Psalm 18 and the Subjective Nature of Faith

Welcome
Prayer
Song: “I will love you oh Lord my Strength.”
Silence.

Today’s teaching is super important for a number of reasons that will unfold as we go forth. I want you to know in advance that I will go over today but I will pause at an appropriate moment to excuse your release from my clutches if you want to or must go.

In addition to what the Psalm itself unfolds to us (at least in my estimation) the teaching of it from my personal walk with God serves as a watershed moment which I will unfortunately for some also talk about as an exclamation point in this ministry. Before getting to what is of utmost import, the Psalm itself, understand this – it is a model of how and why I maintain that the faith is entirely subjective today, which I will attempt to prove as far more important than objectified religion and its demands. In other words, today’s teaching is a remarkable study on the validation of what we are calling, Subjective ChristianityA direct, personal relationship with God—free from institutional authority, guided by personal relationship, faith and agape love..

The Interpretation of Scripture

Keep this in mind as we sojourn forth today through Psalm 18 which is, in my estimation, beyond beautiful in its overall prophetic expressions of Yeshua and His life – but that is my subjective view and this is not always the view of others. In other words, some scholars see “some” of the content of Psalm 18 as prophetically applicable to Christ while others see “a lot of it” being assignable to Christ and then others claim that the whole thing is all about Christ. This facts makes Psalm 18 important because who can say? And how can we know what to believe?

1. Our individual understanding of the text as a whole from Genesis to Revelation, then
2. What we personally understand about Him in light of the whole of scripture, then,
3. How each of us think and see the world around us, respectively and in relation to “other” unbiblical things and ideas we hold in esteem (which are ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE and used by God in His relationship to us alone) and finally,
4. How much the Spirit chooses to reveal to each of us individually, in light of #’s 1,2 and 3.

The Role of Personal Experience

We are only in control of the first three points – how familiar we are with all (and I mean, all) of the scripture, what we personally understand about Yeshua in light of this information, and how we think and see the world around us respective to other unbiblical ideas we hold in esteem from life, but how much the Spirit chooses to use and reveal is entirely in the hands of God. Psalm 18 serves as a fantastic example to illustrate this.

With some trepidation, I’m going to conclude today teaching by illustrating how subjective the faith is for me in my life by sharing a direct personal anecdote on how God works with me NOT – NOT to suggest in any way that He should or could or would work with you in the same ways BUT to evidence on how subjective and personal the faith is in the end for all. So, expect this personal reference before we conclude – I’ve told people to tune in today as a litmus test to see if they should run from listening to me or to validate the decision in their minds.

Okay,

Psalm 18 and the Incomprehensibility of Our God

February 2nd 2025

PSALM 18 – In my estimation is one of the most beautiful Psalms if read in a light that can only be confirmed or denied by the Spirit.

It is the longest Psalm we have read to date, and it means a great deal to me personally for reasons I will share as we go. The title reads: "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of YAHAVAH, who spake unto YAHAVAH the words of this song in the day that YAHAVAH delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul."

Do we know when this day was in David’s life? Do we know when YAHAVAH Himself spoke the words to David in the day that He delivered Him from the hand of all of his enemies? We actually do! David’s life is on display in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel (among others) which BTW, are one in the Hebrew Bible. The primary difference between 1st Samuel and 2nd Samuel is that 1st Samuel focuses on the transition of Israel's leadership from judges.

Themes in 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel

Last Judge) to Kings (with the first being Saul). So, first Samuel primarily deals with the stories of Samuel, Saul's rise and fall, and David's early reign then 2nd Samuel primarily focuses on the reign of King David, including his triumphs and failures. In other words, 1st Samuel introduces the monarchy, and 2nd Samuel chronicles the Davidic dynasty as King. In terms of leadership, 1st Samuel highlights the transition from the leadership of Samuel to King Saul, while 2nd Samuel focuses on King David's reign. In terms of story arc, 1st Samuel narrates the story of Saul's failures and David's rise to power, while 2nd Samuel, as I said, details David's reign, including his major accomplishments and significant moral failings.

Epilogue and Reflections in Second Samuel

Finally, and specifically, Second Samuel, chapters 21-24, serve as an epilogue to both books and in the midst of them, chapters 22-23, are two poems that act like memoirs as David reflects on his life. Here David remembers times when God graciously rescued him from danger and how he sees this as an expression of God’s covenant promise, not just to him but to all the world. In the end, and to our point today, Psalm 18 is an almost word for word copy of what is said by David and written in 2nd Samuel 22 – with the exception of a few word changes and a couple mash-up of verses culminating in Psalm 18 being 50 verses long and 2nd Samuel 22 being 51.

Understanding and Interpretation of Psalm 18

I would suggest that Psalm 18 can serve as almost a personal barometer for you, the individual, in determining where you are in your spiritual understanding of the text over all. I cannot impose understanding upon you – I can only bring insights and evidences to help you see, but the problem with this is they are my insights, which I hope are of the Spirit, which, in my mind, are supportive evidences for our Messiah in whom we place our trust.

But others will not – do not – cannot see the Psalm in the same way or to the same extent as others will and do. The reason for this is there are some lines that are certainly about David and His life and there are some lines that are absolutely about the Messiah and His and not about David. Finally there are lines that are potentially about both. The subjective part comes where your knowledge and understanding of the scripture, of Him, and even of non-biblical insights and information are used by the Spirit to bring you to a place in your mind where you see and understand truth.

I could impose certainty of interpretation on the teaching, but I can only be certain to the point of what the Spirit tells me individually based on the information I have gathered and seen. You get it? So what I do is share what I think but you may not see the same (here or in other teachings) and that is perfectly fine – the Spirit will either reveal or not reveal whatever my insights bring to you as important, right or reasonably you’re your at your current place of understanding which may or may not be confirmed by what I share.

This does not make me right and you wrong or you right and me wrong – it means God is working on both of us subjectively and in faith and love for each other we go trusting in Him while loving each other. So, let’s read and learn what this Psalm says and trust that you will see and hear what you are supposed to see and hear at this point in your life and walk.

Psalm 18: A Personal Reflection

Psalm 18:1 <<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of YAHAVAH, who spake unto YAHAVAH the words of this song in the day that YAHAVAH delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,>> “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.” Comparing what is recording in 2nd Samuel 22 this line is either missing and/or was added to Psalm 18. I will not compare anything more to 2nd Samual 22 because the rest is pretty much the same.

So, “I will love you oh Lord my strength” from Psalm 18:1 then,

2 The LORD (meaning, YAHAVAH – but I am going to use the Lord here today because of the song Mallory made from this Psalm) “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my

Exploring the Wilderness

Shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”

Now, imagine, God willing, that the Messiah we are attempting to know better is out in the wilderness alone and He is singing these words, or praying them, during His material life on earth. Certainly, David did as he is the one who wrote them– but allow yourself to imagine our King, God made flesh, the man from Galilee, singing or saying these very words. I will love you oh Lord my strength, the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon The LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”

They take on new meaning and give insight to Him, don’t they? Now, maybe allow yourselves to hear what other passages you think could have also been said by Him or refer to Him, and/or what lines are clearly about David alone, or maybe the lines that are clearly and reasonably describing them both.

Distress and Deliverance

Ready?

4 The sorrows of deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon YAHAVAH, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

I have a hard time emotionally reading these verses and thinking about Him – which I see as possible from both men. They humble me and fill me with gratitude.

Prophetic Descriptions

I suggest that from verse 7-19, I could readily see how David could be speaking in a Hebrew fashion of his own troubles, but I personally and clearly see how these verses are a literal prophetic description of the end of that former age and the destruction of Jerusalem and all of the former things of that Nation.

So, let’s read,

7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13 YAHAVAH also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but YAHAVAH was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

Now, David says something here that some might say, “this is David talking about himself under the Law.” But I can clearly see how but it CERTAINLY CERTAINLY speaks of our King – listen –

20 YAHAVAH rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

David and Cleanliness

David's hands were not clean – in fact, we read the following from 1st Chronicles 28:1-3 about him,

And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.
2 Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear

Reflections on David and Yeshua

Me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of YAHAVAH, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:

3 But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.

Add in the fact the David Bathsheba/Uriah situation, and it's hard to believe that David could ever say, “according to the cleanliness of my hands thou has recompensed me.” But the Messiah? No doubt.

David's Reflections in Psalm 18

Then back to Psalm 18 at verse 21, David continues to write, and while the first line MAY apply to both David (but certainly to Yeshua) after verse 21, I do not believe David qualifies—let’s read.

21 For I have kept the ways of YAHAVAH, and have not wickedly departed from my God. Now read with a heart considering David's life, which you may not completely know about, but also consider Yeshua’s—which you do know about.

22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. 23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

Oh, how this verse humbles me before Our King of flesh—how He in His flesh had temptations for iniquity but out of love for His Father and our God He kept Himself from them. And then we read an amazing line—which could also be assigned to David under the law but is CERTAINLY applied to Yeshua as verse 24 says (listen).

24 Therefore hath YAHAVAH recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

Timeless Principles and Self-awareness

And then we get a principle that I believe is eternal with God and man, and is always only possible by the Spirit of Christ in us, as David writes,

25 With the merciful, thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man, thou wilt shew thyself upright; 26 With the pure, thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward, thou wilt shew thyself froward. 27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

I do not think these principles have changed even in the age of fulfillment as I personally believe the principle that all souls will “reap what we sow” and how we ONLY escape from such reaping by and through allowing His Son to reign over and in us, not because we “have to,” but because if we allow Him, He will.

How can I say this? From the simple conclusion that if He is in us, this will be the end result. If He is not, it will not. This is a tool for us that we can use to self-discern our attitudes and actions by what we say, do, and think!

By and through this constant self-analysis, we can INDIVIDUALLY and WITHOUT the interference of others, automatically see what we are acting in accordance to—our former woman, our fleshly man, or through Him and His power, Spirit and love.

DO YOU GET IT?

David adds, 28 For thou wilt light my candle: YAHAVAH my God will enlighten my darkness. 29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

Did Yeshua have darkness that YAHAVAH enlightened? I tend to think so as He was tempted in all things. Now, if you’re inclined, imagine the next verses to come from Yeshua speaking or thinking His heart as a man on earth when David writes,

The Assurance of His Way

30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of YAHAVAH is tried: he is a shield to all those that trust in him. 31 For who is God save YAHAVAH? or who is a rock save our God? 32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. 33 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places.

CERTAINLY YESHUA—possibly DAVID, right? Then the next lines seem to be CERTAINLY DAVID in a physical sense, but in a Spiritual sense, I can personally hear then referring also our King making these claims, saying at verse 34.

34 He teacheth my hands to war, (to David physically and Yeshua spiritually) so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden.

Spiritual Victory

me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. 36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. 37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

This speaks to me not only of David’s physical victories but Christs total victory over everything spiritually that stood in our way to having direct access to God.

38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.

Can you hear the application of the passages where God promised to put all things under our Kings feet? I do.

39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.

Victory of David? Perhaps. Victory of Christ? Absolutely. And then at verse 41 David seems to speak prophetically and possibly through his own victories over his enemies, but relative to Christ victory and the end of the former age, I am personally certain, when he adds,

41 They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto YAHAVAH, but he answered them not. 42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. 43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.

Gentiles and the Kingdom

I see this as a direct reference to His Kingdom being composed of the Gentiles, the heathens who were to Yeshua, “a people whom I have not known” now and forever more serving Him. And he adds something so true, so real, so confirmed historically and even in the lives of people today, saying of those who are His,

44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.

Is that you? Is it me? Have we submitted ourselves to Him? Not to man, not to religion, not to anything or anyone else that seeks to reign over us, that tries to usurp His position on the throne of our heart and mind.

Submission to the King

What and who do you submit to? Do I submit to? Ask yourselves? (beat) Verse 45

45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. 46 YAHAVAH liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. 47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.

Now allow yourselves to hear the following words come from the mouth of Our King, especially in reference to His death and resurrection, as David wrote,

48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. 49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O YAHAVAH, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. 50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

I read that last line as,

50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; (both David and Christ) and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, (so both David and Christ) and to his seed for evermore, (meaning to Christ, all who are Christs forevermore)

So, that is Psalm 18.

Now, I had to seriously deliberate on whether to share the following with you here in our verse by verseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty. because it certainly will take us off the ranch and out there into how I have come to personally experience a validation for subjective faith over the traditions of Objective religion. Here goes, and if history proves the future, I will see some of you again only in the life to come.

Okay, let’s begin with the following:

God made you and man made you – same with our King who was born of a woman, born under the law we each have been born of a woman and made according to Him and His wisdom.

Automatically, we are in someways pre-determined with the paradoxical fact of having freewill.

I am now going to depart from this grand speculation and use my particular experience to illustrate what I am trying to say. You may want to think of your own lives to see

Subjective Faith and Objective Religion

Prior to by experiencing God in 1997, I look back and can see how I assessed my material life and I can explain it through an illustration of what I call Human Filtering which might looked like this (show graphic) And I would take everything parents, cultures, formal and informal education, experience, tastes, interests, ideas, religion, life, parenting, community, desires and drives, hopes and expectations, bad experiences, formative years, DNA, genetics, influences, upbringing – all of it – and I would personally and subjectively FILTER it all in the following way

SO, THIS WAS MY LIFE FROM AS SOON AS I COULD THINK. When all of this world proved incapable of changing my natural person (which was highly defective) I kept renewing this process of what the world suggested was important and vital to my life and to changing. NONE of it passed the test! All I could surmise is my affinities (POPS) were what I personally related to and agreed to but that none of it was worthy of worship or using as my map to inner peace. When Christ entered in or revealed Himself in me, I was able to do a couple of things and was forced to do a couple of others. First, I had to review my established line of Pops and run them through a New Filter, which was now the scripture by the Spirit according to how it worked on and with me and the way God and Man had made me! Got that?

NOTE: Because my Pops are different than other people’s, my understanding of everything cannot be the same as others. (Nascar, etc) NOTE: Because my Pops are different than other people’s, my understanding of everything cannot be the same as others. (Nascar, etc)

Scripture and the Spirit

This is why and how the faith today is entirely subjective by the Spirit and not objectively delivered by others because the faith is an amalgamation of,

• All of the above processes
• What each individual has chosen to accept or reject
• How much time and energy an individual puts into the dissection and to the understanding of Scripture, Him and the other non-biblical things that they allow,
• And what each individual chooses to reject or keep in the results.

Because Institutional religion provides every willing participant with set answers relative to God, those who accept their findings and traditions whole-heartedly will always unite and see eye to eye with others and therefore believe that they have the “truth” but this is because they have SKIPPED the filtering process themselves and accepted the work of others in place of that work.

It is much easier to do, far more unifying when others have accepted the same things as you and serves to build empires and the institution over the individual and their personal growth.

I subjectively maintain that this is an inferior method to seeking God in spirit and truth. I maintain that the scripture depicts God as wanting His creations to approach Him this ways as they are, and I suggest that what He wants is each individual, based on their own collection of pops, to figure out (and therefore putting in the work for themselves, according to their own minds and interests) who He is and why they worship Him.

Comparing Objective Religion and Subjective Relationships

This automatically means, from my point of view, the following when comparing Objective Religion verse Subjective Relationships:

OBJECTIVE RELIGIOUS TRADITION
SUBJECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS

• Will always grow and be more inviting to like-minded souls
• Be always present far more stability
• Will always create more certainty
• Will fence some people in and fence others out.
• Be far more acceptable because far less individual work is demanded
• Stand on what is perceived as “solid” information (years of Tradition)
• Give human beings a culture on which to gather, unite and bond (which is what we seek)
• Creates more pride (certainty) and judgement.

GRAPHIC TWO

OBJECTIVE RELIGIOUS TRADITION
SUBJECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS

• Will always grow and be more inviting to like-minded souls

• Be always present far more stability

• Will always create more certainty

• Will fence some people in and fence others out.

• Be far more acceptable because far less individual work is demanded

• Stand on what is perceived as “solid” information (years of Tradition)

• Give human beings a culture on which to gather, unite and bond (which is what we seek)

• Creates more pride/judgment

• Will forever be in a state of Spiritual flux

• Will be far more “unstable” because of its willingness to change and replace former things based on new personal realizations

• Will be heavily scrutinized, criticized, mocked and even condemned because it changes

• Stands squarely on

Individual Maturity

each individuals maturity

• Evolves as the world around us evolves
• Is far more independent and unique and therefore more lonely and difficult
• IS predicated on the amount of labor and introspection each individual is willing to do
• Therefore requires more personal labor, personal faith, and personal choice to love
• Is much less certain
• Creates more humility (each time there is a removal of a pop)

So we are at our agreed upon time and in the face of personal freedom and love for all, I place it in your hands – do we stop here at our tacit agreement on time and length or are you collectively interested in how all I have said played out in my life recently which in my mind is a direct evidence on how God works with me in this present age of fulfilment and therefore, the faith being entirely subjective.

(without any judgement at all, excuse those who wish to leave for whatever reason and continue to record for those who wish to stay).

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Personal Experiences with Faith

I am going to try hard to get through this final personal section because it affects me so deeply that I have not been able to even think of it without falling apart. PRAYERS.

Okay, so in 1997, with all my Points of Perspective in place, I came to find the Spirit of Christ buried in me after decades of searching for Him and that is when I submitted to Him along and became to reprocess all my Pops relative to Him by the same spirit and not men or religion. This experience in 1997 occurred on Adams Ave which to most means nothing but to my mind was significant.

What did that experience show me – that I was justified, as I was, before God through the work of His Son and not my own. Since then, my quest has been to discover if I was being sanctified rightly especially in the face of the things about me as a man created by man that I had chosen to retain as a justified son. Now, for many, and for innumerable reasons, this is not a concern they have, fine. But I am an extremely different person and because I have been greatly criticized for these uniqueness by both the world around me AND believers, I have never ever been certain that I was on the right course in my walk with Him.

I was certain of the Adams ave experience but have for almost thirty years lacked anything but faith that He accepted me (as weird as I am – and if you don’t believe this come spend a few days with me).

Artistic Expression and Faith

The ways that I am culturally estranged from others include that as a human being I have immersed myself in art and creative expressions. The following is from my journal:

I do not – I cannot – I will not stop creating. Since a child I have been actively creating in the most literal sense of the word. I am not ADHD. I am not hyperactive. I am utterly hyper-creative – so much so that I do not care much about the technical elements of creation (grammar, punctuation, perfect expressions, perfect approaches, appearances or catering to the appearance of things so others relate) nor do I seek to specialize in creating things so as to make a name for myself (therefore I have not nor ever will hone my crafts to any acceptable level).

Instead, my art is in the very act of a life creating but not creating as a means to please others or to market my wares. What God imbued me with, at birth, was the drive to explore, test, explore and create in response to these incessant drives.

If I am driving my car, I am creating songs, out-loud, poems, rhymes, and openly speak on topics that come to me even if originating from a glimpse of a billboard. If I am sitting at a laptop I write, prolifically, endlessly and fill thousands of pages with ideas, insights and observations important only to me. I do not have to force this. It comes to me from how God created me. I am deeply affected by open planes of space and surfaces, and see life, possibility, hope, and meaning in a flat ocean, desert, canvas, plastic sheet and or even from the tiniest fragment of paper in my path and I am driven to express myself upon them – on every empty area. As

Reflection and Spiritual Journey

A pastor I have written out thousands of teachings, created several dozen books, and recorded thousands of presentations. I have always started my day early in the morning (I am now, in my older years, on a schedule that begins at 3:45 AM and includes working until at least 2 PM) and I work out of a studio filled with artistic expressions that require physical labor to express my thoughts and ideas. I have read hundreds of what I feel are meaningful books, watched a thousand dozen of thousands of films and cinematic works meaningful to me, listened to countless numbers musical artists and their compositions since a very early age. All the while I am at a constant war with my flesh – with eating and over eating, sex and intimacy with my wife and women I find attractive, and daily substance use and abuse. Simultaneously, I am a proponent of pain and making things difficult as part of the act of creating, while at the same time I will take shortcuts on things I deem unimportant things and will cheat every chance I get on things that in my mind are meaningless and unimportant.

Add in that I am admittedly as mystically minded as Carl Jung, and live in a world of symbols, dreams, synchronicity, and shadows, all of this is met by decades of searching the scripture to understand Him and how I could ever be seen as sanctified when retaining all of this as someone who unquestionably puts Him on the throne of my heart and life.

In the face of constant rejection by the godless and the godly, I have never felt God’s approbation that I am living well. Until Saturday morning, January 25th, 2025, 4:50 AM, where after 28 years of publicly and privately seeking, the following unfolded to me and I heard Him speak to my heart.

A Personal Revelation

Since 2007 or 2008, once I asked my oldest Daughter to compose musical numbers for our gatherings, I have had to listen to 95% complaints compared to 5% compliments. I mean, this culturally driven side of believers is really without manners but to me, is akin to most people hating good art, architecture or other forms of music and expression. So, I just have to deal with it.

But in preparing my notes for this teaching, my mind brought Mallory's version of David's words, which I was not hearing as coming from the mouth of Our King. And I thought of Him in my own mind on the Cross thinking,

“I will love you oh Lord my strength, the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation,”

And then I thought of how she sings, “my stronghold,” how she stretched that word out, held the note, which to me conveyed our Lord’s gentle stronghold on us in our weakest times, and then the declarative moment when He, and David declare,

“I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”

And God whispered, and this has been your song too.

Connection to David

And I broke before Him – but there is more backstory to why. I have long said, especially to Mary, that of all the Biblical Characters I relate most to David. I went to my journals and did a word search of his name, and found the following,

“I am like John the Baptist but not as harsh or materially strong; Like Peter in passionate impetuousness, but not as fearful nor brave, I am like Paul but not as intelligent. In the end, I am truly most like David, as a man in his weaknesses but in my heart for God.”

Is this permissible, I wondered in my emotional state, is there something Spiritual or Jungian in this?

Then I started learning about Psalm 18, and I discovered that it originated from the Old Testament book of Samuel. And I thought about how Mary used to call me Sammy because SAM is my initials, and I thought about how God blessed me with daughters and not a son because a son would have redirected my attentions but how I have a son who is very much like me in one of my grandchildren, and his father suggested his name, Samson, out of nowhere and while I love all my grandchildren more than life, I have a special heart for this one, for…

The Uniqueness and Struggles of Life

His uniqueness and the struggles he is already facing in his young life. And I focused in the where in Samuel this Psalm was taken from – 2nd Samuel chapter 22, and specifically, verse 2 as I will love you oh lord my strength is not included there.

That is four twos – my favorite number growing up as it’s the day of my birth, and I grew up at the address 222(6)2 – so 2 was my number, and what I chose in sports and other things any time I could, and I reread 2nd Samuel 22:2 and it says,

A Personal Message and Revelation

He said, (David and our incarnate King and God) "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,

And without asking, seeking or looking for any sort of anything – validation, confirmation, or inspiration, my God confirmed overabundantly the following direct message to me about my sanctification:

Faith as a Subjective Experience

Do not fear anything. Do not worry about anything. You are mine, as you are, Shawn. You are my weirdo. I created you. Do not worry.

If this experience that was mine helps you personally, or helps you trust and rely on Him. Let it. If it does not, and if you have issue with it, that’s okay too.

The faith is entirely subjective, and I know this now more than ever and walk without fear, worry or cares.

We will stop here.

Questions? Comments?