Psalm 15 Living In The Presence of God

Daily Bible Study for Tuesday July 19 2016

By: Hanny Lynn Stearns

Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.

“Multiplying God’s Word Around The Globe”

Chapter Reading for Today: Please read in your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version, that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I will keep it with the New King James Version.

One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my own writing. I am adding red to the letters when it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Psalm 100:4

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Song: I Just Want to Be Where You Are   By: Don Moen

Psalm 15

Living in the Presence of God

Psalm 15 starts out with two very important questions in verse one…

Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

Where is the tabernacle of the Lord? And who can be there? As we look into this short but very wonderful Psalm, we will find out the answers as the Lord leads us through Holy Spirit. Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for showing us the entry way into Your glorious presence. Father, You are a holy and perfect God and there is only one way into Your presence – through Your Son Jesus Christ. Lord, I ask You to show us today what it means to dwell in Your presence. What are the requirements on our part? We see in today’s Psalm that certain people could be in Your presence while others could not. Father, I ask You to use my mind, heart and hands to bring Your message to Your people in this lesson. Let it come forth from You unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my flesh. Cause us to have new revelation and understanding as it applies to anyone who will ever read this message from You, including myself. Father, as we read and study, we will purpose in our hearts to be not only a hearer of Your word, but a doer as well. Thank You for always watching over Your word to perform it in our lives when we place our trust in You in Jesus name. Amen.

Today’s lesson is going to be very encouraging – I can sense it already in the spirit. The Lord wants to teach us who can dwell in His tabernacle. Where is that exactly? Well, if we are born again, we are His tabernacle – His dwelling place, or as we also know, His temple. God does not live in a manmade house made with hands. His presence is everywhere at all times, and those who are born again have His presence within them. They become the ‘house of God’. And because we have God living inside of us after the new birth in our spirit, there are certain requirements about how we are to ‘keep house’ so to speak.

Let’s examine the basis for our study today as the Lord showed me the following verses to begin with…

2 Corinthians 6:11 – 7:1

O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. ¹² You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. ¹³ Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? ¹⁵ And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?¹⁶ And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.

 As God has said:

“I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

¹⁷ Therefore

“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” ¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Lord was using Paul to admonish the Corinthian church to depart from anybody who was not a believer and stop having anything to do with idols. This message was not just for the Corinthians. It is in the Bible so all believers could read and apply its principals from God for all time. Paul told them that they were restricted by their own affections. Restricted from what, you ask? From God’s presence. And why? Because they were joining themselves with unbelievers. That is like mixing oil and water and expecting it to blend perfectly. That will not happen – ever.  

The same is true with God’s people. We are called to be separate – holy, a special people unto the Lord. Being closely connected with people who do not have the Holy Spirit is a dangerous place to be. It usually winds up polluting us before it converts them. I have experienced an unequally yoked marriage and I know the heartache it can bring when one spouse longs for the things of God while the other one couldn’t care less. The same is true in friendships, business partnerships, anything that has to do with a relationship with another person. The two don’t mix.

You say, “Ya, but how do we have an impact on unbelievers if we are supposed to be separate from them?” The answer is simple really. We are not to be in any type of close relationship with them. We can minister to the unbeliever, but we can’t possibly have fellowship with them. Many of you probably already know this, but I will say it for the purpose of this lesson. Do you remember the last time you tried to go to a family function or maybe a wedding where there was a lot of people who wanted nothing to do with God?

As you sat among the crowd, you found yourself struggling to find things to discuss with them on a somewhat deeper level. They talked about all kinds of worldly things that didn’t interest you and when you tried to talk about how good God is, they turned the other way, with the ‘deer in the headlights’ look.

I will use myself as an example for you. When I get together with certain people in my family, or with the few acquaintances I have who are not yet born again, we struggle to get comfortable with each other. After a few moments of chit chat, we seem to run out of things to say. It is two diabolically opposed points of interest that will never mix well, in a crowd or in private. But when I get together with people who love the Lord and His things, we can’t stop talking about how good He is and about the many wonderful things we have seen Him do in our lives and the lives of others. When we are born again, we have a keen interest in the things of God. In the Corinthians letter today, Paul was given a word straight from God’s heart, saying…

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? ¹⁵ And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

There is nothing in common whatsoever with light and darkness. One cannot relate to the other. God has called His people to be set apart – or to be consecrated unto Him. What does that mean? Let’s see what Webster says…

Consecrate

To make or declare to be sacred. Set apart. To dedicate or devote.

That’s what God’s people are to be – set apart from the likeness and doings of the wicked, or unbelievers. In addition, the Bible is full of scriptures that speak straight from the heart of God commanding His people to be holy – because He is holy. We are to be like Him. We can’t ‘be Him’, but we are to be like Him. What does holy mean? Let’s look…

Holy

To be whole, entire; perfect in a moral sense – pure in heart, free from sinful affections. A heart conformed to the image of God, just, good, sacred.

Let’s look at some scriptures about being called to be holy. There are so many that I had to pick just a few as I was led by the Lord…

Ephesians 1:3-6

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 5:27

 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Jesus is coming back for a holy, glorious church. Many might wonder how that could be possible with all these denominations fighting against each other and all the dissentions and strife. But He is able to perfect the saints and it wouldn’t take Him but a moment to clean us up real quick. Look at this…

Zechariah 4:6-7

So he answered and said to me:

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. ⁷ ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

By His grace, what looks like a mountain to us is simple for Him. He can make any mess that stands like a tall mountain like a plain of level ground. Whether it is the church at large, or anything we face in our individual lives - hallelujah! Let’s also look at this…

1 Peter 1:15-16

but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Peter 2:5

you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We are God’s building, as the scriptures say. We are to work to attain Christ-like perfection. Many in the church today think that it is impossible to be perfect like Jesus was in His earthly walk, but that’s not what the Master said. He said it is possible. Look at this…

Luke 6:40

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

Jesus said it, so it has to be true. Yet many make up words that Jesus said that are not even in the Bible. And often times, unbelievers are telling believers what they should believe. Friends, this should not be so. We cannot listen to what someone says about the Bible who doesn’t even read it. They are talking about a doctrine of men that they heard from someone else and they have made it to be their belief system. When most people think of perfection, they have a skewed idea of what the word means. Let’s look further at it…

Perfect

1. Finished; complete; consummate; not defective; having all that is requisite to its nature and kind; as a perfect statue; a perfect likeness; a perfect work; a perfect system.

As full, as perfect in a hair as heart.

2. Fully informed; completely skilled; as men perfect in the use of arms; perfect in discipline.

3. Complete in moral excellencies. Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.     (Matthew 5:48.)

Though we will never be ‘perfect’ in our thought ability - knowing all things, etc., according to the word of God and the Master Himself, we can be perfect in the way we think, act and talk. We can be perfect toward our Father in heaven and perfect in our love for Him and others. Most people would rather toss this out as rubbish than to strive for this kind of perfection. And why? Because it requires work – hard work. Think of an Olympic gold medalist. They have to train very hard to achieve the world gold medal. They have ‘perfected’ their game or sport in such a way as to be the very best they can be at it. Saints, we are required to do the same if we desire to be disciples of Jesus. He said so Himself…

Luke 14:27

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Friends, when we are crucifying our flesh each day and putting down all the ways of this world while living in it, it is like carrying a cross – just like Jesus did. He bore His cross throughout His life, laying down His own desires to be like the Father in heaven so He could do the work He had been called to do. It’s no different for us. We are called to be separate, holy, perfect and pure in thought, word and deed.

Now look at the following verse which should make any Christian man or woman feel very special…

Deuteronomy 14:2

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

The Lord has chosen us to be holy and be His own special people. We have been called apart from the ungodliness of the world around us. Remember that satan is the god of this world and he has blinded the eyes of many people. He works in the minds of unbelievers to keep them walking in darkness – hence the ‘deer in headlights’ look when we try to talk to people about the things of God when they are not ready to hear it.

Deuteronomy 26:18-19

¹⁸ Also today the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, ¹⁹ and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”

The blessings that come with being a called child of God – available to anyone, though few choose it, are innumerable. Prosperity in mind, body, soul and in finances. He became poor so we could become rich. Another idea that blows religion right out of the water – yet it is Bible saints. In today’s Psalm the question is asked, “who may dwell in Your holy hill?” We have seen much already about the requirements to dwell (live in) God’s presence. Let’s study further… 

Leviticus 10:3

And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:

‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people
I must be glorified.’” So Aaron held his peace.

Like the Corinthians verse said above, there can be no fellowship between light and darkness. Therefore, nobody who is ‘in darkness’ can be in the Lord’s presence. In other words, they must be born again. Jesus takes us from darkness to light when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior; thus allowing us the blessing, honor and privilege of entering into the Most Holy place – the presence of God the Father Himself. Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus!

Leviticus 19:1-2

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Leviticus 20:26

And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

There’s a few verses. After all, it’s God’s word and His Spirit that really does the talking – certainly not me. Now that we have looked at what it means to be holy and set apart from God, let’s look at another part of the verse in Corinthians – no less important for certain. In verse 17 of 2 Corinthians 6, the Lord commanded us to stay away from anything that is unclean. What does that mean? A lot of things saints, a whole lot of things. In this command, the Lord is telling us to stay away from idols, or unclean things.

There is a lot in the Old Testament about unclean things. The people were commanded several times to stay away from certain things that would make them ‘unclean’. For the sake of time, you can look up those verses on your own. Bible Gateway makes searching the scriptures for a word or topical study easier than ever. So if you have a computer, have fun digging into God’s word through Bible Gateway. You will be glad you did.

In today’s world, in the new dispensation, or the New Testament life in which we now live, we can think of unclean things being like bad movies, dirty music, pornographic magazines, nightclubs, etc. Anything where lewdness is practiced - places where sinners are dwelling. Doing things that unsaved people do – is unclean and highly inappropriate for a born again believer to indulge in. Gambling, drunkenness, wild parties are all signs of an unclean life. 

These things can be no part of a true believer’s walk. In fact, if someone truly has the Lord’s Holy Spirit living in them, then any of these places or behaviors would make the person highly uncomfortable. Again, we cannot mix oil and water any more than we can mix the deeds of this dark world with the light of Jesus Christ in us – the King of glory.

Idols are a big problem with people. Here is just one scripture that talks about idols – one of many in the Bible…

1 John 5:21

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

We are as little children to the Lord. And we should have no part of idolatry. Many think, “Well I don’t have any golden calves in my house!” While that may be true, the real question is, what do we have in our heart or our possession that we adore above God? Is there an addiction like drinking, drugs or smoking? Is there a shopping habit? Are we covetous about material things? Do we “love” our cars, homes or houses? Do we love our family more than God? Are there other relationships that we hold in higher regard than our relationship with the Lord? Friends, there are many forms of idols. It is not just a golden calf as described in the Old Testament when the Israelites grew tired of waiting for Moses to come down from spending time with God on the mountain.

Many do not like to let go of certain things in their lives. They will let go of anything but. It can be food; it can be so many things. But anything that we treasure more than God is an idol and it cannot be a part of the holy child of God’s life. Our bodies and our minds are to be offered up to God as a living sacrifice…

Romans 12:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

When it says it is “our reasonable service” it means that it is nothing above and beyond what the basic requirements are. This is a requirement of God. Our bodies are not our own. They belong to God when we surrender our lives to Him. So if we are trashing our bodies in any way, we are actually destroying God’s holy temple. This is not good. Here is what it means to have a mind that honors God…

1 Corinthians 2:16

For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Just like we talked about earlier, we will be like our Master, and we will have the mind of Christ. This means we will think like He thinks. Saints, it is doable. It requires great discipline and training. We may not be there yet, but as we study and commit our lives to Him, we can be well on our way. Glory to God. So who cannot dwell in His presence? Let’s look…

Psalm 101:7

He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

Our Psalm today has a pretty extensive list for such a small number of verses. Let’s review them…

Psalm 15:3-5

He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; ⁴ in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change; ⁵he who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

Back biting is what we know as talking about people behind their back and saying unkind things about them. Doing anything evil to another person, not keeping promises to a friend, loaning money to someone and charging interest, testifying against an innocent person, and taking bribes are all things that evil people engage in regularly. These should never be the ways of a holy child of God. Paul was dealing with a lot of sin in the church at Corinth. He was calling them to repent. When sin is known, it needs to be dealt with right away.

Here is a wonderful couple of verses for a Christian who has sinned. I have experienced them both and want to encourage anyone who may be in need of repentance…

Romans 2:4

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

When we think of His goodness and His mercy and love – His amazing grace, then it is hard to keep sinning. His Spirit in us causes us to desire to get things right with Him when we are truly born again. And today, as we talk about being in His presence, the best place to be, we can see this about repentance and His presence…

Acts 3:19

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Saints, I can tell you from my own experience that the Lord has used these two verses more than once to get me back on track when I was messing up bad. His word really works – if we will pay close attention to it. It bears witness with our spirit and causes us to be highly uncomfortable with disobedience and sin. But the great news is that once we repent, it is just as if we never sinned (we are justified again) hallelujah! Then we can get back into His presence where there is fullness of joy…

Psalm 65:4

Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple. 

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 21:6

For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.

Psalm 31:20

You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Psalm 140:13

Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence.

Acts 2:28

You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

We have looked at who can dwell (live and abide) in the Lord’s presence, and who cannot. And we have seen the many wonderful benefits of being there – in the awesome presence of the Lord. Saints, we can live there every day of our lives, and live such blessed and abundant lives that others will want to know how we are doing it. And when they ask, we can introduce them to the One who makes it all possible.

When they see us full of joy all the time, succeeding in our work and finances, owning multiple homes, cars, lands and buildings, they are going to start asking some serious questions. What a witness we can be to this lost world as we live in joy, love, abundance and prosperity. In an economy gone sour, we can have more than enough to be a blessing to the kingdom work and individual people. In a world of tribulation and great confusion, we can stay in total peace. This is what Jesus said about that…

John 13:33

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The end of today’s Psalm gives us another wonderful promise. It says that the person who does the good things listed in this wonderful set of verses would never be moved. How is that for a finishing promise? How would you like to live this abundant life and never be “moved” even when all hell is breaking loose around you? Friends, it is the best place to be. In His presence there is truly fullness of joy. The things of this world never have to move us, ever. Hallelujah!

Questions:

What two questions does today’s chapter start with?

What did Paul say not to do in 2 Corinthians 6:14?

What does it mean to be unequally yoked?

What does the word ‘consecrate’ mean?

What does it mean to be holy?

What kind of church is Jesus coming back for?

Describe the meaning of perfection?

What does it mean for you to bear your cross?

Name some of the benefits of being a child of God.

What does the Bible mean when it describes unclean things and idols?

List any idols in your life that you need to get rid of.

What does it mean to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice?

What does it mean to have the mind of Christ?

List the behaviors of those who cannot dwell in God’s presence.

What causes a Christian to repent?

Are you living in fullness of joy and in peace in God’s presence? If not, what may be getting in the way?

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

There are three main points to consider from today’s study…

There are certain criteria for those who want to dwell in the presence of the Lord

The Bible makes it clear about who cannot dwell in His presence

The benefits of dwelling in God’s presence far outweigh the alternative

                       Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for who You are and for Your glorious presence in my life. Father, like a little baby chick under Your wings, I desire to remain in Your presence for all eternity. Lord, if there is anything that has been blocking me from being with You in Your presence, I ask You to show me. Lord, help me to get rid of anything in my life that is not pleasing to You so I can be close to You and full of joy always as I live out this life. Help me to be a beacon to the world around me so that when they see how great my life is going, they ask me how I am doing it. Then I can tell them all about You – the One who is truly making my life so rich and wonderful. Thank You in advance Lord in Jesus name. Amen.

Are you enjoying the fullness of joy in God’s presence every day?

And God Said… You fill in the blanks.

                                  

                                               

                                                                            

Romans 8:37-39

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.