While we live on earth, there are very important things we need to do. Don’t leave your worldly body without four things in mind, as written in Psalms 61:5-7; “For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 6 Increase the days of the king’s life, his years for many generations. 7 May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.” The first thing is eternal heritage, second is eternal life, third is eternal kingship, and finally, God’s love and faithfulness to protect you. For every christian God has in store these four things, we just have to claim them. Make sure, before you pass away, that you have these things, and that your children will inherit them. 

In Proverbs 29:18 it is written; “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” Meaning that if you are unaware of what God has in store for you, and you go on with your own life doing your own things without doing what God has called you to do, then God will allow trouble into your life. Paul has written in Romans 8:28; “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God called you to inherit eternal inheritance, to have eternal life, to be a king before him, and to appoint his love and faithfulness to protect you. When Joseph was at the age of 17 in Genesis 37, he had a dream that all his brothers would bow down before him. He knew that one day he would become a king. His brothers were jealous and tried to kill him. The Lord, wanting to confirm his word to Joseph, gave him a second dream. And this time, not only his brothers, but his father and mother would also bow down before him. With these two dreams, his suffering for Jesus began. He sustained, endured, and persevered to overcome shame and affliction. At the end, in Genesis 50, at the age of 30 he sits enthroned as king, second only to the Pharaoh. Without his vision from God, people cast off restraint, as written in Proverbs 29:18; “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.”. But Joseph was an extraordinary young man. For 13 years he suffered shame, pain and affliction not only from his brothers, but also in Egypt. He refused to commit adultery with the Potiphar’s wife, and was sent to prison because of her wicked lies. 

Psalms 61:1; “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.” King David cried out to the Lord in times of trouble. He was truly a man after God’s heart, and knew of the 4 things that he would inherit, and knew that he would be king forever, and God would appoint his love and faithfulness to protect him. Psalms 61:2; “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” When you are in trouble and your heart grows faint, do not walk away from God, but cry out to him and pray that he’ll listen to you from the ends of the earth. The reason why God allows pain and suffering in your life is because you’re walking away from His revelation. The dream and hope that God has given you, like the one he gave Joseph. Paul has the same kind of vision in 2 TImothy 4:6-8; “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”Like Timothy, brothers and sisters, you must know of all the good things, the four things that you will receive when you keep the faith and fight the good fight, when you finish the race. The crown of righteousness will be given to those who long for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember when you are in trouble, to return to God and cry out to Him. He is your refuge and your strength, a strong tower against the foe (Psalms 61:3). When God allowed David’s enemies to attack him, it’s not to destroy his life, it’s to force him back to God. King David has written how to receive the four blessings, as it is recorded in Psalms 61:1, we must pray. When we pray, pray according to God’s promises. Psalms 145:13; “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.” God is faithful to His promises and loving towards all He has made, and will fulfil the desires of your heart. Do not pray according to your own words, but according to God’s words. Psalms 61:5-7; For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 6 Increase the days of the king’s life, his years for many generations. May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.” Pray to the Lord with this in mind, pray that he will protect you with His love with his faithfulness to protect you. Cry out to Him with the words of what God has promised you. Call to him from the ends of the earth, and He will hear your prayer. Call on Him in God’s name; Jesus Christ. He is our Refuge in times of distress, trouble, sickness and affliction. He is our strength, our ever-present help in times of trouble. He is our Rock, as written in Psalms 61:2. He is the Rock of foundation, our Refuge. King David relied on God many times, and has been under the threat of death since the early days of His life. But God was his Rock, his Refuge, and a strong Tower against the foe. Jesus Christ, according to Hebrews 13:8, never changes; “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” You can call out to Christ and He will protect you any time, he is an unchanging God. 

Psalms 61:4; “I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”

John 2:21; “the temple he had spoken of was his body.” Jesus revealed himself to be the temple of God. David wrote ‘tent’ in Psalms 61 because the temple of God had not been built yet. The Tent symbolizes the Church of God. Brothers and sisters, when you are facing trouble, go to church, the Tent, the Temple of God and cry out to Him, and He will hear your prayer. The one who built the temple of God was not king David, but the king’s son, Solomon. When he finished building the temple, he cried out to God. King David asks one thing of the Lord in Psalms 27:4; “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” The House of the Lord is also the Tent of the Lord, and the Temple of the Lord. It does not matter whether they are Jew or Gentile, if they are in trouble and go to God’s temple to seek God, then He will hear their prayer. Ephesians 1:22-23; “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” The church is also the body of Christ Jesus our Lord, our Temple. When you go to His church, you will be able to hear His word and dwell in His temple. 1 John 2:24; “ As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.” If you hide God’s word within your heart, then you dwell in Jesus and Jesus dwells in you. This means that whoever attacks you attacks Jesus, so He will protect you. Remaining in the son means to remain in His tent. King David faced hardship because he left the Tent of God. Seek Refuge in Him and He will deliver you. Hide yourself in the shelter of His Wings, for He will appoint His love and faithfulness to protect you. 

If you dwell in this world, you will have trouble, as written in the Gospel of John 16:33; “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Psalms 61:4-5; “For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. Increase the days of the king’s life, his years for many generations.” This heritage is eternal heritage that God gives to those who fear Him, and God will increase the days of the King’s life. King David also wrote this first in Psalms 21:4; “He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever.” God will not only extend your life, but give your spirit eternal life. I called a brother the other day, who had a terminal illness. I asked him how he felt, and he told me; “If God wants me to die, I will.” I told him that was wrong, and told him I’d visit him the next day. He agreed, and I shared these Bible verses with him. Brothers and sisters, when king David asked God for life, He gave him more than what he asked for, he lengthened his days forevermore. He knew he was about to die, and asked God to extend his life, and God not only fulfilled the desires of his heart, he also gave him eternal life. Make sure you always have God’s word in your heart, so that you can help those in need. It is written in Ecclesiastes 3:1; “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to be born and a time to die,” While this is true, it is not the only one of the Bible’s promises. The Lord is faithful to all of them, which includes Psalms 21:4 and Psalms 61:6. The Lord will increase the years of the king’s life and his years for many generations. In deuteronomy 17, Moses required that king’s read and copy God’s words, which is what king Hezekiah did. He hid himself inside the temple, the body of Jesus Christ, and cried out to God, because a prophet had told him to prepare himself for death. Hezekiah cried for God to give him life, and God answered him by extending his life for 15 more years. When God extended his life, Hezekiah will also receive eternal life, because he listened to his father’s teaching and remembered God’s words. So I promised my friend that as long as I preach in the north side, that I would visit him every Saturday, until the hardships have passed, to prove to him that God is faithful. According to Romans 1:16, the gospel of God can only help those who have faith in Him; “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” And it is written in Romans 10:17; “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” This is why it is important to study the bible and pray to God according to His promises, then he will increase the days of your life, and extend your years for many generations (eternal life). It is imperative that we confess our sins and acknowledge that we don’t know God’s words. My friend is an elder of his church, and yet he did not know God’s words. He said “If God wants me to die, I’ll die”. Is that any way to pray? Do not pray according to your own words, brothers and sisters, he needed to pray by Psalms 21:4, 61:6, Isaiah 38. Seek God in times of trouble, hide yourself under the shelter of His Wings, seek Refuge in Him. Go to His temple and cry to Him according to His promises, for He is loving towards all He has made, and faithful to all His promises. And this elder has been gracious to me all these years. So blessed are those who are merciful to others, you never know when you yourself are going to be in a time of need. When you are in need, those you have helped will come back to help you. 

God not only wants you to pray, he wants you to make a vow to him. Psalms 61:5; “For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.” The vow that king David made is written in 61:8; “Then I will ever sing in praise of your name  and fulfill my vows day after day.” Vow that you will sing in praise of His name, that the Lord is your Tent, your Temple, your church, your Rock and Refuge, an ever present help in times of trouble. Let all people understand who He is, to the praise of His glory. Psalms 31 writes of God’s mercy towards those who love and sing praises to God. God is everything, and He does not need anything from you, just for you to open your mouth and give him thanks. And King David made a vow to God that if he could inherit eternal inheritance, eternal life, eternal kingship, and have God’s love and faithfulness to protect him all the days of his life, that he would sing praises of God’s name, and fulfill this vow day after day. God answered David’s prayer, and anyone who fears God will receive inheritance, and their life will not only be extended, but they will receive eternal life. They will sit enthroned in God’s presence forever and ever, but not in the earthly sense, but in heaven, and they will reign with God. God will not only give you blessings now, but forever and ever. Brothers and sisters, do not exert yourselves so much in this world, for it will bring you trouble. But in God you will have peace and joy. 

 I want you to write that down. Psalms 31:29-30. When I give thanks to God, when I sing praises of his name, this is better than an ox, better than the bull with a hoof and horn. In other words, when you offer a bull or offer an ox to God, you offer the whole thing. The horn and the hoof, top and bottom, the whole thing. When you sing praises to God, it’s better than offer ox and bulls, because God has everything. He doesn’t need anything from you. All he need is you open your mouth and give thanks to him. And King David said, “if you give me these four things: eternal inheritance, eternal life, eternal kingship, and appoint your love and faithfulness to protect me all the days of my life. I’m going to make a vow before you, for you have heard my vow, and I’m going to sing praises of your name, all the days of my life forever and ever, so that I fulfill my vow day after day.” And that’s how he end his prayer. And God said, “I answered his prayer”. Am I right? What’s the four things? Number one: anyone who fears your name, you are going to give him the heritage of those who fear your name. Anybody who fears God’s name, you not only increase the day of King’s life. You extend his year for many generations. Thirdly: may he sit enthroned in God’s presence forever and ever. He not not going to be king in this earthly way. In the earthly time. He is going to be king before God eternally. Am I right? So God not only give you blessings right now. Brothers and sisters. Don’t spend so much time, extend yourself so much in this world. For in this world you will have trouble. But in me (God) you will have peace. So go back to Jesus. Otherwise you’re going to lose those four things. When you make sure that you get all these four things, you ask God, “appoint your love and faithfulness to protect me. Make sure I get all these blessings that you have in store for me.” Am I right?