Week 1: The Place where you meet God face-to-face

Week 2: The Place where God changes you

Week 3: The Place where God strengthens you

OPENING SCRIPTURE:

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? (Psalm 27:1 NKJ)

• “The LORD is my light” – God provides light to our path
• “The LORD is my salvation” – God is our deliverer when we are in trouble.
• “The LORD is the strength of my life” – God provides supernatural strength that we cannot generate on our own.

David declare that his strength was not received from God. His strength was God.

The Secret Place is Where God Prepares you and strengthens you.

#1: The Secret Place Prepares You For Battle

The Secret Place is our training ground for the battlefield.

Before standing in front of Goliath, David had already spent countless days, hours, alone with God in the secret place.

David’s strength was developed privately in the secret.

David’s Resume:

“Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” (1 Samuel 17:34-36 NKJ)

• Unqualified to face a giant…but God

Moreover David said, “THE LORD, WHO DELIVERED ME FROM THE PAW OF THE LION AND FROM THE PAW OF THE BEAR, HE WILL DELIVER ME FROM THE HAND OF THIS PHILISTINE.” (1 Samuel 17:37 NKJ)

• David’s confidence was not in himself, but in His God.
• A trust that he developed during his time alone with God.
• For David, his confidence in God was his weapon.
• King Saul tried to equip David with an untested weapon

So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk…And David said to Saul, “I CANNOT WALK WITH THESE, FOR I HAVE NOT TESTED THEM.” So David took them off. (1 Samuel 17:38-39 NKJ)

We cannot go to a battle with weapons that we have not tested in the secret place.

Prayer and worship do not change the assignment. Prayer and worship change the person carrying the assignment.

#2: The Secret Place Renews Your Spirit

We are spiritual beings. We live in a physical body.

• Our bodies need rest. Our minds need renewal. And our spirits need to be renewed by God.
• Only God’s presence can restore what is depleted in our spirit.
• The secret place is where the weary spirit comes back to life.

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:31 NKJ)

• “Waiting” is intentionally positioning ourselves before God and trusting Him

The Secret Place requires us to stop long enough to say: “God I need you”

They shall renew their strength.

Invitation from Jesus:

“COME TO ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)

The Secret Place is where we exchange our exhaustion for His strength. Stress for peace. Confusion for clarity.

#3: The Secret Place Becomes Your Place of Refuge

Everyone needs a place to run to when life becomes overwhelming.

He who DWELLS in the secret place of the Most High Shall ABIDE under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “HE IS MY REFUGE AND MY FORTRESS; My God, IN HIM I WILL TRUST.” (Psalm 91:1-2 NKJ)

The Psalm begins with where we dwell and then moves to what we declare.

• Dwells: staying, remaining, or making your home.
• Abide: becoming one, joint together.

You are so close to God that His shadow covers you.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

David is saying God is my refuge

CONCLUSION:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?