15 Psalm 119 I will study Your commandments

15 Psalm 119 I will study Your commandments and reflect on Your ways. 16 I will delight in Your decrees and not forget Your word.

17 Be good to Your servant, that I may live and obey your word. 18 Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths In Your instructions.

Speak, O Lord

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You, To receive the food of Your Holy Word. Take Your truth, plant it deep in us; Shape and fashion us in Your likeness;

That the light of Christ might be seen today In our acts of love and our deeds of faith. Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us Lord, full obedience, Holy reverence, true humility Test our thoughts and our attitudes In the radiance of Your purity.

Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see Your majestic love and authority. Words of power that can never fail; Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord and renew our minds; Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us. Truths unchanged from the dawn of time, That will echo down through eternity.

And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises; And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us. Speak, O Lord, ‘til Your church is built, And the earth is filled with Your glory.

Psalm 118 28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. 29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Step by Step

Oh God, You are my God And I will ever praise You. O God, You are my God, And I will ever praise You.

I will seek You in the morning And I will learn to walk in Your ways And step by step You lead me And I will follow You all of my days.

I will follow You all of my days And step by step You lead me And I will follow You all my days

Oh God, You are my God And I will ever praise You. O God, You are my God, And I will ever praise You.

I will seek You in the morning And I will learn to walk in Your ways And step by step You lead me And I will follow You all of my days.

I will follow You all of my days And step by step You lead me And I will follow You all my days

Psalm 42 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

As the Deer Pants for the Water

As the deer pants for the water So my soul longs after You alone are my heart's desire And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield To You alone may my spirit yield You alone are my heart's desire And I long to worship You

You're my Friend and You are my Brother Even though You are a King I love You more than any other So much more than anything

You alone are my strength, my shield To You alone may my spirit yield You alone are my heart's desire And I long to worship You

I love You more than gold or silver, only You can satisfy. You alone are the real joy giver and the apple of my eye.

You alone are my strength, my shield To You alone may my spirit yield You alone are my heart's desire And I long to worship You

[Jesus] said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; 7

and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. ” 9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Acts 1: 7 -9

Spirit of the Living God 247

Spirit of the Fall fresh Living God on me.

Melt me, mould me Fill me, use me. Spirit of the Living God Fall fresh on me.

Soul of heaven, heart of God, wash over me

Cleanse me, teach me, hold me, reach me. Soul of heaven, heart of God, wash over me

Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.

Shield me, free me, call me, lead me. Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.

The Believer’s Possessions Jesus Is Our Kindred Redeemer The Believer’s Condition In Christ

The Believer’s Dilemna (The Necessary Struggle)

Saul, the self-righteous Pharisee, had to learn that followers of Jesus Christ must deny themselves, present themselves to Him, and let the Spirit of God live through them.

Romans 7 “To be, or not to be…” Hamlet: Act II; Scene I (Sir Laurence Olivier – 1948)

Romans 7 (NKJV) …what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 15

If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it [the law] is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 16

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells;

John 3 “ 6…that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. ”

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find 18

For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 19

Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. [my sinful nature has gotten the upper hand] 20

21 I find then a law [life principle], that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good

(NLT) 22 I love God’s law with all my heart.

23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death 24

(NKJV) 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this body of death?

Ancient European Tyrant Mezentius

(NLT) 25 Thank God! [Who gives deliverance!!] The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Slave – yes Conquered Victim – ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

Romans 8 (NKJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

What Next?

What Next? • Metamorphosis not of our bodies • Metamorphosis – of our minds • “…be transformed by the renewing of (y)our minds”

What Next? • We are commanded to experience metamorphosis

What Next? This transformation is a process, which involves struggle, dissolving, reimagining, revising, and soaring. It is not always easy.

What Next? However, when you emerge, spread your wings and begin to fly, you will have a greater appreciation for who you are in Christ, and what the Father has called you to become. Unknown

What Next? 2 Corinthians 3 But we all…are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 18

What Next? • We are commanded to experience metamorphosis • At what stage are you?

Isaiah 64 (NKJV) 8…O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord 371

Have Thine own way, Lord, Have Thine own way; Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mould me and make me after Thy will, While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord, Have Thine own way; Search me and try me, Master, today. Whiter than snow, Lord, Wash me just now, As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord, Have Thine own way; Wounded and weary, help me, I pray. Power, all power, surely is Thine, Touch me and heal me, Saviour divine.

Have Thine own way, Lord, Have Thine own way; Hold o’er my being absolute sway. Fill with Thy Spirit, ‘til all shall see Christ only, always, living in me. me

Loving God, we thank You for hearing our prayers, feeding us with your word, and encouraging us as we gather together.

Take us and use us, we pray – to love and serve you, in the power of your Spirit and in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.