesus said the Father is looking for those that will worship him, get it now, in spirit and in truth.
So if we're gonna walk with God, if we're gonna know the ways of God, we're gonna have to walk with him, get it now, first of all Jesus said, in spirit. So if we're thinking about the ways of God, automatically we have to take into consideration that God is Spirit. And Jesus is saying the Lord is looking for those that will worship him in spirit. So if we want to know the ways of God, David just got done praying, teach me thy ways of God, we need to start thinking in terms of the spirit.
Now when we think about spirit, automatically we have to start thinking of, get it now, the supernatural because by definition spirit is supernatural. Listen, spirit is supernatural. If we're gonna know God's ways, we have to know him according to the Spirit because God is Spirit. And spirit is supernatural. So if we're gonna know the ways of God, we need to develop a supernatural mindset and walk in a supernatural way. The disciples marveled when Jesus cursed the fig tree and all the leaves withered. Jesus said, I tell you this, if you'll say to that fig tree, be cursed and don't doubt in your heart, not only will it be cursed and wither immediately, but even the mountain will be moved if you speak to it and have faith in your heart without doubting. Jesus was calling us to develop a supernatural mindset. Jesus said, all things are possible for those that believe and nothing shall be impossible for those that believe.
So David says, Lord, teach me your way. If you and I want to walk with God and learn his way, you know what? We have to develop a supernatural mindset. God is Spirit, and as I was saying, by definition spirit is, get it now, supernatural. What is supernatural? Supernatural is thinking above the natural. In other words, we don't just live our lives and have a mindset that's based on the natural, not based on what we see, not based on the natural realm. Jesus demonstrated that he didn't live according to the natural. He walked on the water. He multiplied the loaves and the fish to feed thousands. He took authority over sickness and disease. He cursed it and the disease and the sickness went away. And he said, if you're bitten by a deadly serpent, he said to his disciples, it won't harm you.
That's supernatural. In the natural they would get sick. They'd die. We read in the Book of Acts, chapter number 28, that when Paul was in a certain city he was building a fire there, and all of a sudden as he was moving the branches around in the fire, a serpent jumped out and bit his arm, and clung to his arm. And Paul shook it off. And the people that were observing, they were natives that didn't have a relationship with God. They were heathen. When they saw the serpent bite Paul, the thought he was cursed. And they were expecting him to die and to get sick. But when they saw that it didn't affect Paul, they began to think he was a God. And Paul used that opportunity to preach the Gospel to them and tell them about Jesus. But the point is, Jesus said those that believe in my name they'll be bitten by deadly serpents and not be harmed.
See we need to develop a supernatural mindset if we're going to walk according to God's ways. Again, the natural world is based on what we see, what's natural. But spirit, God is above that. We can't see spirit. It's supernatural. It's above the natural. But too many of us are walking around, we're limited by the natural, and we'll never get free in God, we'll never know his ways, like David said, teach me your ways. We'll never know the ways of God and walk with him, beloved one, if we live according to the natural. That's why the Bible says be transformed by the renewing of your mind according to the Word of God. And how do we lift our self up to live above the natural? How do we lift our self up to walk in God's ways, to walk in the supernatural?
Listen beloved one, we do that by confessing his Word. We don't' confess the natural, but we confess the supernatural. We say, I can do all things through Christ that strengthen me. We confess his truth. I shall know the truth in Jesus, and the truth is setting me free. We confess, beloved, again not the limitation of our circumstances, but we confess the eternal Word of God. I've been raised with Christ and am seated with him there in the heavenly places.
And so when David says, Lord, teach me your ways, O Lord, and lead me in your truth, this encompasses so many things. Wisdom is involved. Wisdom again is supernatural. We see so many people around that may have been in church their whole life, but for some reason they lack simple common sense. But we say, Lord, teach me your ways and give me your wisdom. God's gonna answer that prayer because he wants us to walk with him. He wants us to experience him. Reading again: Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me.
Now what is God's truth and what is God's ways? Well when we examine the Bible, getting back to this concept of living a supernatural lifestyle, we think about everything that God did that stands out in Scripture was supernatural, right? He began by creating the heavens and the earth out of nothing.
We continue on. We see God parting the Red Sea for the children of Israel who walk through it supernaturally without being harmed by the waters on each side. And then what happens is they get into the wilderness after crossing the Red Sea. There's no food. What does God do? He does something supernatural. He gives them manna on the ground six days a week for forty years. Then what happens? God supernaturally comes down in fire and glory on Mount Sinai. The Bible said that millions of Jews that were gathered around the base of the mountain heard God supernaturally speak from heaven.
We continue on. We read the story of Daniel in the lion's den and how God supernaturally shut the lion's mouth. Then we read about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace and were not burned. And then we read the story of Jesus, walking on water, turning the fish and the loaves to multiply thousands, telling his disciples, his apostles to let down the net after they had been fishing and caught nothing, only to do what Jesus told them to do, bringing it up so much that they couldn't even contain all the fish in the net. You see, the whole faith that we have is based on the supernatural. Jesus rising from the dead is what our faith rests on. That's supernatural.
But many of you that are watching, you don't know God's ways because you've never developed a supernatural mindset for yourself. You think, yeah I read about those things in the Bible. God did those things thousands of years ago, and I really enjoy studying about what he did for Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and the apostles. I really enjoy all that. But you don't have a knowledge to the fact that these are God's eternal ways, and he's doing the same thing in the lives of his children today. We need to be taught his ways.
Father God, we ask you to teach us your ways and give us a supernatural expectancy for you to do the supernatural in our lives today. After Jesus did many miracles he said this, greater works than these shall you do that believe in my name. If you and I want to know the ways of God, we're gonna have to develop, beloved, a supernatural mindset because God is Spirit. He's a supernatural God and the only way to walk with him is to walk, beloved, with a cognizance of the fact that the world is not what we see.
The Bible says, those things that we see are temporary and they're fading away. What's real is what is unseen. And if we want to know God's ways, we need to start developing a confidence in what is unseen in the truths of his Spirit. And we need to start believing him for more than what the material world around us is telling us is possible. Because Jesus said, you'll say to that mountain be moved and cast into the sea, and it will obey you, and nothing shall be impossible to you if you believe. We need to learn God's ways and we need to learn his wisdom. David continues on there and in verse number 7 he says: Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your loving kindness, he said.
And Father God, I just ask right now, we see that it's your heart, Father God, through the heart of David to forgive us, that you're merciful, and that you forgive us for the sins of our youth. And there are many of us, Father God, that still struggle at times with things that we did in the past. Father, I want to thank you today that it's your heart to forgive us of the sins of the past. And I break off of your life now, beloved one, any guilt, and shame, and accusation that the devil is continuing to put upon you because of your past. I break it right now. It's a lie. The Bible says there is therefore now no condemnation in Christ Jesus. You have been forgiven from the sins of your past.
David continues in verse number 16 of Psalm 25. Again we're looking at the heart of David knowing how closely David walked with God, that God said about David he was a man after his own heart. And when we study his prayer life we can learn what God will do for us and the types of prayers, beloved, that connect with God and touch his heart. In verse 16, David said: Turn to me and be gracious to me, get this now, he said, For I am lonely and afflicted. David said, turn to me and be gracious to me For I'm lonely and afflicted.
Isn't a beautiful thing, beloved ones, to know that when we're lonely we can put our hand over our heart and say, Jesus, put your hand on my heart and touch me? Help me to know that you're with me, Jesus. Cause me to feel your presence, King Jesus. Help me to know how much you love me, Jesus. Help me to feel your embrace. Let me feel your kiss on my heart, Jesus. David reached out to the Lord. He said, Lord, I'm lonely. Let me feel you grace. Come and comfort me. That's a beautiful thing to know that you can get on your knees even right now, beloved one. You can get on your knee even right now and put your hand on your heart.
Some of you women that are watching, your husbands have passed away. You're a widow, widower. You feel alone. Some of you unmarried ones, and even those of us that are married, still the only one who can truly fill loneliness is the Lord. Let's just ask God to touch us and let's just do what David did. You don't have to be ashamed to do this. King David himself, the King of Israel, the one whom Jesus is coming back as his offspring. He's the offspring of David, he said. David himself said, Lord, be gracious to me for I'm lonely and afflicted.
So Father God, I want to thank you today that you're closer to us than our own breath. And Father God, I ask you to touch these ones right now that are watching. Touch these, Father God, under the sound of my voice. Touch my heart, Father God. Oh Father God, help us to feel your presence with us. Jesus, you said, I am with you always and I will never leave you or forsake you. But Father God, we ask you to open our heart to truly understand this. Father, we just got done seeing that David was asking for revelation. Father, we pray for revelation right now, that we would know how much you love us and how close to us you really are. Father God, breathe on us right now. Holy Spirit, breathe on us now. Cause our hearts to feel encased with your love. Father, cause us to feel enveloped, enveloped in your presence.