The Virgin Birth

Matthew 1:18-25

 

Last week we began our study of Matthew’s gospel

And we did so by studying “The Genealogy of Jesus”

 

And as we said, because of the truth that Matthew sought to prove,

That was the only possible way that Matthew could begin his gospel.

 

Matthew is writing to reveal that Jesus is the king; the Messiah.

And therefore it would have been pointless for him to make such a claim

If he could not give genealogical proof to support it.

 

So Matthew opened his gospel account

By proving to you that Jesus has the right to the throne.

 

But Matthew isn’t finished with his apologetics just yet.

 

For those of you who like the field of apologetics,

Matthew’s gospel is right up your alley.

 

Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position

Through the systematic use of reason.

 

And that is what Matthew does.

 

He does far more than just proclaim the truths of Jesus,

Matthew also sets out to prove them true.

 

If you have ever sat down and simply read through Matthew’s gospel

Then hopefully you noticed that Matthew was especially enamored

With the manner in which Jesus fulfilled prophecy.

 

Throughout Matthew’s gospel, Matthew cites at least 28 references

To how Jesus’ life and ministry was the fulfillment of prophecy.

 

Matthew actually begins his gospel account with 7 fulfilled prophecies.

 

(1:22-23) “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

 

(2:4-6) “Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, ” In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'”

 

(2:14-15) “So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”

(2:16-18) “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”

 

(2:23) “and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

 

In chapter 3:3 you get the prophecy of the forerunner – John the Baptist

In chapter 4:15-16 you get the prophecy of Jesus’ ministry

 

In fact Matthew is the only one that records the statement of Jesus:

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

 

And so it becomes blatantly obvious to us that

Matthew is setting out to defend the faith.

 

THIS MORNING HE FOCUSES ON THE VIRGIN BIRTH.

To prove He is king – prove His earthly lineage.

To prove He is God – prove His divine lineage.

 

Of all the major defining events of Jesus’ life

I don’t suppose any have been more perverted than this one.

 

Certainly there are those who attack His crucifixion, His burial,

His resurrection, or even His ascension, but it seems that

Not even those events get perverted like His virgin birth.

 

On one hand you have the skeptics who attack it.

Those who either claim that it is non-essential, or that it didn’t occur.

 

Both are absolutely wrong.

The virgin birth did occur (as Matthew will prove in a moment)

And it is essential.

 

1) The Virgin Birth proves the deity of Jesus

 

2) The Virgin Birth is essential to His saving ministry.

 

Allows Him to save since He is not the seed of Adam.

Romans 5:12-14 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

 

If Christ were born of a man, He also would be of Adam,

And would therefore be disqualified as the Savior of the world.

ON THE OTHER HAND, Heretics who Pervert it.

 

When you hear the term “Immaculate Conception”

You think about the birth of Jesus, but that is not what many mean.

 

The entire Catholic religion sees it not as the conception of Jesus,

But as the conception of Mary.

 

In 1854, Pope Pius IX issued his Ineffabilis Deus which states that Mary, not just Jesus, was conceived without any sin in absolute perfection.

 

“We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.” (http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm)

 

Another perversion is Mary’s supposed state of perpetual virginity.

 

It was Pope Martin 1 who said, “Mary gave birth in miraculous fashion without any opening of her womb and injury to her body and without pain.”

(http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-315_Exposing-the-Idolatry-of-Mary-Worship-Catholic-Dogma-Part-1?q=heresy+of+mary+worship)

 

This is not only a doctrine denied and opposed,

But also a doctrine that has been extremely perverted.

 

The reason for both of these is of course Satan,

His aim is to keep you from believing that Jesus is the divine Son of God Or to shift your focus from Jesus to some other man-made doctrine.

 

So this morning we are here to not only affirm the virgin birth,

But also to listen to Matthew defend it.

 

So, just as last week we saw the human lineage of Jesus,

This morning we see the divine lineage of Jesus.

 

(18) “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows”

 

“birth” translates GENESIS which is the same Greek word

That we read in (1:1) which was translated “genealogy”.

 

So this again is the genealogy of Jesus,

Only it is now His divine genealogy, not His earthly one.

 

And as we study this passage, let me break this event down into 6 points.

#1 THE PROBLEM

Matthew 1:18

 

Any man who has ever been engaged understands Joseph’s problem.

“when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.”

 

Now of course Luke gives us a little more insight to the entire story.

 

Luke 1:26-38 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

 

And so obviously Mary was just as perplexed as the rest of us.

“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

 

Now certainly there would have been issues for Mary to deal with

But imagine what Joseph must have had to deal with.

 

All of a sudden your fiancé shows up pregnant

And you know the child isn’t yours.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

 

Well, under Jewish Law it was clear.

Deuteronomy 22:23-24 “If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.”

 

And that was what Joseph was now up against.

 

Next we learn what Joseph planned to do about it.

#2 THE PLAN

Matthew 1:19

 

This is actually great proof by Matthew

That Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus.

 

HOW DO WE KNOW?

Because he “planned to send her away secretly.”

 

Scripture says that he was “a righteous man”

 

This means that he was not going to marry an adulterous woman.

 

But we also learn that he was a compassionate man because he did want “to disgrace her”

 

Those who want to disprove the virgin birth

Would have first set out to prove that Joseph was the father,

But her Matthew proves otherwise.

 

And by the way, it was public knowledge

That Joseph was not the father of Jesus.

 

In fact, years later when Jesus in the middle of one of His famous bouts with the Pharisees they actually bring this fact up as a way to shame Him.

 

John 8:41 “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”

 

They were accusing Him to be the product of an act of fornication.

 

So even they knew that Joseph was not Jesus’ father.

 

And because Joseph knew it, he planned to send Mary away.

 

The Problem, The Plan

#3 THE PROOF

Matthew 1:20-21

 

Here we see that Joseph is already considering sending Mary away

Until God intervenes.

 

An angel of the Lord came to him and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

 

God proves what (no doubt) Mary had told Him.

That, although it is difficult to believe, Mary has not been unfaithful.

Mary has become pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

 

Now it no longer comes from the lips of Mary,

It has come from the messenger of God.

 

And furthermore God reveals to Joseph why this is happening.

 

#4 THE PURPOSE

Matthew 1:21

 

The purpose for all this is clear,

It is because this is how God will bring the Savior into the world.

 

Because Joseph was of Adam,

Joseph could not conceive the Savior, only God could,

And that is the explanation for this event.

 

“and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

 

I don’t want to chase any rabbits here, but as I studied this passage

This time, this was really the point that hit me in the face.

 

This statement is simple and straightforward,

But it has been so overwhelmingly perverted and disregarded.

 

The first disregarded statement is at the beginning.

“He will save”

 

In our day of pluralism, people no longer view Jesus as the Savior.

In fact the word “Savior” has become extremely outdated to our society.

 

Anyone can be a Savior, that is if you even think you need one.

Some don’t even see the need for a Savior at all.

 

But God did, and that is the purpose for the virgin birth.

He sent His Son to be that Savior.

 

And “He will save”

 

But that is not all that has been missed.

“He will save His people”

 

We also live in a world of growing universalism,

In which everyone is being saved.

 

And sadly many even believe that Jesus will do the saving.

 

Brian McClaren (Father of the emergent church movement) blatantly says that he thinks Jesus will someday save all religions.

 

“Although I don’t hope all Buddhists will become (cultural) Christians, I do hope all who feel so called will become Buddhist followers of Jesus; I believe they should be given that opportunity and invitation. I don’t hope all Jews or Hindus will become members of the Christian religion. But I do hope all who feel so called will become Jewish or Hindu followers of Jesus. Ultimately, I hope that Jesus will save Buddhism, Islam and every other religion, including the Christian religion, which often seems to need saving about as much as any other religion does.”

(Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), pg. 264)

 

That is universalism.

 

And it even creeps into Baptist life.

 

Let me give you a statement.

“Jesus died for the sins of every human being”

 

You probably believe that, because it has been fed to us for so many years, but in reality it is an early form of universalism.

 

If Jesus paid for the sins of everyone

Then everyone would be in heaven.

 

Let me say it backwards.

Jesus fully paid the sin debt of everyone in hell.

Jesus appeased the wrath of God on everyone in hell.

 

If that is so, then what exactly did He do on the cross?

 

Many would say, “He did pay for their sin, but they have to accept it.”

 

Sort of like the atonement is like one of those gift cards

You buy at LOWE’S that first has to be activated.

 

That is to say that what Jesus did on the cross

Was potential, but not actual.

“He potentially saved everyone, but He actually saved no one”

 

So on the cross Jesus should have said,

“It is started” or “It is possible”, not “It is finished”.

 

No, the reality is that Jesus paid for the sins of “His People”

He died for the elect.

 

And on the cross He ACTUALLY paid that debt,

And ACTUALLY appeased the wrath of God.

 

Isaiah 53:11-12 “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

 

There is no universalism in the atonement of Christ.

“He will save His people” (not all people)

 

That means you must be His, if you are going to be saved by Him.

 

But that is still not the only perversion.

“He will save His people from their sins”

 

Some think it reads.

“He will save His people from hell.”

 

As though hell where the problem of mankind.

Hell wasn’t even created for man.

Hell was created for the devil and his angels.

 

Hell is not what is killing man, sin is what is killing man.

And the purpose of the atonement is to save people from sin.

He came to make wicked people into holy people.

He came to make sinful people into sanctified people.

 

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

 

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

 

Jesus came to save people from sin.

 

But eventually that thought got corrupted.

And people no longer focused on holy living, simply on not going to hell.

 

And it produced a generation of church goers

Who no longer cared about the lingering sin in their lives,

It was enough to them that would not go to hell when they died.

 

Others still read even differently from that.

(Because society didn’t want to focus on hell either.)

 

“He came to save His people from suffering”

 

This arose out of a generation that sought prosperity,

And thought that Christians are entitled to health, wealth, and happiness.

 

And no longer was forgiveness the most sought after gift,

Now they sought “Abundant life”.

 

But listen, the statement is clear.

Jesus came to save “His people from their sin.”

 

He came to make a holy church, a spotless bride, a perfect people.

And so it is accurate to say that if you are still living in sin

Then you have not been saved,

Because it was sin that Christ came to save His people from.

 

The pregnancy of Mary was of God and it had a divine purpose.

 

Furthermore this was prophesied.

#5 THE PROPHECY

Matthew 1:22-23

 

Matthew is giving you yet another proof.

 

In case you find the virgin birth a little strange,

Matthew reveals that this had been God’s plan from the beginning.

 

God had said that a virgin would give birth

And that the baby would be God in the flesh.

 

John 1:14-18 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘ He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

 

It would be the miracle of the incarnation.

God would become man.

 

And to further prove it to you,

God prophesied over 700 years before it happened.

 

There is one more piece of evidence.

#6 THE PERFORMANCE

Matthew 1:24-25

 

In other words, “Joseph’s decision”

 

What we learn there is that Joseph went ahead and married Mary anyway.

 

Now, if he wasn’t the father (as we already proved)

THEN WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?

 

Unless it was clear to him that no other man was the father either?

 

You see the fact that Joseph was going to send Mary away

Proves he was not the father, but the fact that

He ended up marrying her proves that no one else was either.

 

The only explanation is that the prophecy of Isaiah

Had finally come to pass.

The virgin had conceived.

 

And to further drive a nail in the point

We see the name that Joseph gave the baby.

 

“and he called His name Jesus.”

 

By obeying to name the child Jesus,

Joseph was revealing what he believed to be true.

 

And that is that this child really was conceived by God,

And He really is the savior God has promised.

 

Joseph’s performance is the final piece of proof Matthew puts forward.

 

• We know Joseph wasn’t the father because he was going to send Marry away.

• We know no one else was either because Joseph ended up marrying her.

• That taken with the prophecy of God about the virgin birth solidifies the truth.

 

JESUS WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN

Jesus really is the Son of God.

 

Matthew gave the first lineage to prove He was descendant of David;

Heir to the throne.

 

Matthew gives this second lineage to prove He is the Son of God;

The One who will “Save His people from their sins.”

 

NOT ONLY IS JESUS THE RIGHT KING

HE IS THE KING WHO CAME TO SAVE YOU FROM SIN.

 

Sin is the enemy.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”

 

But Jesus came to save you from sin.

He came to give you the ability to turn from sin.

He came to give you the ability to be righteous before God.

 

Can you honestly say that Jesus has saved you from sin?

 

Jesus is God made flesh

And He came to save His people from their sins,

This morning submit to the King and be saved from yours.

 

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

The Right King at The Right Time

Matthew 1:1-17

 

This morning we embark upon a new study of the word of God.

We begin our study of Matthew’s gospel.

 

As with all the gospel writers, Matthew writes with a distinct purpose.

 

Matthew’s purpose is to reveal that Jesus is King

And that you must submit to Him.

 

Matthew is consumed with the King and His Kingdom.

32 times Matthew uses a phrase “The Kingdom of Heaven”

 

HE TELLS US WHAT THE KINGDOM REQUIRES

Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

HE TELLS US WHO THIS KINGDOM BELONGS TO

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

HE TELLS US WHO WILL NOT ENTER THIS KINGDOM

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 18:3 “and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 19:23 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

HE TELLS US WHO IS THE GREATEST IN THIS KINDGOM

Matthew 5:19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

 

AND HE LISTS MANY PARABLES BY WHICH TO EXPLAIN IT

Matthew 13:31 “He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;”

 

Matthew 13:33 “He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

 

Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

 

Matthew 13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,”

Matthew 13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;”

 

It is easy to see that Matthew is consumed with the kingdom of heaven

And the King who will rule it.

 

• He wants you to know that Jesus is the King.

• He wants you to know that Jesus is the Messiah.

• He wants you to know how you should respond to this King.

 

And this morning we begin our study of this great book.

 

This book begins the only way it possibly could; with a lineage.

 

There are two main points which we will develop out a little further.

#1 JESUS IS THE RIGHT KING

Matthew 1:1-17

 

No doubt having just completed our study of the book of kings

You should have a much better understanding as to who this list is all about.

 

This is the royal line.

If a man was to claim a right to the throne of Israel,

He must prove that he is of this line.

 

That is precisely what Matthew sets out to prove.

 

But he does much more than that.

HE SHOWS US WHY JESUS IS THE RIGHT KING

 

1) HIS PEDIGREE

 

And this is the obvious one.

 

(1) “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:”

 

Although the next 15 verses set out to prove this point,

Matthew really states the heart of the matter right there.

 

If you were going to try and prove that you had found the Messiah,

You had better be able to prove his lineage all the way back to two people.

 

One was “Abraham” the other is “David”.

 

Pedigree was everything to the Jews.

We remember Paul before salvation boasting about being “of the tribe of Benjamin”

We remember the Pharisees boasting “We are of Moses”

 

The Jews loved their lineage.

In fact, you may remember when the children of Israel returned from Babylon, there was a certain division of priests who had lost their papers declaring their pedigree.

 

Ezra 2:59-62 “Now these are those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan and Immer, but they were not able to give evidence of their fathers’ households and their descendants, whether they were of Israel: the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 652. Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name. These searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood.”

 

If you could not prove your lineage, you could not serve.

How much more important when dealing with the Messiah.

 

Obviously in order to prove that you have found “The King of the Jews”,

You must first prove that you are dealing with a Jew.

The right King must be a child of Abraham.

 

Genesis 22:18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

 

It would be through the “seed” of Abraham

That the entire world would be blessed.

 

Paul even stated this fact specifically in his letter to the Galatians.

 

Galatians 3:16 “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.”

 

Paul clarifies the statement of God to Abraham

By revealing when God made the promise concerning Abraham’s seed,

He was talking about the Messiah.

 

It was understood that the Messiah was a Jew.

 

But the Messiah must have a more specific lineage than that.

He can not only be a child of Abraham,

But more specifically he must be a child of David.

 

2 Samuel 7:12-16 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”‘”

 

God made a binding promise to David,

And that is that the kingdom would never depart from his line.

It is not an uncommon thing to see a kingdom change family lines.

Look at the throne of England.

 

For a while it was occupied by the Tudors, then the Stewarts, then the Hanobers, and now presently by the Windsor’s.

 

And so Jesus didn’t have to be of David to be King,

He had to be of David in order to fulfill prophecy.

 

Jesus might indeed seize the throne,

But if He was not descended of David then He is not God’s Messiah,

For God promised the kingdom would never depart from David.

 

And every Jew knew this.

Even while debating with the Pharisees Jesus asked:

 

Matthew 22:42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”

 

To say that Jesus is the Messiah if He doesn’t descend from David IS A WASTE OF TIME.

 

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

 

And so Matthew reveals the pedigree of Jesus.

 

But this is not the only thing that makes Him “The Right King”

 

2) HIS PERFECTION

 

Now obviously when we talk about the perfection of Jesus,

You most likely begin to think about His sinless life.

 

But I am not talking about His character here.

 

Rather here I mean that He was the perfect candidate.

In fact, He was the only candidate.

 

WHY?

 

While every Jew was looking for the Messiah from David’s line,

Some must have realized that the Kingly lineage

Had a prophetic flaw.

 

It was seemingly impossible for anyone to fulfill all the prophecies concerning the kingly lineage.

 

(11) “Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.”

 

Surely you remember Jeconiah.

The writer of Kings called him Jehoiachin.

 

We called him “The Despised King”

Jeremiah 22:24-30 “As I live,” declares the LORD, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. “I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. “But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it. “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known? “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the LORD! “Thus says the LORD, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.'”

 

Just as God promised that David’s kingdom would not end,

God promised the absolute end of Jehoiachin’s.

 

That is a poison pill right here in the middle of the prophecy.

HOW CAN HE BE DAVID’S SON AND NOT JECONIAH’S?

 

THIS IS WHAT MAKES JESUS ABSOLUTELY EXCLUSIVE.

 

(16) “Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”

 

It is very interesting that after using the same phrase over and over, Matthew omits it when he finally gets to Jesus.

“the father of…”

 

Matthew did not call Joseph the father of Jesus.

He merely said that Joseph was married to His mother.

 

The point here is that Jesus was not the blood relative of Jeconiah,

And so He dodged that poison pill prophecy in Jeremiah.

 

Jesus still got His political right to the throne through Joseph,

But was not Joseph’s blood descendant.

 

NOW AT THIS POINT, THE OTHER SIDE WOULD CRY FOUL.

“Wait a minute, if he is not Joseph’s blood son,

Then he isn’t the blood son of David and He cannot be king.”

TURN TO: LUKE 3:23-38

 

If you were to hold those lineage’s side by side

You would notice some distinct differences.

 

1) They are in reverse order

2) Luke goes all the way back to Adam

3) They are not the same people

 

When studying you learn that Matthew 1 contains Joseph’s lineage,

But Luke 3 contains Mary’s lineage.

 

This is Mary’s lineage.

This is the blood line of Jesus.

 

(31) “the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David”

 

This is Nathan’s line

Matthew gives Solomon’s line

 

Jesus got a blood right to the throne through His mother Mary

And the political right to the throne through His father Joseph.

 

But it was done in such a way so

As to avoid the negative prophecy concerning Jeconiah.

 

The point is that the Messiah could not have been just anyone.

 

Not to mention:

• Malachi said He had to be born in Bethlehem.

• Isaiah said He had to be born of a virgin.

• Daniel said He had to die 483 years after the command to rebuild the temple.

 

Jesus was the perfect candidate.

 

He was the right King because of His pedigree, because of His perfection

3) HIS PITY

 

Israel didn’t need another tyrant on the throne,

They had plenty of those in the past.

 

Israel didn’t need another self-centered, self-serving ruler,

They had plenty of those as well.

 

Israel needed a true shepherd as their leader.

 

THAT IS WHAT GOD HAD PROMISED.

 

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 34

 

God had scorn for the bad shepherds.

(READ 2-4)

 

God had scorn for the brutal sheep.

(READ 20-22)

 

GOD PROMISED DELIVERANCE THROUGH A GOOD SHEPHERD / PRINCE

(READ 23-24)

 

God promised a merciful and compassionate shepherd

Who would tend the flock of God and not devour them.

 

You say, “Yes that is true, but where do you see that in the lineage of Christ?”

 

You don’t see it spelled out in His character,

But you do see it in who He chose to allow in His lineage.

 

Now let me ask you this:

 

• If there was a case of incest in your family history would you tell anyone?

• If there was an adulterous affair would you include that in your registry?

• If someone in your past married an unclean foreigner would you tell others?

• How about if one of your relatives was a prostitute, would you announce it?

Jesus did.

 

In fact He magnified it.

Aside from Mary, only 4 women are named in this lineage.

 

He only named the ones

That could have potentially been embarrassing to Him.

 

(3) “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar”

 

Genesis 38:6 “Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.”

 

You may remember that God killed Er and Er’s brother (Onan) refused to raise up children for his brother and so God killed him too.

 

Tamar then became a prostitute and one day her father-in-law Judah

Went in to her and that is how Perez was conceived.

 

Incest in the Messianic line.

(5) “Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab”

 

She is the prostitute of Jericho who hid the spies and saved her own life.

This prostitute was proselytized and ended up marrying David’s great-grandfather.

 

Prostitution in the Messianic line.

 

(5) “Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth”

 

Of course Ruth is not remembered as a harlot of sorts, but she was a Moabite.

She was unclean, and off limits to a Jew.

 

(6) “Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.”

 

A case of adultery right there in the Messianic line.

 

Those are things that we would try to cover up.

Yet they are the things that God chose to purposely bring to light.

 

WHY?

He was revealing that Jesus was not an aristocrat

Who would look down His nose at mankind.

 

Jesus would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Jesus would be a man tempted in all things as we are.

Jesus would be a man of compassion and sympathy.

 

He would be unlike any king Israel had ever had.

Jesus would be sympathetic.

 

And how many times do we read the words “moved with compassion”

In regard to the ministry of Jesus.

 

He was the right king.

Because of His Pedigree, His Perfection, His Pity.

 

#2 JESUS CAME AT THE RIGHT TIME

Matthew 1:17

 

Romans 5:6 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

 

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

 

What Paul revealed is that Jesus came at precisely the right time.

It was not an accident.

“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.”

 

Matthew breaks the past down into three time periods.

 

1) THE PATRIARCHS

This was Abraham to David.

 

It was the time of the patriarchs, a time when God was revealing Himself and making promises to His people.

 

It encompassed the deliverance of the Exodus and the giving of the Law.

It was the time when God chose His people

And then called them to love Him in return.

 

2) THE MONARCHY

This was David to Jeconiah.

 

And if the time of the patriarchs was the time of God’s invitation,

The time of the monarchy signified Israel’s response to that invitation.

 

And they answered with a resounding “NO”.

 

It was a time of extreme spiritual decline.

It was a rapid descent filled with idolatry and disobedience.

 

3) THE DARK AGES

This was Jeconiah to the present period.

 

Israel rebelled against God and spend 70 years in Babylon as punishment,

But even upon returning, they never again had one key ingredient:

The Presence of God.

 

(Remember Ezekiel actually saw God depart from the temple)

 

Beyond that, after Malachi’s prophecy

That even signified the end of the prophets.

 

There had been 450 years of silence since God had last spoken.

A silence broken by “the voice in the wilderness” (John the Baptist)

 

It was the dark ages for Israel.

 

And what Matthew reveals is that Israel had no place else to go.

The only thing that would save her and turn her around

Was the coming of the king.

 

This was the right time for the king to come, for Israel was out of options.

Israel needed a Savior.

Jesus was the right king at the right time.

 

And Matthew begins His gospel with that precious truth.

 

And let me just say to you this morning,

That that is precisely who Jesus is to you as well.

 

HE IS THE RIGHT KING AND IT IS THE RIGHT TIME.

 

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

 

He is the right King (in fact the only king)

 

2 Corinthians 6:2 “for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,

AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”

 

It is the right time.

 

Matthew’s point is the same to all who read his gospel account.

Submitting your life to Jesus is not an option.

God had made Him both Lord and Christ.

Submitting your life to Him is a requirement.

 

And to all who reject this king,

They are guilty of high treason before Holy God

And will indeed pay the punishment for their crime.

 

Jesus is the king and you must submit your life to Him.

 

Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

Like a Lost Sheep

Psalms 119:169-176

January 29, 2012

 

Well tonight we bring this magnificent Psalm to a close.

I pray it has strengthened your convictions

About the importance and power of God’s Word.

 

At the very least we have seen one life

That was radically transformed because of it.

 

This young man went from suffering in disobedience

To standing in strong conviction.

And the entire change is credited to God working through His word.

 

Never underestimate that it is through His word that God works.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

 

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

 

God’s Word is valuable.

 

Psalms 19:7-13 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”

 

And so we are grateful to have studied a life

That shows just how God’s word can work in a person’s heart.

 

• We have seen him seeking,

• We have seen him submitting,

• We have seen him standing.

 

• We have seen him in affliction and oppression,

• At the pit of despair and literally busting at the seams with joy.

 

And through all those ups and downs of life the one constant

Has been that God’s word held the answers for him.

 

Well tonight we close this Psalm.

And I honestly have to say,

We close it in a way that I don’t think any of us would expect.

 

After all the victories and all the endurance,

We would expect this last stanza to be one of great praise and reflection.

 

We would expect a review of all his deliverances

And a promise to continue as he has gone.

 

But that is not at all what we get.

 

The context to this final stanza is actually a bit shocking.

(176) “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.”

 

I think it is probably safe to say that

None of us saw that one coming.

 

Our Psalmist has stumbled.

In his own words he has “gone astray”

And to compare himself to, he picks “a lost sheep”

 

That of course does NOT mean he has lost his salvation and is now lost,

He uses the word “like”.

 

He simply feels cut off and disconnected, he almost feels like he did back in the first stanza when his relationship with God was non-existent.

 

And he realizes that the reason he feels that way

Is because he himself has “gone astray”

 

God didn’t leave him, somehow he wandered away from God’s fold.

 

Now, don’t confuse this with apostasy.

This man has not turned his back on God, nor forsaken his covenant with God.

 

All you have to do is read the stanza and you will see that

He still loves and chooses God’s word over everything else.

 

(169) “Give me understanding according to Your word.”

(172) “For all Your commandments are righteous”

(172) “For I have chosen Your precepts.”

(174) “And Your law is my delight.”

(176) “For I do not forget Your commandments.”

 

Those are not the convictions of a lost man, or an apostate.

 

What we are dealing with here is a man who loves God and who loves God’s word, but he still stumbled.

And that is possible.

 

• Are we not familiar with John the Baptist having a difficult moment while imprisoned, sending his disciples to question Jesus?

 

• Are we not familiar with Peter denying our Lord three times?

 

• Are we not familiar with the remainder of the disciples fleeing in fear?

 

And of course we remember what Paul wrote:

Romans 7:13-21 “Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”

 

The point is even the strongest of believers

Stumble and fall into disobedience.

 

Even the strongest of believers

With the strongest of convictions about God’s word have hiccups in life.

 

Now, the mark of a true believer is not that they never sin,

But that they hate it when they do.

 

• It is not that they never have hiccups in their relationship with God, but that they want them resolved as soon as possible.

 

• It is not that they never stray like a lost sheep, but that they desire to be found as quick as they can.

 

And that is where we find our Psalmist tonight.

 

And this really does give a sense of comfort to us.

 

Not that we delight in disobedience, or in the disobedience of another,

But since we do fall it is encouraging to us to see how one gets back up.

 

Tonight we see the Psalmist as a man whose relationship is suffering,

And how he cries out to God to have that relationship restored.

 

I think we can all agree that this is valuable information.

 

 

 

One thing I think is very important to point out at the first,

Is that this is not a “self-help” Psalm.

 

This is not a stanza on how a lost sheep wonders back into the fold.

It is very clear what the Psalmist wants.

 

(176) “…seek Your servant,”

 

This is again one of our great lessons on sovereignty,

And that is that the sheep is dependent upon the shepherd.

 

The Psalmist feels helpless and hopeless.

If he knew where to go to find God, he would go there, but he is lost.

 

He is totally dependent upon the shepherd finding him.

 

• Thank God that we have such a shepherd in Jesus.

• He has always been the One to search for the lost sheep.

• He has always been the One to keep the fold together.

And the Psalmist is banking on that here.

 

So let’s look at this final stanza tonight.

 

There are actually 3 things I want you to see in our Psalm tonight.

As our Psalmist seeks to be found.

 

#1 A DESPERATE CRY

Psalms 119:169-170

 

These two verses very much sound like the bleating of a lost sheep.

 

When a sheep gets lost from the fold,

The only options it has is to either cry out or lay down and die.

 

I’ve told you before a sheep really doesn’t have any natural defense mechanism,

It is totally dependent upon the shepherd.

 

So when a sheep gets separated, or in danger,

The main objective of that sheep is to make its voice heard

In hopes that the shepherd is actually out seeking for the sheep.

 

And so the Psalmist is crying.

(169) “Let my cry come before You, O Lord;”

(170) “Let my supplication come before You;”

 

He is a sheep in the wilderness crying “help me!”

And his only hope is that God will hear his cry and come rescue.

 

However, we are not dealing with a sheep, we are dealing with a man,

And he is not physically lost, he is spiritually lost.

And so, it is not as though he just needs God to come show him the road.

 

He actually spells out what being found would look like to him.

(169) “Give me understanding according to Your word.”

(170) “Deliver me according to Your word.”

 

When he says he is “like a lost sheep”

He means he has no clue where to go next.

 

He doesn’t know what to do.

He is a prisoner of ignorance.

 

And so he is crying out to God for guidance,

Hoping God will hear and grant him some information.

 

Certainly we understand that when we stumble away from God

It hinders our ability to understand the truth.

 

The only reason we are ever able to understand truth is because of God’s Spirit,

And when we walk away from fellowship with Him,

It only stands to reason that we will lose our ability to understand.

 

That is where our Psalmist is.

Lost and seeking for God to hear and guide Him.

 

When you find yourself lost in the sense of not understanding what to do,

Then cry out to God, and cry desperately.

 

(We definitely learned the importance of that from women like the Canaanite woman, or the widow seeking help)

 

A Desperate Cry

#2 A DISTINCT CRY

Psalms 119:171-172

 

I find these two verses pretty interesting.

 

We already know our Psalmist feels like a lost sheep,

And we know he is desperate for God to answer.

 

And so it sort of seems strange to go from such desperate measures

To instantly go to talking about praising.

 

WHAT IS THIS?

It is the language he is speaking to get God’s attention.

 

Remember what Jesus said?

John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,”

 

John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;”

Jesus spoke of a unique intimacy that exists between Him and His flock.

They know His voice, He knows theirs.

They know Him, He knows them.

 

And so this makes perfect sense.

 

If you were a lost sheep, intent upon crying out

Wouldn’t you do everything you could

To sound as much like His sheep as possible?

 

You wouldn’t growl like a wolf,

You wouldn’t bark like a dog,

You wouldn’t bellow like a donkey.

 

You would kick your head back

And sound as much like a sheep as possible.

Well, that is what the Psalmist is doing.

 

As he cries for help, he is making sure

To sound as much like one of God’s children as possible.

 

And God’s children are characterized by a voice of praise.

So he says, “Let my lips utter praise,”

And “Let my tongue sing of Your word,”

 

He determines to sing.

 

Let me show you something about singing:

Ephesians 5:15-21 “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”

 

Paul said to “be filled with the Spirit”

And then he explained what a spirit filled person sounds like.

 

“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;”

 

Folks, songs of praise are the natural language

Of a spiritually filled child of God.

He literally puts a song in your soul.

 

If singing doesn’t mark your life

Then the Spirit doesn’t have much foothold.

 

Remember Paul and Silas?

In Acts 16, they cast a demon out of a girl, this got them arrested, flogged, chained, and imprisoned in the inner cell under Roman guard.

 

Acts 16:25 “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;”

 

It is the language of praise and gratitude.

 

Beyond that, take the most personal book of Scripture.

Psalms is literally one testimony after the other,

And don’t we find it strange that it is called “Psalms”.

 

The fact is God’s people sing to God and to each other.

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

 

Obviously praise is the language of God’s people.

And so it only stands to reason that it is the language of our Psalmist

As he seeks to be found by his shepherd.

 

There is an obvious application for us here.

 

I heard a story once about a woman was arrested at a stop light.

“There was a woman driving his car when he saw the light turn yellow, not wanting to risk danger she decided to go ahead and begin to stop. When she did come to a stop she noticed the driver behind her pitching a fit. The driver behind was honking and cussing and even using hand gestures to let the front driver know how displeased she was about her decision not to take the light. All of a sudden a police officer from the car behind her, got out, approached the second car and proceeded to arrest the woman. Later, after the incident was over the officer came to the woman in the first car who had stopped at the light. He said, “Ma’am I’m sorry for the disturbance, it’s just that when I heard that woman behind you carrying on as she was and cussing like she did…and then when I saw the fish on the back of her car I assumed it was probably stolen.”

 

It does not good to sound like a goat

When you so desperately want to be found as a sheep.

It does little good to sit around bitter and complaining.

 

If you want to be found by God than sound like one of His.

Fill your mouth with praise and let thanksgiving come off your tongue.

 

And look at why the Psalmist praises.

(171) “For You teach me Your statutes.”

(172) “For all Your commandments are righteous.”

 

Even when circumstances are bad,

There is always a reason to praise the Lord.

 

Her the Psalmist feels like a lost sheep, and as he reminisces on the blessings of the Lord he can’t help mourn what he is missing.

This sort of sounds like the prodigal son doesn’t it?

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!”

 

Is it any wonder that the son returned to the Father

And started talking with a little more humility?

 

The Psalmist is doing the same.

For whatever reason, his relationship with God is struggling,

But instead of growing bitter and grumbling,

He decides to reminisce on the goodness of God’s word

And sing praises accordingly.

 

A Desperate Cry, A Distinct Cry

#3 A DELIBERATE CRY

Psalms 119:173-175

 

Well now we know that our Psalmist is crying desperately to be heard.

We know that his cry is the distinct cry of praise easily recognizable to God.

 

Finally here we learn that his cry is deliberate.

He wants something specific from God.

 

WHAT DOES HE WANT?

“help”

 

(173) “Let Your hand be ready to help me,”

 

He wants God to come find him and help him

Out of the wilderness he has grown trapped in.

 

(174) “I long for Your salvation, O Lord”

 

He desperately wants God to deliver him from his peril.

 

(175) “Let my soul live that it may praise You, And let Your ordinances help me.”

 

There it is again, “help me”

 

I really like the deliberate way in which he cries out here.

• He doesn’t just want God to know about his trouble.

• He doesn’t just want God to examine his trouble.

• He wants God to get him out of it, and he makes no bones about that.

 

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

 

Be specific.

 

The sheep didn’t just want to be found, the sheep wanted to be delivered.

The prodigal didn’t just want to be found, he wanted food.

 

And so, with a heart of praise and thanksgiving,

He cries out for it with all he has.

 

And he wants God’s help to come from His “ordinances”

 

He wants God to give him direction and help him know what to do.

He is lost, and he needs guidance,

And so he is begging God to show him what he needs to know.

 

And that is a good example for us.

• There are times in life when we stumble.

• There are times in life when we do the very things we hate.

• There are times when our relationship with God seems stressed because of it.

 

At those moments cry out to the Shepherd (He is looking for you)

• Cry out in Desperation – because only He can find you.

• Cry out Distinctly – praise Him as one of His sheep.

• Cry out Deliberately – tell Him you want to come back home.

 

The Psalmist did.

And we are confidently certain that God delivered,

Because that is what God does.

 

And so there you have it.

It really didn’t matter the circumstances of our Psalmist’s life.

 

Victory or Defeat.

Joy or Despair

Confidence or Uncertainty

 

The answer for the Psalmist was always found in God’s Word.

It is invaluable.

 

In short, God’s Word is your road map for living,

It will guide you in all areas of this life

So long as you seek it and seek God to understand it.

 

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

 

The Secret to Steadfastness

Psalms 119:161-168

January 22, 2012

 

Back studying this wonderful Psalm,

We are really drawing near to a conclusion.

 

And tonight I want us to notice the source of our Psalmists strength.

 

And this really fits in well after the sermon this morning,

And learning that suffering is not only inevitable, but expected.

 

If we really do sign up to follow Jesus to death,

Then certainly it is of great interest to us to learn how to be steadfast.

 

We are continually learning that from our Psalmist.

• We already know him to be a very steadfast and strong person.

• We have seen in him affliction…

• We have seen in him in oppression…

 

And he has yet to ever waiver.

Even when the enemy was literally knocking on his door,

Pressing and squeezing him, he remained steadfast.

 

And we have even envied his steadfast spirit.

 

And certainly we should, the Bible has a lot to say about being steadfast.

• The Bible has a lot to say about standing strong.

• The Bible has a lot to say about endurance.

• The Bible has a lot to say about perseverance.

 

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

 

Very clear that we are intended to stand.

 

Paul also said:

Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

 

Again, we realize that retreat was not the objective of the Christian

When he puts on his armor.

 

Jesus said:

Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

 

And obviously there we learn that perseverance is vitally important.

Namely because it is those who are truly saved who will persevere.

 

James said:

James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

And perhaps my favorites come in the letter of 2 Timothy

As Paul encourages Timothy to stay the course and be steadfast.

 

And of course, not only to be steadfast,

But to be steadfast in his proclamation of the word of God.

(which is what our Psalmist has done)

 

2 Timothy 1:8 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,”

 

2 Timothy 1:13-14 “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

 

2 Timothy 2:3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

 

2 Timothy 3:12-17 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

 

2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

 

And that is just a few examples.

 

Perseverance, endurance, steadfastness;

Those are all valuable and necessary qualities for the man of God.

 

We know that a decision to stand upon the word of God

Will only bring hardship and shame from the world.

 

And the simple truth is that if you don’t plan to be committed through difficulty, then don’t proclaim the truth.

Steadfastness is required.

 

The Psalmist certainly has it.

 

And if you will remember for a moment how this Psalm began,

It is actually quite remarkable that he does have it.

 

When you channel through this Psalm somewhat chronologically

It is amazing the strides our Psalmist has taken.

 

• You will remember back in verses 1-8 he was a man who had not been obedient to God’s Word and he recognized that it resulted in a lack of blessing.

 

• Verses 9-16 continued with him asking how to achieve purity in his life, obviously because he wanted blessing.

 

• By the time we got to verses 33-40, it almost has the feel of salvation. As the Psalmist asks God to make a change in his life.

 

• Here were some of the requests.

• “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes”

• “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law”

• “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments”

• “Incline my heart to Your testimonies”

• “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity”

• “Establish Your word to Your servant”

 

Those are all requests of a man who wants to be different,

Who wants to be obedient, who wants to be pleasing to God.

It almost resembles the cry of salvation.

 

But if you remember that Psalm ended with another type of request.

Psalms 119:39 “Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your ordinances are good.”

 

The Psalmist not only asked for a more committed heart,

But he also asked that his obedience not land him in reproach.

 

He wanted what many of us want.

“An obedient life that the world doesn’t hate”

 

Now I only remind you of that because I want you to remember

That our Psalmist didn’t like controversy any more than the next guy.

Our Psalmist was not a glutton for punishment.

 

If you look at his steadfastness and pass it off

Simply because you find him to be a tough sort of man

Who doesn’t mind such things, then you are wrong.

 

He definitely minded such things.

He prayed that God would not let reproach find him.

 

And yet it did, and regardless, he continues to endure.

 

That is called being steadfast.

He’s a man with no desire of love for oppression,

And yet he refuses to let it derail him.

 

Tonight I want to show you why he has it.

I want to show you how he maintains it.

 

I want you to see the secret to achieving it,

And how to be steadfast in your own life.

 

3 things the Psalmist did in order to be steadfast.

#1 HE CHERISHED TRUTH

Psalms 119:161-165

 

Right off the bat in our Psalm we recognize

What has become a rather reoccurring theme.

 

“Princes persecute me without cause,”

 

There have been very few stanzas in this Psalm

Where the Psalmist did not mention the presence of some type of hardship.

 

But even at that, we have to admit that this hardship is extremely difficult.

• We see the SOURCE “Princes”

• We see the DEGREE “persecute”

• We see the CAUSE “without cause”

 

I suppose the opposite statement would sound like this:

“Meaningless people don’t like me because I did something wrong”

 

But it is no insignificant man who is persecuting him.

THIS IS THE PRINCE, and he has the ability to inflict harm.

 

And the harm is SEVERE, for the Psalmist uses the word “persecute”

 

And to add to the sting, it is done PURELY OUT OF HATRED,

For the Psalmist has done nothing to deserve it.

 

We could easily have heard these very words come off the lips of our Lord

After being condemned by Pilate.

 

This is no small dilemma, this is a major problem.

• It is an attack meant to shake the Psalmist to his core.

• It is an attack meant to turn the Psalmist toward a different direction.

• It is meant to wreck his faith.

• It is meant to stop his witness.

 

This is major pressure.

And yet, there he is once again standing strong.

 

“But my heart stands in awe of Your words.”

 

It just really doesn’t seem to matter how stiff the adversity is in his life,

His love of the word of God is too great to rattle him.

 

He “stands in awe” of the word of God.

 

Now there is a phrase.

• How many times have you stood in awe in your life?

• How many times have you been focused on something so grand that everything else just seemed to fade into oblivion?

 

The word used here literally means “to be in dread or in awe”

 

Job actually used it of God.

Job 23:15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him.”

 

And while it does mean “dread” it is NOT here necessarily a negative thing.

He just understands the magnitude of what he is reading.

It is reverential awe.

 

He doesn’t fear the persecution of man because he is in awe of God’s word.

 

I suppose the New Testament equivalent would be:

Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

 

The Psalmist just has a proper discernment and understanding.

He sees God in His rightful place and knows it is far better

To break the words of man than to break the words of God.

 

He is “in awe” of God’s word.

 

AND THEN HE SAYS WHY.

Four reasons.

1) THE VALUE OF GOD’S WORD (162)

 

Here he paints a great word picture.

 

Let me call your mind to an Old Testament story

Turn to: 2 Kings 7:8-16

 

You may remember from our study of Kings,

• When Jehoram was king of Israel, they were heavily oppressed by Aram, so

much so that two women actually got in a fight over eating their own sons.

 

• Scripture actually said that “a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of

silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.”

 

• It was then that Elisha promised God would deliver with a great deliverance.

 

• In the meantime God routed the Arameans and there were some lepers who

had decided to go to the Arameans camp (not knowing they had been

routed) and beg for food.

 

• When they got there they found the place deserted and full of spoil.

(READ IT)

 

Now here is my question.

After starving for a time, what do you think the mood of the people was?

DID THEY REJOICE?

 

You know they did.

 

Now listen to what the Psalmist said:

“I rejoice at Your word, As one who finds great spoil.”

 

The Psalmist is saying, “I rejoiced like those lepers”

He has learned God’s Word has great value.

• More value than bread.

• More value than clothes.

• More value than a donkey’s head or dove’s dung (obviously)

 

He stands in awe of God’s word because of its tremendous value.

It is worth more than great spoil.

 

2) THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD (163)

 

Again this is a familiar statement.

“I hate and despise falsehood”

 

That no longer shocks us.

This is coming from the man who loathes the wicked.

 

Certainly we are familiar with his hatred for “falsehood”

 

And very simply put, if it isn’t true he not only disregards it, he hates it.

This man is a stickler for accuracy.

 

So when he endorses the word of God, we know it must be true,

For if it wasn’t, this man would hate it.

 

“I hate and despise falsehood, but I love Your law.”

 

That indicates it is true.

 

He stands in awe of it because it is valuable, it is true

3) THE PERFECTION OF GOD’S WORD (164)

 

“Seven times a day I praise You,”

 

I wonder how many can say today

That they read God’s Word seven times in one day.

 

Spurgeon asked, “Do we praise seven times a day, do we praise once in seven days?”

 

The indication here is one of frequency.

You could ask a man who never reads God’s word if it is perfect

And he can say, “Yes it is.”

But if he never reads it, he is hardly qualified to give the answer.

 

Here we have an evaluation from a man who not only has read God’s Word,

But reads it seven times a day.

He is an expert on his dissertation.

 

And notice why he praises

“Because of Your righteous ordinances.”

 

 

He reads seven times and every time he praises

Because he is amazed at how righteous the word of God actually is.

 

It is perfect.

It is flawless.

 

In it he finds a standard unmatched by human morality.

In it he finds a standard far above what man can conceive.

 

The word of God doesn’t just reveal morality, but righteousness.

• God’s Word has the authority to call a coward a murderer because of

the hatred in his heart.

 

• God’s Word has the authority to call a virgin an adulterer because of

the lust in his heart.

 

• God’s Word has the authority to call a poor man a glutton because of

his worry, and a rich man a thief because of his greed.

 

• God’s Word has the authority to call a chief priest a hypocrite and a

tax collector forgiven.

 

God’s Word doesn’t just reveal morality

It reveals perfect righteousness.

 

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

 

And the Psalmist praises God’s seven times a day

Because His word is so righteous.

 

No wonder he stands in awe.

God’s word is valuable, it is true, it is righteous

 

4) THE BENEFIT OF GOD’S WORD (165)

 

And how important this is to our main point

Of why the Psalmist is steadfast.

 

“Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.”

 

We really could have made a whole sermon on that one phrase.

 

They have “great peace” in part because through the word of God

They are put in right relation to God.

 

There is great comfort in walking in obedience.

 

But that is not the main peace our Psalmist refers to.

 

Those who “love” God’s law have great peace

Because through it they find themselves secure.

 

“and nothing causes them to stumble.”

 

To “stumble” is to fall away.

It is become apostate.

It is to fall away totally and finally.

 

But those who love God’s law don’t fear such a fate,

For God’s law will not let them fall away neither totally, nor finally.

 

We have often quoted that great 19th Psalm

About how the Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.

 

But listen to this statement in that same passage:

Psalms 19:11-13 “Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”

 

Notice the Psalmist had a fear of unknown errors and hidden faults.

He was afraid of committing presumptuous sins, (just seemed right)

And he was afraid they would take hold of him and lead him astray.

 

• How do you protect yourself from unknown errors?

• How do you protect yourself from hidden faults?

• How do you protect yourself from actions that feel right?

 

The answer:

God’s Word.

 

It protects men from stumbling, by warning them of things

They would not otherwise be concerned about.

 

Peter said:

2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

 

God’s word has great benefit, it protects us from our own falling away.

 

It grants the request of the hymn writer:

“O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, Lord take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.”

 

He understood the danger of falling away.

After all, even Peter denied

And John the Baptist was on the brink of apostasy.

 

How does a person protect himself from it? God’s Word.

And that is why the Psalmist stands in awe of it.

He loves it.

 

So the first secret to our Psalmist’s steadfastness is that He Cherished Truth

#2 HE CHOSE OBEDIENCE

Psalms 119:166

 

Here is another great verse

That could easily stand alone as a singular theme.

 

It gives a perfect picture of the great Christian mindset

While in the midst of trying times.

 

We have both what we hope for and what we do in the meantime.

 

“I hope for Your salvation, O Lord, And do Your commandments.”

 

I’ve told you before about a book I love called “Knowing God” by J.I. Packer, in it he talks about a Christian in the midst of his suffering.

 

“If you stand at the end of a platform at York Station, you can watch a constant succession of engine and train movements which, if you are a railway enthusiast, will greatly fascinate you. But you will only be able to form a very rough and general idea of the overall plan in terms of which all these movements are being determined (the operational pattern set out in the working timetable, modified if need be on a minute-to-minute basis according to the actually running of the trains.)

If, however, you are privileged enough to be taken by one of the higher-ups into the magnificent electrical signal-box that lies athwart platforms 7 and 8, you will see on the longest wall a diagram of the entire track layout for five miles on either side of the station, with little glowing worm lights moving or stationary on the different tracks to show the signalmen at a glance exactly where every engine and train is. At once you will be able to look at the whole situation through the eyes of those who control it: you will see from the diagram why it was that this train had to be signaled to a halt, and that one diverted from its normal running line, and that one parked temporarily in a siding. The why and the wherefore of all these movements becomes plain once you can see the overall position.

Now, the mistake that is commonly made is to suppose that this is an illustration of what God does when he bestows wisdom: to suppose, in other words, that the gift of wisdom consists in a deepened insight into the providential meaning and purpose of events going on around us, an ability to see why God has done what he has done in a particular case, and what he is going to do next. People feel that if they were really walking close to God, so that he could impart wisdom to them freely, then they would, so to speak, find themselves in the signal-box; they would discern the real purpose of everything that happened to them, and it would be clear to them every moment how God was making all things work together for good. Such people spend much time poring over the book of providence, wondering why God should have allowed this or that to take place, whether they should take it as a sign to stop doing one thing and start doing another, or what they should deduce from it. If they end up baffled, they put it down to their own lack of spirituality.

Christians suffering from depression, physical, mental or spiritual (not, these are three different things!) may drive themselves almost crazy with this kind of futile inquiry. For it is futile: make no mistake about that.”

(Packer, J.I. “Knowing God” [IVP Books, Downers Grove, IL; 1973] pg. 102-103)

 

From there Packer turns to Ecclesiastes and listens to the old realist preacher who warns us against trying to make sense of everything.

If you do, it all becomes “meaningless”

 

He mentions how the preacher tells us to be practical in life

And a realist in the way we look at circumstances.

(Take off our “rose-colored glasses” so to speak.)

 

And at the end of the book, he answers what true wisdom is.

It is not understanding of your events, it is obedience to God

Even when you don’t understand.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

 

It is true that a Christian may be in adversity, and may not understand why,

But that is no excuse to stop obeying.

 

• Do we hope for deliverance? Yes

• Do we hope for salvation? Yes

• Do we hope for redemption? Yes

But we don’t wait until we have it to obey God.

 

That was the focus of the Psalmist.

He wasn’t letting his life be put on hold

Simply because hardship was present, he chose to obey anyway.

 

In fact, this may sound absurd, but often times

It is the presence of hardship that denotes God is most at work.

 

1 Corinthians 16:8-9 “But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

 

Remember Paul’s 2nd missionary journey?

• First Paul was confronted by an adversary named Elymas the magician whom he

had to deal with.

 

• Next John Mark deserted them.

 

• Then in Pisidian Antioch Paul faced detractors and arguers and ended up having

to shake the dust off of his feet.

 

• He was run out of Iconium, and in Lystra the wicked Jews from Iconium caught

him and stoned him.

 

And when Paul finally finished the trip, I want you to hear his summary

 

Acts 14:26-28 “From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished. When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they spent a long time with the disciples.”

 

To Paul opposition was only a sign that God was working, it would have been tragic if Paul had let his opposition stop his obedience.

 

If you want to be steadfast then keep obeying

Even when salvation isn’t coming as fast as you would like.

 

We actually have a hymn for this as well.

It is called “Trust and Obey”

(For there’s not other way, to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey)

 

That is what the Psalmist did.

Even when it is hard…

Even when all he can do is hope for salvation…

He continues to obey.

 

And because of that he remains steadfast.

 

He Cherished Truth He Chose Obedience

#3 HE CHASED THE PRIZE

Psalms 119:167-168

 

He begins with a familiar declaration of his love for God’s Word.

“My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.”

 

It is amazing, the Psalmist just can’t stop declaring his love for God’s word.

 

He loves it and here he says he loves it “exceedingly”

 

And this love naturally culminates in obedience.

“I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies”

 

Love that doesn’t manifest itself in action isn’t actually love.

We know we love Christ when we keep His commandments.

 

The Psalmist loves so he keeps.

BUT HERE IS WHY

 

“For all my ways are before You.”

 

In other words, he knows that God is watching all that he does.

He keeps an eye on the end when all the rewards will be given.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

 

And of course that sounds negative, but it is also a positive thing.

 

Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”

 

And the idea is that he knows if he stays the course

And continues to obey God’s word

That the prize at the end will far outweigh the present cost.

 

It is very similar to the advice that the writer of Hebrews

Gave to those struggling Jews.

 

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

He wanted people to focus on the prize.

 

AND THAT IS THE SECRET TO STEADFASTNESS.

Focus on the prize.

 

God has great reward in store for those who persevere through adversity and persecution to keep His word.

 

Remember the church at Philadelphia?

Revelation 3:10-12 “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”

 

God blesses and rewards those who are faithful.

And the Psalmist knows this.

 

So, if you want to be steadfast like the Psalmist then do what he did.

He Cherished Truth

He Chose Obedience

He Chased the Prize

 

It is all about decisions and perspective

And it is the secret to being faithful.

 

Let me encourage you to do the same.

• Cherish God’s Word, read it and love it.

• Choose to obey it even if circumstances make obedience difficult.

• And when you need motivation focus on the reward that comes to the righteous, for God never gets scrimpy when He rewards the faithful.

 

Focus on that and you will be protected from stumbling as well.

 

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

 

Consider How I Love Your Precepts

Psalms 119:153-160

January 15, 2012

 

We are nearing the end of our study of this wonderful Psalm.

 

We have seen our Psalmist in and out and back in

Various afflictions and moments of oppression.

 

But the one constant in his life is that

He has not failed to seek, trust, and obey the word of God.

 

For him Scripture has been the solution to all problems,

And his commitment to it is unwavering.

 

And as we have said several times of late, his commitment is so steadfast

That it has actually landed him in trouble.

 

• It was back in verse 122 that the Psalmist first introduced us to the

presence of “oppressors” in his life.

 

These are men who have rejected God’s word

And now cause difficulty for him because he refuses to do so.

 

• In verse 141 we find that he is “small and despised”

• In verse 143 he wrote “trouble and anguish have come upon me”

 

• And last week we saw the situation become even more serious.

Verse 150 “those who follow after wickedness draw near;”

 

And that is why last week he gave a very sincere and intense prayer

For God to step in and deal with his oppressors.

 

Well, tonight his prayer continues.

 

In fact, just from reading this prayer to get started

You may have easily spotted what it is that our Psalmist desires.

 

Three times the Psalmist said it, “Revive me”

 

(154) “Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.”

 

(156) “Great are Your mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to Your ordinances.”

 

(159) “Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.”

 

It is obvious, the Psalmist wants to be revived.

“Revive” translates HIGH-YA

It literally means “to live”

 

Often times we think of revival as an emotional experience,

Or some sort of spiritual high.

 

In reality it simply means to live life as God intended it.

And that is what the Psalmist asks for.

 

“Revive me according to Your word.”

(Let me live like Your word says I should)

 

“Revive me according to Your ordinances.”

 

“Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.”

 

He wants to live his life the way God promised

And the way God intended.

He is asking God to restore life.

 

It is similar to the promise Jesus made.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

 

• Jesus came to revive.

• He came to give life.

• He came to give life the way God intended it to be lived.

 

It doesn’t necessarily denote riches, or physical blessing

So much as it does righteousness

And the unhindered ability to walk in God’s truth.

 

The Psalmist wants that ability.

He is being oppressed, and his oppressors have drawn close and they pose a very real threat to halting life as he desires to live it.

 

His request is for God to step in and deliver him that he may continue to live the righteous life he desires.

 

And so his prayer is for revival.

 

The unique thing about this stanza is that during this stanza

He offers some leverage to the negotiating table.

 

He actually presents to God why God should grant his request.

 

And that statement is made in verse 159.

 

“Consider how I love Your precepts;”

There is something he wants God to see, and his belief is that

When God sees it, He will be more inclined to answer his request.

 

This is not totally foreign to David.

Psalms 7:1-5 “O LORD my God, in You I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me, Or he will tear my soul like a lion, Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver. O LORD my God, if I have done this, If there is injustice in my hands, If I have rewarded evil to my friend, Or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary, Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; And let him trample my life down to the ground And lay my glory in the dust.”

 

There David pleaded for deliverance

And he did so based upon his righteousness.

 

That is very similar to our Psalmist here.

He pleads for revival, but then explains why he deserves it.

 

Now, don’t treat him as totally arrogant for you will notice in the very next line he does ask for this revival based upon the “lovingkindness” (or mercy) of God.

 

So it is not as though he is arrogant

Thinking himself worthy of all good things.

 

On the contrary, what he is doing is showing God

That revival is not wasted on him.

 

If God does “redeem” and “rescue” him, He can set His mind at ease

That our Psalmist will not waste his opportunities.

 

And this is important.

 

For Israel had a bad reputation for doing just that.

Psalms 78:34-37 “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.”

 

Hosea 6:1-6 “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

 

Very simply put, Israel was notorious for making all sorts of

Promises of commitment to God while in the bed of affliction.

Just read the book of Judges some time.

It is one revival after another.

 

It is a continual cycle:

• Israel rebels against God.

• God allows a neighbor to oppress them.

• Israel cries out to God and promises loyalty.

• God raises up a judge to deliver.

• Once Israel achieves peace and safety they revel again.

 

Over and over and over we see that from Israel.

(We’ve even seen attitudes like that in our own lives at times.)

 

“If God will just help me out this one time then I will…”

 

And we wonder why God would ever want to help us,

Seeing that most of the time people go back on their word.

 

Well, the Psalmist is promising that he will not break his promise,

And the reason is, unlike his ancestors, he loves God’s word.

 

“Consider how I love Your precepts”

 

He’s saying, “God You can revive me, I’m not going back to wickedness, because I love Your word.”

 

And that is really what this entire stanza is about.

 

It is the Psalmist explaining to God how he loves His word.

 

And so tonight we see what it looks like

When a person loves God’s word.

 

And we get to easily ask the question:

DO I LOVE THE WORD OF GOD?

 

There are 5 things the Psalmist wants God to consider as proof

That he loves His word and will be faithful even after being revived.

 

#1 THE DEVOTION HE SHOWS

Psalms 119:153

 

Now again, we recognize his plea for deliverance.

 

And please recognize that the Psalmist has gone back to

Using the word “affliction” instead of oppression.

 

He does so, indicating that his oppressors

Have actually begun to make life difficult for him.

And because he is afflicted he wants God to “rescue” him.

 

And that is certainly understandable.

Any time we walk in hardship it would please any of us to have God just reach down and lift us out.

 

And so the Psalmist wants deliverance.

And you will notice that the Psalmist gives

The first piece of evidence that he deserves it.

 

It is the first proof of his love of God’s word.

“For I do not forget Your law.”

 

And this is not a testimony to his great memory,

But rather a testimony to his great devotion.

 

We have actually seen this mindset for several weeks now,

But the Psalmist refuses to be bullied away from God’s Word.

 

Regardless of the hardship…

Regardless of the affliction…

He continues to remember the law of God.

 

And remember means that he not only knows it is there,

But he always consults it as a viable answer to his dilemma.

 

It doesn’t matter if the problem is physical, financial, spiritual, emotional, political, relational, etc.

He always goes to God’s word for the solution.

 

He never overlooks it.

He is trained to believe that God’s word works.

And certainly that is an attribute of one who loves God’s law.

 

CAN WE REALLY CLAIM TO LOVE GOD’S WORD WHEN WE FAIL REMEMBER IT?

 

Can we claim to love God’s word if we never consult it for answers in life?

 

You see, in those difficult times we reveal where our trust is.

The Psalmist tells God his loyalty is obvious.

 

When it is difficult, “I do not forget Your law.”

 

NOT “I will not forget” but “I do not forget”

This is his track record.

 

God, You know, I always remember to go to Your word

For guidance and answers.

 

The Devotion he shows

#2 THE DOCTRINE HE BELIEVES

Psalms 119:155

 

This is a very doctrine-heavy statement.

“Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.”

 

The first thing we would notice is simply what he said,

And that is that there is a definite reason why the wicked are not saved.

 

The wicked are not saved because they do not seek God’s word.

 

They don’t care what God’s word says (which is why they are wicked)

And therefore without God’s word they cannot be saved.

 

This is exactly the truth that Paul taught us in Romans.

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

 

Paul unequivocally stated that the gospel is the power for salvation.

 

Some would ask “why?”

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed”

 

Contrary to popular belief God has a very definite desire for humanity.

God wants them to be righteous.

 

Jesus said, “You shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”

Peter wrote, “As it is written, ‘You shall be holy as I am holy’”

 

God wants holiness.

God wants righteousness.

 

And there is only one source that reveals that righteousness.

It is the gospel.

 

(Namely the word of God reveals how to get that righteousness)

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

 

Only the word of God reveals where a man can get

The righteousness that God demands.

And that answer is of course through faith in Jesus.

 

So if you live void of the word of God,

You never find where to get God’s righteousness

And therefore you are never saved.

 

And that is why “salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes.”

 

And our Psalmist believes that doctrine.

 

Can we say someone loves God’s word if they don’t believe that?

 

I’ve been re-reading “Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church becomes like the world” by John MacArthur.

 

He speaks all the subtle ways that churches reveal

That instead of loving God’s Word, they are in fact ashamed of it.

 

At one point he lists a group of church reviews

About local churches in the area.

 

• “There is no fire and brimstone here. No Bible-thumping. Just practical witty messages.”

• “Services at [the church featured in the article] have an informal feeling. You won’t hear people threatened with hell or referred to as sinners. The goal is to make them feel welcome, not drive them away.”

• As with all clergymen [this pastor’s] answer is God – but he slips Him in at the end, and even then doesn’t get heavy. No ranting, no raving. No fire, no brimstone. He doesn’t even use the H-word. Call it Light Gospel. It has the same salvation as the Old Time Religion, but with a third less guilt.”

• The sermons are relevant, upbeat, and best of all, short. You won’t hear a lot of preaching about sin and damnation and hellfire. Preacher here doesn’t sound like preaching. It is sophisticated, urbane, and friendly talk. It breaks all the stereotypes.”

• “[The pastor] is preaching a very upbeat message…It’s a Salvationist message, but the idea is not so much being saved from the fires of hell. Rather, it’s being saved from meaninglessness and aimlessness in this life. It’s more of a soft-sell.”

• “The idea, [this pastor] says, is to get people through the front doors, then disprove the stereotype of the sweating, loosened necktied, Bible-thumping preacher who yells and screams about burning in hell for eternity.”

 

And the whole reoccurring theme is that the message of the gospel

Is some sort of bad thing.

 

The notion that man is sinful and headed for judgment is just too harsh,

And anyone who would try and stand up and proclaim it

Is a sweaty bible-thumping preacher.

 

Furthermore anyone with the audacity to preach over about 15 minutes

Certainly fails to understand the desires of the culture.

 

But Scripture teaches it is through preaching that people are saved.

And not just trendy preaching, but preaching the gospel.

(repentance from sin – faith in Christ)

 

Well, the Psalmist is not ashamed of God’s plan of redemption.

The doctrine he believes is not a doctrine

That diminishes the need for Scripture

But one that puts the need for Scripture at the forefront.

 

In fact, he reckons a disregard of Scripture

To be the leading cause in a lack of salvation.

 

The Devotion he shows, The Doctrine he believes

#3 THE DURATION HE MAINTAINS

Psalms 119:157

 

This is certainly not a new concept for our Psalmist.

We are talking about the concept of endurance.

 

It doesn’t matter how much pressure, how much adversity,

This guy stays the course, and that is what he reminds God of here.

 

“Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, Yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies.”

 

And notice the word “Many”

This isn’t one wicked man trying to make his life difficult.

This isn’t a couple of disgruntled people causing strife.

This is “many” people.

 

If they were to do a vote in church, he would lose.

He is in the minority, he has an entire fan section.

 

And think about that.

We live in a day where politicians sway back and forth all based on the will of the majority.

 

If a poll comes out, they shift their stance,

Always trying to keep the “many” happy.

 

And this man is just the opposite.

• He irritates the many.

• He goes against them.

• He opposes them and they oppose him.

 

They want him to leave God’s Law, and he won’t.

WHY?

Because he loves it.

 

HOW CAN WE CLAIM TO LOVE GOD’S WORD WHEN PEER PRESSURE CAN EASILY TURN US AWAY FROM IT?

 

It is a sad thing in the church when cultural issues

Can dictate what the church believes.

And yet on a consistent basis we see the rise of feminism, homosexuality, and (the newest) even profanity in the church.

 

All that is, is bending to the culture,

Instead of clinging to God’s Word.

 

The Psalmist loved God’s word more than he loved his reputation

Or his comfort, he endured, he does not leave.

 

The Devotion he shows, The Doctrine he believes, The Duration he maintains

#4 THE DISDAIN HE HAS

Psalms 119:158

 

Here we find his great zeal again.

“I behold the treacherous and loathe them”

 

I think it is safe to say that there is a group of people

That just get under his skin in a major way.

 

He calls them “the treacherous”

 

But beyond that, he tells you why they rile him so much.

“Because they do not keep Your word.”

 

Treachery is defined as “a violation of faith or trust”

 

These are men who promised to keep God’s word,

They said, “Trust me I will do it” and then they didn’t.

 

They were liars.

They were phonies.

They claimed allegiance and then fell away.

 

These people who do more harm to Christianity than any other.

They claim a love for Jesus and then deny Him before the world.

They supply unbelievers with years’ worth of ammunition.

 

They do a great disservice to God,

And so the Psalmist says, I “loathe them”

 

Now I don’t want to get in to promoting hatred or things of that sort.

But let me ask you, “DOES IT BOTHER YOU WHEN PEOPLE DISOBEY OR DISREGARD GOD’S WORD?”

 

I’ve been in plenty of churches were it didn’t.

I’ve been in meetings where Scripture was read and instantly disregarded.

 

The Methodist preacher in Henrietta held his bible up and told his congregation, “This is a good book, but you can’t believe everything in it.”

 

DOES THAT BOTHER YOU?

DOES THAT ANGER YOU?

 

Well, it angered the Psalmist,

And the reason is because he loves God’s word.

 

David said:

Psalms 139:19-22 “O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.”

 

And the reason is because David loved God!

 

And that is true of our Psalmist.

He proves his love for God’s word

Because of the disdain he has when men disregard it.

 

So we know he loves God’s Word because of:

The Devotion he shows, the Doctrine he believes, the Duration he maintains, the Disdain he has

 

#5 THE DECLARATION HE MAKES

Psalms 119:160

 

What a great statement.

Take all of God’s word and add it all together and all you get is truth.

 

He is saying God’s word is without dilution.

It is pure and perfect, all adding up to perfect truth.

 

“every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.”

 

What a great declaration to make about the word of God.

 

Back in the 60’s and 70’s Baptist fought a battle.

It was called the Inerrancy Controversy.

 

Some claimed that the Bible was without error, inerrant,

Others refused to make the declaration.

 

It led to a fight and ultimately a split in our denomination.

FUNDAMENTALISTS vs. MODERATES

 

 

Now suppose you stood before a counsel of moderates who pressured and pushed you for a verdict on where you stand.

 

 

• Would you stand before the masses and hold to your convictions?

• Would you declare that the “sum of Your words is truth”?

• Would you declare that “every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting”?

 

The psalmist did, because he loved God’s Word.

 

By the way, so did Adrian Rogers and Jerry Vines and Charles Stanley and Bailey Smith, and Paige Patterson

 

And many continue to do it today,

But only those who love the word of God

And would rather die than compromise it.

 

And that was the conviction of our Psalmist.

 

He had come to God asking for revival,

And he presented to God evidence that he deserved it.

 

As if to say, “God you can revive me, for I won’t disappoint You, I will keep Your word, in fact I love it.”

 

And then he proved it.

 

You can know I love it because:

• I am Devoted even in affliction.

• My Doctrine is pure even if unpopular.

• My record of Duration proves I never turn aside from Your word.

• I have intense Disdain for those who disregard Your word.

• And I Declare Your word to be truth with no error.

 

That is how we know he loved God’s Word.

 

COULD I PROVE MY LOVE OF GOD’S WORD TO GOD?

Upon asking God for revival, could you assure Him

That if He revives you He won’t be disappointed?

 

Let me encourage you to take the standard of the Psalmist

And begin to love God’s word as well.

 

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”