Tuesday, April 21, 2009

"Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!" (Psalm 66:16-20).

IDEA: Sometimes the Bible applies great ideas in unusual ways.

PURPOSE: To help listeners see that putting a verse in its context can lead you to applying it in an unexpected way.

What is a major danger of taking verses of Scripture out of their context?

Is it always true that when we take a verse out of its context that we are misquoting God?

I. Psalm 66:18 is a valid statement of a biblical truth: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

When we quote that verse, what is the immediate application that comes to mind?

It's quoted in prayer meetings and then what are the people told to do?

Would that be a valid exhortation? 

II. David is the one who says that, but he applies it in an unexpected way.

Look at the whole passage: Psalm 66:16-20:

How is David using that verse in this context?

He looks to answered prayer as an indication that he has God's favor on his life. If there were iniquity in his heart, he argues that God would not have heard him.

III. The application of the psalm changes our perspective. 

Instead of the focus being on my confessing my sin and dealing with it before I pray, David's focus is that because God has answered prayer, he can be assured that he does not have iniquity in his heart.