RIVER OF LIFE CHURCH – CHRYSTAL F.

Worship and Prophecy Through the Psalms

Session 3 Walking in Light – Psalm 27 (part 1)

I. THE REVELATION OF THE FATHER

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of
whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they
stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise
against me, in this I will be confident. (Psa. 27:1-3)

A. David opens the psalm by expounding on the personality of the Lord. The Lord, Jehovah, is his
(and—by extension—our) light, salvation, and stronghold. What results is an encompassing
confidence that is unmoved in the face of enemy attack. We fear no darkness and dread no
separation in the place of impenetrable safety.

B. The revelation that God is our light has a twofold implication. First, meditating on the brilliant,
shining God presents a stark contrast with the darkness of the age. We need not fear the
darkness, even when it conceals potential threats on our life, because we walk in the light of who
He is. David later said that the Word of God was a lamp that illuminating the path he walked
(Psa. 119:105), and John tells us that Jesus is the Word who became flesh and came to live
among us (John 1:1-2, 14). He is literally the powerful, spoken, creative Word of the Father who
was with God in the beginning of time, who searches the hearts and minds of men and who is
crowned in wisdom and honor. Therefore, walking with Jesus, the living Word, brings revelation
of where we should direct our steps.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Pro. 3:6)

21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”
whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. (Is.
30:21)

35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk
while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness
does not know where he is going. . . . 46 I have come as a light into the world,
that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. (John 12:35, 46)

C. Secondly, focusing on the light of the Father exposes the darkness in our own hearts. The great
mystery of God’s love for us is that it is undeserved and comes to us on its own terms, not based
on our efforts toward holiness (Romans 5:8). The more that we see how bright and how holy He
is, the more we recognize the great gift of grace that Jesus’ sacrifice gave to us because the light
exposes the imperfections of our hearts to an even greater measure. We are incapable of
achieving the standard of holiness that God desires without the grace of God drawing us into
Himself.

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D. When we begin to grasp the height, depth, and width of the love the Father has for us, we
experience the freedom that comes through His love. The light of God shed on us prompts us to
repentance, but His ultimate purpose is to bring liberation to our hearts.

E. God’s conviction is never a matter of condemnation; He always presses us toward repentance

that we might find freedom in His love for us and rejoice in relationship. When we understand
that God’s love comes to us despite our shortcomings, we are free to allow the Spirit to develop
character within us in His timing. The pressure to perform lifts.

F. God delights in us even in the early stages of our journey towards a righteous life. Though we
are a people who walk in darkness, God illuminates us with the light of His love for us.
Solomon’s Shulamite bride discovered this seeming paradox when she discovered that the king
loved and desired her despite her darkness. Though we are dark in our hearts, He finds us lovely
when we set ourselves to seek Him.

5 I am dark, but lovely, o daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like
the curtains of Solomon. (SoS 1:5)

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the
land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Is. 9:2)

G. When we acknowledge the Lord is our light, we acknowledge that we have taken His
righteousness upon ourselves and are justified through Christ to come into His presence.
Furthermore, as we meditate on His light, we become like Him. It is through meditating on Him
and believing in Him that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of
light.” (John 12:26)

15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16
Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the
Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we
all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the
Lord. (2 Cor. 3:15-18)

II. JOY IN THE HOUSE OF PRAYER

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4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the
LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His
tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be
lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His
tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

A. David established Levites to minister before the Lord both day and night when he established his
tabernacle. In doing so, he maintained a perpetual open heaven to receive prophetic revelation
from the Spirit of God. David showed through his words and his actions that the desire closest to
his heart was to be in the Presence of God.

B. David expressed his longing to dwell in the Lord’s house for two reasons: to gaze on beauty and
to seek His direction. Prophetic revelation comes as an overflow of a heart stunned by the
beauty of the Father and a spirit humble enough to inquire after Him. God longs to reveal
Himself, but gives man the honor of searching out the mysteries of who He is. He will only give
Himself to those who are willing to seek Him wholeheartedly (Pro. 25:2; Deut. 4:29; Jer. 24:7;
Jer. 29:13)

C. From the place of eternally dwelling in the atmosphere of worship, David receives a promise of
the access we have to the Father as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice. The divine order of the tabernacle
at this point still limited access to God in the tabernacle to the priests. Mosaic law commanded
that anyone other than the Levites who approached the secret places of the temple must be put to
death (Num 18:7). Nehemiah considered using the temple of God as a hiding place from his
enemies a sin.

10 Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of
Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in
the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for
they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.” 11 And
I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go
into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” 12 Then I perceived that God
had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me
because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this reason he was hired,
that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause
for an evil report, that they might reproach me. (Neh. 6:10-13)

D. Despite the fact that Jesus had not yet come and reconciled us to the Father, David knew that
when trouble comes we are to hide ourselves in the place of worship. His pronouncement was
foreign at a time when humans did not have access to God’s secret stronghold, and yet it
foreshadowed the tearing of the veil at the crucifixion when we were given access to intimate
relationship.

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E. In times of trouble, the Father establishes us on the rock—Jesus, the chief cornerstone and
foundation upon which we as living stones seek to build His kingdom. (Matt. 16:18; Rom. 9:33;
1 Pe. 2:4-8) It is with this awareness that we come to worship Him with a heart of rejoicing.

F. David was as bound to the requirements of the law as his contemporaries. He had to present the
ceremonial grain offerings as a covering for his sins just as any other man living in his time. Yet
his response indicated a desire for more—to sacrifice with joy and continually live in the
dwelling place of the Lord.

G. When we receive a revelation of the beauty of the Father, worship becomes more than the words
or music of a song; and worship becomes more than a list of actions that define what a Christian
should or should not be. Those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth view songs and
lifestyle choices simply as vehicles to propel the spirit of man to the ultimate goal of intimacy.
What results is a believer who approaches life with a sacrifice of joy in his or her spirit at the
privilege of dwelling in the secret place of His throne room.

H. The Lord has promised to make us joyful coming into His presence as we sacrifice to Him. Our
relationship with Him is not one of drudgery, but of delight and fascination as the beautiful God
seeks to romance our hearts.

6 ". . . Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My
covenant— 7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them
joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be
accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all
nations.” (Is. 56:6-7)

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