David feels all alone, abandoned, and dejected. Why? In verses 1-4, we find that he was out of touch with the Lord. His life was defeated. He had yielded to sin. He had cultivated bad habits. He had allowed his circumstances to get him completely down. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? That is exactly the pathway so many had followed. The good news is that Psalm 40 gives us the map to escape these pits of life. By fleeing to the Lord we find a refuge where we are delivered from constant defeats, besetting sins, crippling habits, and paralyzing circumstances. And as we have found each step of the way through this series, the way out is always by fleeing to Christ as our Refuge! This morning, if you feel far from God—check these four areas of your life: what areas defeat you, what sins capture you, what habits control you, and what circumstances drive you? Chances are that one or more of these areas has buried you in a pit, and you are so deep that you no longer can hear the voice of God speaking to your heart through His Spirit, and from His Word. David’s testimony is an invitation for us to find Christ when we are n the pits of life! David was in a pit under layers of defeats, sin, habits, and circumstances. David was learning how precious it was to hear the Lord’s voice. He speaks in Psalm 40 about how God had to “dig ears for him”. “My ears You have opened” in Psalm 40:6b in Hebrew is literally “two ears You have dug for me.” David is picturing his desire to reflect Christ's coming obedience and dedication. This is a messianic Psalm, a look ahead through David’s life at the coming Christ. We saw last week in v. 1-2, that God had to dig through the depths of his defeats and sins. God came to David and had to dig away all the debris that was blocking David’s ability to hear and respond to God’s voice in His Word. This morning in Psalm 40 David confesses for all the world to hear—that he has become buried in the pits of life. And this Psalm is his fleeing to the Lord for refuge. And as we will see this morning, that refuge involves God clearing out, tunneling through, drilling deep, and removing whatever stands in the way of David hearing God’s voice—and responding in submissive obedience. David was told by the Spirit of God that this would be Christ's desire—and that is the desire that David embraced, even in the deepest pits of discouragement, depression, despair, and loneliness. • No matter what sin tripped him up—David said I want to do your will. I will obey. I will dedicate myself to doing your will. • No matter what emotion pushed him down—David said I want to do your will. I will obey. I will dedicate myself to doing your will. • No matter what dark thought pierced him through—David said I want to do your will. I will obey. I will dedicate myself to doing your will. • No matter what temptation to quit surrounded him—David said I want to do your will. I will obey. I will dedicate myself to doing your will. Is that where you are this morning? Even if you are in the pits—nothing can keep you there if you desire to do God’s will with all your heart. COR-16 - Escaping the Pits (050828PM) Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to get access to weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS that feature weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie. Clips are taken at just one of the places where we are taking our virtual journey through all the Lands of the Bible & Great Museums of the Bible on the Paul's Life & Letters Course. Plus all the assigned HOLY LAND, Paul's Life & Letters Course STUDY RESOURCES, and John's two most loved books--David's Spiritual Secret & Living Hope for the End of Days at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/ DTBM Academy Courses: https://dtbma.com/Default.aspx Purchase John's Books, Mp3 & DVD resources: E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy Here are links to our Amazon Pages-- https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm Donate to the ministry: https://dtbm.org/donations/partnership/ For more of Dr. John Barnett's Bible teaching messages go to: https://dtbm.org/ https://youtu.be/ywNYPwipvqg ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywNYPwipvqg

Is there a speed limit to life? What happens when we exceed it? Does God give us a ticket? This week this has been my target of study and meditation, as I have thought long and hard about the issue of our rushed society I conclude that hurrying is as much responsible for the problem of personal and societal breakdown as any other single factor. Here are some truths to ponder: Virtually all of our relationships are damaged by hurry. Many families are being starved to death by velocity. Our children lie wounded on the ground, run over by our high-speed good intentions. Do we need rest and to cease from our wearying schedules? Yes, and that is what this Old Testament picture teaches us New Testament saints! God offers rest! Not too long after Christ's teaching on the Sabbath rest He invited His disciples to enjoy the serenity, tranquility, and rest of solitude of rest. Look at Matthew 11:28-30 As Jesus and the disciples needed to cease from their labors and rest so should we regularly cease. Our spiritual lives also need a time of reflection, a time of rest, a time of renewal, and a time to refocus. As noted author Kent Hughes says, "the seven-day pattern is best for the soul, for properly observed in worship it brings Heaven's cadence to all of life." From BAR-2001-01c - How to Hunger for God - Part 1 (010831AM) - https://youtu.be/mBUb9qcixNk Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to get access to weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS that feature weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie. Clips are taken at just one of the places where we are taking our virtual journey through all the Lands of the Bible & Great Museums of the Bible on the Paul's Life & Letters Course. Plus all the assigned HOLY LAND, Paul's Life & Letters Course STUDY RESOURCES, and John's two most loved books--David's Spiritual Secret & Living Hope for the End of Days at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/ DTBM Academy Courses: https://dtbmonline.org/all-video-courses/ Purchase John's Books, Mp3 & DVD resources: E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy Here are links to our Amazon Pages-- https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm Donate to the ministry: https://discoverthebook.org/donations/partnership/ For more of Dr. John Barnett's Bible teaching messages go to: https://discoverthebook.org/ https://youtu.be/DEpDopr1AEk ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEpDopr1AEk

Do we really have free will? What about God's will? If he has a divine plan before the foundations of the world, then how can we have free will? What does the Bible tell us? 2012FEB26 - Q&A-09 Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to get access to weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS that feature weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie. Clips are taken at just one of the places where we are taking our virtual journey through all the Lands of the Bible & Great Museums of the Bible on the Paul's Life & Letters Course. Plus all the assigned HOLY LAND, Paul's Life & Letters Course STUDY RESOURCES, and John's two most loved books--David's Spiritual Secret & Living Hope for the End of Days at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/ DTBM Academy Courses: https://dtbma.com/Default.aspx Purchase John's Books, Mp3 & DVD resources: E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy Here are links to our Amazon Pages-- https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm Donate to the ministry: https://dtbm.org/donations/partnership/ For more of Dr. John Barnett's Bible teaching messages go to: https://dtbm.org/ https://youtu.be/hCJfABWuxLM ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCJfABWuxLM

God raises up adversaries to show us what’s in our hearts: trust or fear, cling to Him, or face it on our own. 1-JOHN WAS AT THE WORST TIME OF HIS LIFE: Revelation 1:9—The Apostle John has endured the horrors of the destruction of Jerusalem, the massacre of a million fellow Jews, the systematic hunting down of his fellow Apostles by the Roman Empire, the wickedness of Nero, the convulsion of the Empire by competing Emperors, and now the very personal adversary of John becoming Emperor Domitian himself. John is hunted down, captured, exiled, and left far from anyone he had loved and served—except ONE! 2—JOHN WAS A PRISONER OF THE EMPIRE ON PATMOS: Revelation 1:9a—John was on the island of Patmos off the coast of Turkey (Roman Asia Minor province) about 10 miles long and about 6 miles wide. John was exiled under Domitian AD 81-96, and released according to Eusebius by Nerva AD 96-98. 3—JOHN SHARED THE SAME STRUGGLES AS THE FAITHFUL SAINTS IN THE SEVEN CHURCHES: Revelation 1:9b-11—They were facing persecution “tribulation”, while knowing they were part of Christ’s “kingdom”, and awaiting His return to right all wrongs, “patience”, enduring and persevering through hard times. 4-WE CAN STAY FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT EVEN THOUGH THE WORST OF TIMES: Revelation 1:10— YET, here it is again, a Sunday, and wherever John finds himself that is ALWAYS the Lord’s Day. And note this—John is IN THE SPIRIT on that Sunday. That is the key to serving God in the End of Days. We must stay FULL of the Spirit, walking through life IN CHRIST. We can LIVE in the Spirit no matter what we are going through. From WOLNY-2024 - Revelation-02 - Living With Hope In A Dark World (240402PM) - https://youtu.be/-L-lxCVLbTI Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to access weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS featuring weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie. Clips are taken at just one of the places where we are taking our virtual journey through all the Lands of the Bible & Great Museums of the Bible on the Paul's Life & Letters Course. Plus all the assigned HOLY LAND, Paul's Life & Letters Course STUDY RESOURCES, and John's two most loved books--David's Spiritual Secret & Living Hope for the End of Days at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/ DTBM Academy Courses: https://dtbma.com/Default.aspx Purchase John's Books, Mp3 & DVD resources: E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy Here are links to our Amazon Pages-- https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm Donate to the ministry: https://dtbm.org/donations/partnership/ For more of Dr. John Barnett's Bible teaching messages, go to: https://dtbm.org/ https://youtu.be/8cQf7B1cU2A ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cQf7B1cU2A