When God is Your Portion

Psalms 119:57-64

October 2, 2011

 

In 1905 Civilia Martin wrote the well-loved lyrics:

“Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;”

 

The song was inspired by her friendship with a handicapped couple,

Who remained happy throughout their afflictions.

 

The secret to this happiness was that

“Jesus is my portion” and “He watches me”

 

In other words this couple of extreme difficulty did not mope in their poor condition, but yet considered themselves to be rich simply because they had the most valuable thing of all.

 

They knew Jesus.

 

Paul said it like this:

Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”

 

Peter said this:

1 Peter 2:6-7 “For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe;”

 

It was without a doubt that the apostles of the New Testament

Counted their relationship with Christ as more valuable

Than any other thing they could have in life.

 

Peter even said:

Matthew 19:27a “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You…”

 

• We have seen James and John leave their father.

• We have seen Matthew leave his tax booth.

• We saw Paul leave his religion.

 

And the reality is that everyone who wants to enter the kingdom of heaven

Must value a relationship with Christ exactly that much.

 

Matthew 13:44-46 “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. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

In other words salvation can be viewed as

TRADING EVERYTHING FOR A RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST.

 

He becomes more valuable than all.

He literally becomes our portion.

 

Now this thought is actually rooted in the Old Testament.

• We remember the 12 tribes of Israel.

• God allotted out the promised land to each tribe except for one.

Levi received no inheritance in the land.

 

Numbers 18:20 “Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.”

 

And by the way, we are now a kingdom of priests.

 

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION,A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

 

And God is our inheritance as well.

Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

 

And all throughout the Old Testament we see people realize

That there was no greater inheritance than to possess God.

 

Jeremiah 10:16 calls God “the portion of Jacob”

 

Psalms 16:5-6 “The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.”

 

And perhaps my favorite came from Asaph.

(The man who was envious of the rich)

When he finally learned that earthly treasures

Aren’t nearly as valuable as knowing God, he wrote:

 

Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

 

And the point to be made is that salvation is a realization that

I am forsaking all to have a relationship with the living God.

 

He becomes my treasure

He becomes my inheritance

He becomes my portion

Now I say all that to sort of lead in to the text tonight.

 

For you will notice that our Psalmist has precisely that same mindset.

“The LORD is my portion;”

 

And so from the outset we know where the Psalmist’s heart lies.

He is the real deal.

 

• He would rather have God than any other thing.

• He would forsake all for the sake of knowing God.

• God is His portion and the lines have fallen to him in pleasant places.

 

This is a true believer.

All he has is God, and that is enough.

 

We see where he is, and we understand that

This is where we should all be as well.

 

What I want to show you tonight is the life of a man

Who believes that the LORD is his portion.

 

I want to show you how a person who treasures God

Above every other thing lives.

 

This is not a stanza showing you how to make God your portion,

But rather it is a stanza that shows us how a person lives

When God is his portion.

 

Obviously then we can use this stanza to evaluate our own lives.

We can see if my heart is like that of Asaph, or the Apostles, or even this Psalmist.

 

Tonight I am going to show you 9 realities in a life

Where God is the only portion.

 

#1 COMMITMENT

Psalms 119:57b

 

“I have promised to keep Your words.”

 

Here our Psalmist recounts the commitment he made to God

On the day he chose God over everything else.

 

• He had made a commitment to obey God.

• He had made a commitment to submit to God.

 

You and I know that this type of commitment is at the heart of salvation.

 

After all, salvation is a Lordship issue.

Salvation is a submission issue.

• That is why you must “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord”

• That is why you must obey the Lord’s command to “Follow Me”

• That is why you must listen when He says, “Take My yoke upon you”

 

Christ doesn’t accept half-hearted commitments.

We learned that last week with the parable of the sower.

 

Christ wants the one who will commit his/her life to Him.

 

The Psalmist did:

He “promised to keep [His] words.”

 

So our first question is AM I COMMITTED TO OBEDIENCE?

When the Lord is our portion we are.

 

All we want is Him and obedience strengthens that relationship.

 

Commitment

#2 SEEKING

Psalms 119:58

 

Isn’t that a great statement?

“I sought Your favor with all my heart;”

 

Who do you want to please in this life?

It is not hard to see who the Psalmist wanted to please.

He wanted to please God.

 

Certainly this is not seen in a legalistic sense.

We know that Christ makes us pleasing by reason of His justification.

 

But practically we still live this life,

And so we want to do that in a way that delights God.

 

Paul told the Colossians

Colossians 1:10 “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

 

He told the Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

 

It was all about living in a way that pleases God.

 

And this is the heart of a man who truly sees God as his portion.

He wants to live his life in a way that makes God proud.

 

And even at that, he is counting on God to help him find it.

 

“Be gracious to me according to Your word.”

In other words.

He knows God’s word says that

We will seek and find if we seek with all our heart.

 

And so as he seeks to please God, he asks God to honor his word

By being gracious to reveal Himself.

 

The point to be made here is that he really wants

To achieve a pleasing lifestyle before God.

 

He doesn’t just want to be credited with saying he wants to please God.

He actually wants to please God.

 

And he wants it so badly that he asks God to graciously help him.

 

This is the mindset of a man when God is his portion.

So I have to ask: DO I SEEK GOD’S FAVOR?

 

Commitment, Seeking

#3 HUMILITY

Psalms 119:59

 

This is really a great statement.

“I considered my ways”

 

How many people are even willing to do this anymore?

It is the practice of self-evaluation.

 

He was willing to take an honest and objective view

Of what he really looks like.

 

• He questioned his actions…

• He listened to the words that came out of his lips…

• He evaluated the feelings he had in his heart…

 

He looked intently into what kind of man he was.

 

Very few do that today.

Most today just want to feel good about themselves

And would really rather not know the truth.

 

But not this man, he took inventory.

 

And once he saw what he was, he made a decision,

“and turned my feet to Your testimonies.”

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

 

This man lived that.

He didn’t hold his own way of thinking above God’s.

 

He looked honest at his life, saw where it did not measure up,

And made a conscious decision to align with God’s word.

 

We call that humility.

 

Obedience is the greatest form of humility.

 

Humility is not about what you say,

“Oh, I’m not good enough…”, “Oh, I’m not worthy…”

 

Anyone can say that.

People do, and yet prove their arrogance

By insisting upon their own way over God’s.

 

If you want to prove yourself humble,

Take every area of your life that is inconsistent with God’s way

And change it to match His.

 

Let go of your own ideas and solutions, and trust God’s.

That is humility.

 

The Psalmist had that.

DO I?

 

DO I CONSIDER MY WAYS AND TURN TO WALK IN GOD’S?

 

#4 EAGERNESS

Psalms 119:60

 

And here is a beautiful thought.

Not only was he willing to obey God’s word over his own thoughts.

He was eager to do it.

 

“I hastened and did not delay to keep Your commandments”

• He hurried…

• He went now…

• He did not procrastinate…

 

His desire was obedience and that is what he did.

 

This certainly validates that his desire was genuine.

 

A person that gives lip service to how much they desire to obey,

But yet never obeys, leaves doubt as to how genuine his desire is.

 

We know that this man genuinely wanted obedience,

Because when the first opportunity for obedience arose, he ran to it.

 

He was eager.

AM I?

DO I WANT OBEDIENCE THAT BADLY?

 

Commitment, Seeking, Humility, Eagerness

#5 PERSEVERANCE

Psalms 119:61

 

Here we find that life wasn’t always a bed of roses for our Psalmist.

 

“The cords of the wicked have encircled me,”

• This man has been surrounded…

• This man has been ensnared…

• This man has been tempted…

• This man has been persecuted…

 

In short, living a life where God alone is your portion is not an easy life.

 

There are plenty of temptations

And even opportunities to run to other things.

But this man didn’t.

 

God was his portion, and he was sticking with it.

 

So even when he was persecuted, he said,

“But I have not forgotten Your law.”

 

It wasn’t easy, but he wasn’t leaving.

 

I like Peter’s answer in John 6.

Nearly all of Jesus’ disciples had forsaken Him and departed.

 

John 6:66-69 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

 

Peter wasn’t saying that it was easy.

He was saying that he wasn’t going anywhere else.

 

You are our portion.

How could I leave?

 

That is the attitude of a man who believes God is his portion.

He won’t forsake him due to hardship.

 

And again, I must ask: DO I CLING TO GOD’S WORD EVEN WHEN IT IS HARD TO DO SO?

 

DO I TREAT GOD LIKE HE IS MY INHERITANCE?

 

#6 GRATITUDE

Psalms 119:62

 

There is beauty for you.

 

Even amidst hardship there is always a sense

That I still have it better than I deserve.

 

Psalms 103:10 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”

 

Sure it was hard.

In order for God to be your portion,

There can at times feel like you have lost nearly everything.

 

But the reality is you haven’t.

You just need to see differently.

 

God was his portion, but he wasn’t upset about it.

God was his portion, and he didn’t feel cheated.

 

He felt blessed to know that he had inherited the Lord.

 

And so, “At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You because of Your righteous ordinances.”

 

He was grateful for God and His word.

Gratitude is obviously an important part of the Christian life.

 

Colossians 3:15-17 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 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. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

 

God calls us to be thankful,

Because the reality is that we got a good deal.

 

• I know life is hard…

• I know you didn’t get to keep your fishing business or your tax booth…

• I know people mock you now…

 

BUT YOU ARE FORGIVEN, AND YOU ARE AN HEIR OF GOD!

• Was that not a good trade?

• Was that not worth it?

• Have you not still come out on top?

 

If God is willing to be our portion, than we got a great deal!

Be grateful.

 

ARE YOU?

 

#7 FELLOWSHIP

Psalms 119:63

 

Here we find that not only is God His portion,

But that he loves to be in the company of other people

Who have inherited God as well.

 

And really, how can you claim that God is your portion,

When you are too busy in the world

To want to commune with God’s people?

 

This man wanted to be around the obedient.

Certainly Jesus did.

 

Matthew 12:46-50 “While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

 

Certainly the early church did.

Acts 2:46-47 “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

 

Those who trust in God as their portion,

Naturally want to commune with one another.

 

It is a brotherly love that God has instilled in us.

It is a fellowship of the Spirit that is supernatural.

 

And those who forsake this world that they might gain Christ,

Naturally want to be around others who have done the same.

 

DO YOU?

DO YOU LONG FOR THE FELLOWSHIP OF OTHER BELIEVERS?

 

Commitment, Seeking, Humility, Eagerness, Perseverance, Gratitude, Fellowship

#8 PERCEPTION

Psalms 119:64a

 

“The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O LORD;”

 

In other words, it is hard to be down in the dumps

And negative all the time when you are an heir of God.

 

If we have truly forsaken this world in order to gain Christ,

Then it is hard to grieve the loss of it

As though we have been wronged.

 

“Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;”

 

Those who have gained Christ, have a unique perspective on life,

And that is that God’s mercy is everywhere.

 

Let me recount His blessings to me just today…

Let me recount my benefits from knowing Him just today…

 

I’m living, I’m breathing, I have shelter, I have food, I have friends, I am forgiven, I have hope, I have righteousness, etc.

 

The Psalmist had a vast inheritance.

 

God was his portion, and as he looked around,

He saw that was a good thing, for God is merciful all over the place.

 

IS THAT MY PERCEPTION?

Or am I bitter that life isn’t the way I want it?

 

#9 GROWTH

Psalms 119:64b

 

The Psalmist closes his list by saying, “Teach me Your statutes.”

 

In other words, I want to continue.

 

Remember Paul?

After he gained Christ…

 

Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

 

 

Peter said:

2 Peter 3:17-18 “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

 

And certainly the early church did this:

Acts 2:42 “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

 

These were people who wanted

Everything they could get out of the relationship.

 

DID YOU EVER GET A NEW CELL PHONE?

(and you spend days playing with it to learn all the features)

 

Well, it stands to reason that when you inherit God,

You ought to really spend some time

Learning all about what you just inherited.

 

This man wanted to continue to grow and learn.

 

The point is that it is not hard to spot someone

Who truly has made God his portion.

 

 

• They are Committed to His word

• They are Seeking His favor

• They are Humbly changing their ways to match His

• They are Eager to obey what God has taught

• They are Perseverant to obey even when it is hard

• They are Grateful for all that God has given them

• They desire Fellowship with others like them

• They Perceive that God is good to them

• They desire to Grow even more in the knowledge of God

 

For all those today

Who would claim that they have a relationship with God,

It is not hard to spot those who really do possess Him.

 

When God is your portion it is obvious in life.

It was in the Psalmist’s life.

 

Let it be obvious in yours.

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

 

The Path to Comfort

Psalms 119:49-56

September 25, 2011

 

Well tonight let’s talk a little bit about comfort and how to get it.

 

None of us would underestimate the importance of comfort in our lives.

From everything from financial security, to physical comfort,

To spiritual comfort, we all want it.

 

You could possibly argue that at times we even seek after comfort too much,

And run the risk of allowing our desire for comfort

To actually compromise our desire for obedience.

 

Certainly we never desire to choose comfort over obedience to God.

But that doesn’t mean that comfort is a bad thing.

 

The fact is comfort comes from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”

 

God gives comfort, and so if God gives it, it cannot be a bad thing.

Furthermore in that passage you see how badly Paul wanted it,

Not only for himself, but also for the Corinthians.

 

He desired comfort.

And so do we

When things happen and life hurts it is our desire to be comforted.

When others suffer or our hurt, it is our desire to give comfort.

 

BUT WHERE DO YOU FIND IT?

 

Well, because of our present study, you already know

That we are going to talk about comfort coming through the Word of God.

And so that is no surprise.

 

What I want to show you more specifically tonight

Is some of the areas where God’s word is able to give you comfort.

 

And I want you to see that in those areas

God’s Word is the only thing that will work.

 

#1 HE IS AFFLICTED

Psalms 119:49-50

What we notice is that the Psalmist initially begins

With a request or a plea.

 

“Remember the word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope.”

 

Obviously the Psalmist is banking on a promise from God, to be fulfilled.

He has placed his trust in something God has said,

And now he is asking God to “Remember” what He said.

 

Now obviously the Psalmist is not concerned that somehow

God might have forgotten the promise He made.

 

Rather, what we see here is that what God said is so important to the Psalmist, that he can’t forget and he continually brings it up before God.

 

Carrie and I don’t tell our kids when they are going to maw-maw’s… they will drive you crazy.

 

That is where this Psalmist is.

He isn’t actually worried that God had forgotten, but what God said was so important to him, he just can’t quit focusing on it.

 

This Psalmist is depending on what God said as that which had to work.

 

WHY?

(50) “This is my comfort in my affliction…”

 

This Psalmist finds himself afflicted.

We don’t know how, we don’t know to what degree.

 

But however he was afflicted, we know he wanted comfort,

And that comfort depended upon God fulfilling what His word said.

 

“This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me.”

 

It lets us know exactly where the affliction had taken this man.

Whatever the affliction, it had obviously overwhelmed him.

His affliction had obviously thrown him down and caused him to despair.

 

We know that because he had to be “revived”.

 

And when he was down, it was God’s word that did the reviving.

 

Picture a man depressed in prison…clinging to the words of the warden

“Two months and you are free.”

 

That is our Psalmist.

He was on the brink, in despair, and yet God’s word lifted his spirits,

Gave him hope, and revived him.

Now certainly we can identify with the Psalmist.

We know that affliction comes in this life.

 

Listen to Paul recount his:

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;”

 

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

 

2 Corinthians 7:5 “For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.”

 

I suppose we could go on to talk about Job, or Daniel, or even Christ

And see the various types of affliction.

 

But I don’t have to keep giving you examples,

For you already know what it is.

 

We have all struggled in various ways.

Financially Physically

Emotionally Mentally

 

Beyond that we understand persecution from the enemy,

And even discipline from our heavenly Father.

 

BUT WHERE DO YOU GET COMFORT WHEN YOU ARE AFFLICTED?

WHERE DOES YOUR HOPE COME FROM?

The word of God.

 

How many times have we heard these two verses quoted?

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

 

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

 

I love 1 Peter.

1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

 

And I know often times we quote:

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

Now obviously reading those promises don’t instantly cause the affliction to stop, but they do give hope that revives the soul.

 

They do bring hope, they do bring revival of the soul.

 

This Psalmist knew that.

God’s word revived him in the midst of his affliction.

 

He is afflicted

#2 HE IS DERIDED

Psalms 119:51-52

 

There we see another one of his problems.

“The arrogant utterly deride me,”

 

“deride” means “to mock or make fun of”

 

And so not only is he experiencing affliction,

But he is also made fun of or mocked because of it.

 

And this mocking comes at the hands of “the arrogant”

 

WHO ARE THE ARROGANT?

 

They can be those who have life at ease:

Psalms 73:3-9 “For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.”

 

They can also be those who love sin:

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.”

 

They can be those who are self-righteous:

Luke 18:11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”

 

And I’m sure it can be any number of other types of people.

 

What is clear here is that the arrogant in this case

Mock his stubborn refusal to abandon God’s word.

 

Which is why he says:

“Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.”

 

Obviously part of their mocking is that

They see him as foolish for clinging to God’s word.

 

But despite their mocking he will not leave it.

WHY?

 

(52) “I have remembered Your ordinances from of old, O Lord, and comfort myself.”

 

He won’t leave it because that is where he finds comfort

In the midst of being derided.

 

When he gets mocked by other people,

He turns to God’s word to soothe the sting.

 

We know that derision and mocking are all a part of this life as well.

 

Consider Paul again:

2 Corinthians 10:10-11 “For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.” Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.”

 

• Who can forget the Athenians calling him an “idle babbler”

 

• We remember Lot being called “an outsider” and “a judge” by the homosexual mob at Sodom.

 

• Abraham was called “The Hebrew” which means “one who crosses over”. (In today’s term we would call it a “wet-back”)

 

• Even Jesus was mocked and scorned as a servant of Beelzebul.

 

We all know what it is to be mocked and scorned.

And we know that words of mocking can sting.

 

Whoever said, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Obviously never got mocked.

 

James said it better:

James 3:8 “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.”

 

Paul quoted the Old Testament passage about sinners and said:

Romans 3:13 “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;

 

That is deadly force.

 

Point being mocking hurts,

And we have all felt the scorn of another person’s tongue.

 

But when you are mocked, where do you go for comfort?

To the Word of God.

 

How often we read passages like:

Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 

1 Peter 4:14 “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

 

There is comfort when we are mocked and go to God’s Word

And find that derision only indicates that we are living correctly.

 

It is comforting to know that being derided

Is a consequence of Godly living.

 

No wonder the Psalmist said, “I have remembered Your ordinances from of old, O Lord, and comfort myself.”

 

He is Afflicted, He is Derided

#3 HE IS FRUSTRATED

Psalms 119:53-55

 

It could be that the word frustrated is an understatement.

 

“Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.”

 

The Psalmist isn’t just frustrated, he is fighting mad.

He is surrounded by those who do not obey God’s Word,

And as one who loves God’s Word, that infuriates him.

 

Certainly we have seen this sentiment in Scripture.

 

Just watch Jesus clear out the temple.

 

Or listen to Jesus with the fickle crowd:

Matthew 17:14-18 “When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. “I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.”

 

Or listen to Stephen before the Sanhedrin

Acts 7:51-53 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

Or listen to Paul with the Galatians

Galatians 3:1 “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?”

 

Galatians 4:20 “but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.”

 

• Paul was frustrated with this church that wouldn’t follow the truth.

• Stephen was frustrated with Jewish leaders who wouldn’t obey God.

• Jesus was frustrated with the fickle crowds who wouldn’t believe.

 

That is where this Psalmist is.

He loves God’s Word, he wants to obey God’s Word,

But he is surrounded by those who won’t, and he is angry about it.

 

Certainly we have had times of frustration and anger like that.

 

It is extremely frustrating to try and obey Scripture

Only to be opposed by those who are not interested.

 

And that type of frustration can lead to

Anger, Bitterness, and even Discouragement.

 

It was this type of opposition that had Timothy wanting to quit at Ephesus.

 

So when you are frustrated, where do you go for comfort?

The Word of God

 

(54-55) “Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. O Lord, I remember Your name in the night, And keep Your law.”

 

A “pilgrimage” is a journey.

He saw these moments of opposition and frustration

As part of the journey he was on.

 

And during those times of frustration

He runs to God’s “statutes” which become his “songs”.

 

And even through the dark of “night”

It is his remembrance of God and God’s Word that sustains him.

 

And how we get comforted when we turn to Scripture!

 

We get comfort to know that our obedience is rewarded by God.

Philippians 1:27-30 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents — which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”

We even get comforted to know that the opposition of the disobedient will not last forever.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed — for our testimony to you was believed.”

 

And we get comfort to know that God is working and that their hearts can be changed.

 

This is what Paul told Timothy when he was frustrated:

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

 

And that is encouraging.

That is what this Psalmist found.

 

• If he was afflicted, he went to God’s word for revival and hope.

• If he was derided, he went to God’s word for comfort.

• If he was frustrated, he went to God’s word for joy and victory.

 

#4 HE IS SATISFIED

Psalms 119:56

 

I love how this statement reads.

 

“This has become mine,”

He speaks of ownership.

He speaks of something secure and steady.

 

“This has become mine, That I observe Your precepts.”

 

What we find here is the pinnacle of assurance.

We find the ultimate encouragement and comfort.

 

He knows who he is, and he knows what he is

Because of his obedience.

 

Because of his obedience he knows that he and God

Are on the same side.

 

And there is no greater comfort than the assurance of knowing

That you and God are on the same side.

 

I’ll never forget the black preacher at a funeral here a few months ago.

“I hear a lot about insurance and how Geico can give you insurance. But what you really need is the blessed assurance”

 

He is right.

Insurance is man’s version of security.

Assurance is God’s version of security.

 

And the assurance of God is the ultimate comfort.

 

• What can be better than to know that God is for you and that God will not forsake you?

 

• What can be better than to know that God is on your side, and that you are on God’s side?

 

This man knows this, WHY?

Because he observes God’s precepts.

 

1 John 2:3 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.”

 

That is great affirmation!

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

 

John 15:10-11 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

 

It is great confirmation to know that I am God’s and He is mine.

 

Furthermore this is the greatest comfort of all.

• Affliction is bad, but it is only temporary

• Derision is bad, but it is only temporary

• Frustration is bad, but it is only temporary

 

But doubt in regard to eternity is a horrible way to suffer.

This Psalmist doesn’t have that

Because God’s Word proves to Him that He is God’s.

 

“This has become mine, That I observe Your precepts.”

The Psalmist clings to that above every other hope.

 

And there is nothing greater than to know God is on your side.

 

Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

 

Habakkuk 3:17-19 “Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places.”

 

There it is from those men as well.

Comfort in the most trying of situations,

Only because they knew God was near.

 

That is the secret to comfort,

And it all hinges upon what you do with the Word of God.

 

• Do you want hope in affliction? – run to God’s Word

• Do you want comfort in derision? – run to God’s Word

• Do you want joy in frustration? – run to God’s Word

• Do you want peace in eternity? – run to God’s Word

 

 

I’m all about comfort, even in this life.

And Scripture is clear that God’s Word is the only place we find it.

So run to it and be comforted.

 

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

 

How to Answer Wisely

Psalms 119:41-48

September 18, 2011

 

We have talked a lot recently about the tongue on Sunday mornings.

 

Jesus gave us that startling truth that “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks”

And “Every careless word that people speak, they will give an accounting for it on the day of judgment.”

 

When you couple that with James warning

That not many should desire to be teachers because as such

“they will incur a stricter judgment”,

 

It almost makes us totally gun-shy about talking at all.

Given those ramifications, one might almost assume

That talking only gets you in trouble.

 

We quote: “Silence is golden”

Or “Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought of a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.”

 

We have all found times when silence was preferred.

 

However, you and I know that silence is not the answer.

After all, even our Lord did not have issue with the tongue,

But rather the heart that drove it.

 

The problem isn’t talking, in fact you and I know

That a Christian is commanded to do so.

 

1 Peter 3:13-15 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

 

According to Peter, a Christian should be ready

At a moment’s notice to deliver the truth.

 

Our Lord said:

Matthew 10:27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”

 

There can be no such thing as a silent witness.

We are called to proclaim the truth.

 

Put another way, one person said, “Sometimes silence is golden, other times it is just plain yellow.”

 

We know we are called to answer.

We cannot fear the reproach of the enemy and refrain from testifying.

 

But fear of reproach is only part of the problem.

In fact, I would tend to say that it is the lesser part of the problem.

 

The main thing that keeps Christians from speaking or responding

Is not a fear of repercussion, but fear of saying the wrong thing.

 

It is obvious that Jesus perceived that fear in His disciples.

For when He was about to send them out, He addressed that very issue.

 

Matthew 10:16-20 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. “For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”

 

Luke’s gospel records it like this:

Luke 21:12-15 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.”

 

Christ knew they were concerned about knowing what to say,

And so He promised to give them the words.

 

You may remember that He even reiterated this promise

On the night before He died.

 

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

 

Jesus promised that the apostles would never be at a loss for words.

They would be under constant scrutiny, but never without an answer.

 

And the book of Acts certainly bears that out.

Acts 4:13-14 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.”

 

• Listen to the brilliance of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost.

• See Philip presenting the gospel to the Ethiopian Eunuch.

• Listen to Paul preaching on Mars Hill.

 

The point is that Christ promised His apostles that He would equip them with what to speak, and He did.

 

But move to us.

Does God promise to give us the words to speak?

 

And the answer is yes, in fact, He already has.

God has given us His word, it is what the apostles left behind.

 

God promised to give them the full revelation:

John 16:12-13 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

 

And now they have recorded it for us.

 

We have the words of God, we have what God wanted us to know,

And we have everything we need in order to answer wisely

In a world filled with skepticism.

 

And that is a truth that is reiterated in our text this evening.

 

For here we find our Psalmist caught in a dilemma,

And needing to know what to say.

 

So let’s study our stanza from the 119th Psalm tonight.

 

3 things.

#1 HIS DAILY PROBLEM

Psalms 119:41-43

 

It really isn’t hard to see the dilemma our Psalmist finds himself in.

 

(42) “So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me,”

He is a man under reproach.

 

And certainly this is not a new concept.

Even in our last stanza we heard the Psalmist asking God

To take his reproach away.

 

We know that “reproach” is something a Christian can expect in this life.

 

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 so we know that criticism, and confrontation are all part of the job.

We can expect that if we don’t live like the world lives,

Our differences will not be tolerated.

 

1 Peter 4:4 “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;”

We can expect to endure reproach.

And certainly it is not a one-time thing,

But a Christian can expect it frequently, if not daily.

 

The gospels record Christ literally bombarded on a continual basis

In regard to His convictions and preaching.

If we endeavor to live like Christ, we can expect the same.

 

So the reproach isn’t surprising.

But the reproach itself is not his concern.

 

He is not here asking God to take his reproach away.

He is not here asking God to make his opponents stop.

 

His request here is merely that

God will give him the right answer to their reproach.

 

(41-42) “May Your lovingkindness also come to me, O Lord, Your salvation according to Your word; So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word.”

 

The Psalmists request is that God give him the answer.

He wants to be able to answer wisely.

 

It is also very important that you and I understand

Exactly what the Psalmist had in mind.

 

• He was not looking for some new profound prophecy to speak.

• He was not expecting some deep revelatory insight by which to confound his opponents.

 

In short he wasn’t looking for something new.

HOW DO I KNOW?

 

(43) “And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your ordinances.”

 

He just wanted to speak God’s word.

And he wanted God to help him.

 

This is what Jesus did.

How many times do we read of Him being caught under reproach and responding by saying:

• “Have you not read..?”

• “It is written…”

 

Jesus was always going back to the authority

And guidance of the word of God.

 

And our Psalmist seeks to answer the same way.

 

He is under reproach and he must give an answer,

But he wants to make sure he answers wisely,

And so he asks God to be merciful and give him His word.

 

We have to understand that God’s word is the answer we seek as well.

WHAT COULD WE POSSIBLY GIVE ON EQUAL WITH THAT?

 

Jeremiah 23:28-29 “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”

 

Adrian Rogers illustration:

(Hebrews 9:27 – “It is appointed for man once to die, and then comes judgment”)

 

There is no wiser answer, and so the Psalmist asked for it.

 

His Daily Problem

#2 HIS DAILY PLEDGE

Psalms 119:44-46

 

We already know that it is God’s word he longs to speak,

But let me show you how committed he is to it.

 

First of all he pledges that if God will give His word, then he will obey it.

 

(44) “So I will keep Your law continually, Forever and ever.”

 

It is certainly a hypocritical man who only wants God’s word that

He may preach it to others with no intention of obeying it himself.

 

This man wants an answer for those who reproach him,

But it is not as though he is only interested in Scriptures

That relate to their lives.

 

He also wants Scripture that relates to his own life.

 

Furthermore it is a tremendous commitment to find a man

Who can be reproached for his obedience

And yet still long to be obedient.

 

This was the same conviction we found in the apostles.

Acts 4:13-20 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

 

The disciples wanted obedience even in the face of their reproach.

So must we.

 

And this is also important to understand.

 

When we fall under the reproach of men for our obedience to Christ

And we seek to answer their accusations.

 

Our answer is only partly verbal.

Part of our answer to them is how we verbally respond,

But part of the answer is how we continue to live.

 

This Psalmist wanted to answer well on both counts.

 

Second he pledges that if God will give His word, then he will trust it.

 

(45) “And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.”

 

Now we do know that this man is under reproach,

But we don’t know any other circumstances.

 

Based on the fact that in verse 46 he is going to talk to “kings”

I suppose it is reasonable to assume that he is at least held under arrest.

 

It could be in fact that he has been arrested

And is about to be brought before a king.

(Just as Peter and John were, just as Paul was, just as Jesus was)

 

And it could be very likely that he is actually under arrest awaiting trial.

 

If that is true, this statement is even more uplifting.

“I will walk at liberty”

 

I will be free!

 

“For I seek Your precepts”

 

DOES HE SUPPOSE THAT HIS WISE ANSWER ACCORDING TO GOD’S WORD WILL RESULT IN HIS FREEDOM?

 

Maybe, maybe not.

But freedom of the soul

Has nothing to do with freedom of the body.

Paul understood this.

2 Timothy 2:8-10 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”

 

The freedom of Paul was freedom of soul.

It was the freedom of knowing that you are in the middle of God’s will.

 

And this man knew that freedom came from

Obedience to the word of God.

 

He knows his freedom is not found in answering according to the will of his accuser, but in answering according to the word of God.

 

He trusts that God’s word sets him free.

 

John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

 

The Psalmist gets that.

 

So he is committed to obey God’s word

He is committed to trust God’s word

 

Thirdly, if God will give His word, he is committed to proclaim it.

 

(46) “I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed.”

 

I absolutely love this statement.

• What words are fitting to speak before a king?

• What words are fitting to answer those who reproach you?

 

There is no higher word than the very word of God.

 

And even when the world calls it foolishness…

And even when the world calls it ignorance…

Even then the Psalmist said, I “shall not be ashamed”

 

Can’t you hear Paul here?

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.”

 

• Or how about when they called him an “idle babbler” in Athens?

• Or how about when Festus said, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.”

 

Paul knew what it was to be considered a fool.

But Paul never tried to wow them with anything else.

• It was never about philosophy…

• It was never about humor…

• It was never about history…

 

It was always about proclaiming the word of God,

And he was not ashamed to do it.

 

And there we find our Psalmist.

• Committed to obey God’s word

• Committed to trust God’s word

• Committed to proclaim God’s word

 

And believe me; that MUST be the attitude of a man who asks for it

 

Do we suppose that God grants His word to those who have no intention of obeying it, trusting it, or proclaiming it?

 

James put it this way:

James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

 

Our Psalmist did it right.

 

He requested God’s word that He might answer wisely,

And he was committed to whatever word God revealed to him.

 

His Daily Problem, His Daily Pledge

#3 HIS DAILY PRACTICE

Psalms 119:47-48

 

And we find his example here to be of the utmost importance.

 

We find ourselves in dilemma’s where we need to answer.

We find ourselves in predicaments where a response is required.

 

And we may be afraid that we will not answer well,

So at the moment we cry out to God for an answer to give.

And there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

 

But what I want you to understand is that waiting until the dilemma is upon us to start seeking the answer is not the intention.

 

We must find ourselves committed to God’s word

Before we ever find ourselves in the situation where an answer is required.

 

Notice that is what this man does.

 

Look at his daily practice.

 

TO SEEK IT

(47) “I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.”

 

It is just a general love for the word of God.

Obviously it implies a continual reading of God’s word.

 

TO SUBMIT TO IT

(48a) “And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love;”

 

This is obviously an act of worship directed toward the word of God.

 

It is funny to me even today the number of people

Who try to separate worship of God from obedience to His word.

How can you possible praise God and ignore His word?

 

The Psalmist beautifully states that his worship

Includes worship of God’s word.

 

We submit to it.

We honor it through our obedience.

We extol it through our commitment to it.

 

TO STUDY IT

(48b) “And I will meditate on Your statutes”

 

“meditate” is one of my favorite words.

 

I don’t mean to sit “Indian style”

With a blindfold and your palms turned out.

 

Rather it is to continue pondering on what God has said,

Even after you have quit reading it.

 

To chew on it.

To converse on it.

To practically apply it over and over in your mind.

To dig in it.

To question more.

 

I have found this absolutely essential in my life.

 

The Psalmist shows that he doesn’t just want to read it,

He wants to know it.

He wants to get it right.

 

WHY DOES HE DO THIS?

• Why does he seek it?

• Why does he submit to it?

• Why does he study it?

 

BECAUSE HE WANTS AN ANSWER

FOR HIM WHO REPROACHES HIM

 

And he is not waiting until the moment of reproach

For a supernatural thought.

He is preparing himself ahead of time to be able to answer.

 

Listen, those promises about “it will be given in that hour” were promises given to the apostles. (Men who wrote the New Testament)

 

Now, I’m not saying that God never aids our memory in the heat of battle.

But He does not give new revelation.

 

God brings His word to your mind,

So it is imperative that you have first placed His word in there.

 

Consider Apollos (not an apostle)

Acts 18:24-28 “Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”

 

Consider Timothy

2 Timothy 2:15-16 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,”

 

These men did not depend on some supernatural answer

To come during the point of attack.

 

These men were ready for reproach long before the reproach ever came.

It was a spiritual discipline.

 

DID THEY WANT TO ANSWER WISELY? – yes

DID THEY KNOW GOD’S WORD WAS THE ANSWER? – yes

 

And they proved it by studying it ahead of time.

 

This is the call for us as well.

If we believe God’s word is the answer,

Then prove it by studying it ahead of time.

We are all familiar with the Believers Armor.

Remember this piece?

 

Ephesians 6:15 “and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;”

 

• We are called to be prepared.

• We seek God’s word

• We submit to God’s word

• We study God’s word

 

So that we will be able to give an answer to all who demand it.

 

This haunted me as a young preacher.

I had preached 14 sermons when I started at Crawford, and to say I was ignorant of the Scriptures is an understatement.

 

So I set out to read the Bible through 3 times a year.

 

I thought, I can’t have someone come up and say, “What in the world is Habakkuk talking about, and me not have an understanding.”

 

If you want to answer wisely…

 

Then obviously you must answer according to the word of God,

There is no greater wisdom.

 

But if you want to know the word of God,

Then you must commit yourself to studying it now.

 

It is awfully hard to give what is not in stock.

And woe to us all if we ever give people

Is our opinion on the matter.

 

We are called to answer wisely.

And we do it through careful study of God’s Word.

 

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

 

The Necessity of God’s Word

Psalms 119:33-40

September 11, 2011

 

Tonight we continue our study of the 119th Psalm.

And we have thus far learned a tremendous amount

About the sufficiency of God’s Word.

 

• It is sufficient to bless a life.

• It is sufficient to bring purity in a life.

• It is sufficient to remove hypocrisy.

• It is sufficient even when you don’t think it is.

 

Tonight we not only learn about the sufficiency of God’s word,

But we also learn about the necessity of it.

 

We live in a day where the word of God

Is becoming more and more de-valued.

 

It seems that everywhere you look churches and denominations

Are focusing on something other than God’s word as what they need.

 

In today’s world people are taught to follow their experiences,

Their emotions, even the “signs” around them.

 

It is bothersome because I hear a lot from people today

About wanting to hear from God, or about wanting to know God’s will.

 

And most of the time people are employing all sorts of methods,

And very few have anything to do with actual study of God’s word.

 

I remember the youth at Crawford wanted to participate in Lent.

(Their reasoning was to draw closer to God)

 

Carrie had a conversation this week with a woman confused because her church told her to fast and she didn’t even know what it was.

 

But does abstaining from food actually better enable you to encounter God?

 

Colossians 2:23 “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

 

Galatians 3:1-3 “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

 

I’ve told you before fasting is a natural fruit of a life seeking God,

Not a means to make God move faster.

The point is that there is a definite way to draw near to God

And to learn His will and to have Him permeate your life.

 

• But it is not through gimmicks…

• It is not through programs…

• It is not through self-abasement…

• It is not through works of the flesh…

 

The means to growing closer to God has always been the same,

And that is through His word.

 

Thank God for the 119th Psalm to reinforce that truth.

It is not a Psalm that focuses on the importance of experiences…

It is not a Psalm that focuses on the importance of self-abasement…

It is not a Psalm that focuses on the importance of programs…

It is not a Psalm that focuses on the importance of spirituality…

 

It is a Psalm that for 176 verses

Focuses solely on the importance of the word of God.

 

It reminds us that not only is God’s word sufficient,

But that it is also necessary.

 

You can’t grow spiritually without it!

 

Of all the different mediums and ways that presume God is leading us,

There is only one way that we can always say with certain,

“I know God said this…”

 

That medium is His word.

 

And as I have told you many times before everything else we think, or see, or hear, may in fact be from God, but it must be tested by His word.

 

2 Corinthians 10:5 “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”

 

And the point is that without the Scripture,

There is no possible way for a person to grow spiritually.

 

It is a guide…

It is reliable…

It is a standard by which we test everything else…

We need the word of God to become the person God wants us to be.

 

And consider the power of God’s word.

 

It can convict you.

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.”

 

It can save you.

James 1:21 “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.”

 

It can grow you.

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.

 

2 Peter 2:1-2 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;”

 

It can encourage you

Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

 

God’s word is absolutely essential to Christian life.

 

And tonight we see that it is God’s word

Which creates a heart of faithfulness.

 

Experiences come and go…

Emotions come and go…

Commitments even come and go…

(They are really quite momentary)

But the word of God has the ability to change us like nothing else.

 

And you will see that in our Psalmist tonight.

 

There are 6 points tonight

#1 HIS DESIRE

Psalms 119:33-35

 

When you read those verses it is not hard to see

The simple desire of this man.

 

• He wants to learn God’s word and keep it to the end.

• He wants to understand God’s word and keep it with all his heart.

• He wants to obey God’s commands without fail.

 

And so it is also not hard to understand our Psalmists circumstance.

This stanza comes from a heart that seeks to be more dedicated to God.

 

It is written from a hungry heart.

 

He wants to be totally obedient all the time.

 

And I think there are a great number of you in here tonight

Who can identify with that sentiment.

 

And indeed we ought to identify.

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

 

And how many times have read that 7th chapter of Romans

And identified with Paul as he grieved over sin he committed.

His spirit was willing but his flesh was weak.

 

He craved for righteousness.

And we can identify with that.

 

This man desires to be righteous.

He desires to obey God with all his heart and to never stop doing it.

 

But there is a problem.

#2 HIS DEPENDENCE

Psalms 119:33-35

 

This is the other thing that is unmistakable in the first three verses.

That while he longs for perfection, he cannot achieve it on his own.

 

Notice his dependence.

 

He would like to “observe” God’s statutes “to the end”, but he can’t

Unless God teaches him.

 

He would like to “observe” God’s law “with all my heart”, but he can’t

Unless God gives him “understanding”

 

He would like to “walk in the path” of God’s commandments, but he can’t

Unless God makes him.

 

Perfection is out of his reach, unless God comes to his aid.

 

He is dependant upon God to

Educate, Explain, and Enforce His word.

 

And I think we can identify here as well.

 

It is absolutely impossible for you or I to learn God’s word on our own.

We clearly know that a natural man can’t learn it.

 

1 Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

And this is not an isolated thought.

 

Consider the apostles.

They could not learn the truth on their own,

But it was God who taught them.

 

John 14:25-26 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

 

Even before Jesus left, notice what occurred.

Luke 24:44-45 “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,”

 

They couldn’t get it unless Christ gave it to them.

 

And that is true for us as well.

 

The Bible is no ordinary book.

It contains spiritual words.

 

Could you read a book written in German?

Could you read a book written in Spanish?

You probably could read the words, but could you understand it?

No.

 

And with the Bible we’re talking about a language too lofty for all mankind

 

The Bible is God speaking.

You can read it, but apart from God you can’t understand it.

 

Listen to what Paul said about Scripture.

1 Corinthians 2:11-13 “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

 

Scripture comes from the depth of the mind of God.

Only the Spirit of God can interpret it.

(I can’t express how long sermons took me this week)

 

2 Peter 1:20-21 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

 

And so we understand where our Psalmist is coming from.

 

He has a desire to be perfectly obedient to the word of God,

But he knows that is impossible

Apart from God’s Education, Explanation, and Enforcing of His word.

 

So he is a man with a desire, but also a man in extreme dependence.

 

But that is not all we learn about him.

 

Let me show you another very important fact

To help us understand his circumstance.

#3 HIS DILEMMA

Psalms 119:36-37

 

Now all of a sudden we see why our Psalmist

Wants so badly to be given the word of God.

 

Because apparently his focus has been off.

In his life, in his flesh, he has a propensity to desire the wrong things.

 

WHAT DOES HE DESIRE?

“dishonest gain”

 

In fact in verse 37 he says, “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,”

That could certainly include monetary gain.

 

And all of a sudden we understand where our Psalmist is coming from.

He is a man who hasn’t been as dedicated as he would like.

He is a man who has been too allured by the things of the world.

 

And now he wants God to change his heart back to His word.

“Incline my heart to Your testimonies”

 

He wants God to help him get his focus back on the right things.

 

Our Psalmist reminds me quite a bit of another man in Scripture

 

TURN TO: ECCLESIASTES 2

Solomon certainly learned of the “vanity” of life.

 

And by the end of the book, do you remember Solomon’s advice?

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.”

 

His conclusion was to “fear God and keep His commandments”

 

He had learned through a life of seeking the wrong thing,

That he must now seek the right thing.

 

That right thing is God, who alone can enlighten His word to you.

We find our Psalmist in a similar dilemma.

His life isn’t what he wants it to be

So he is seeking God to give him his word.

 

Now that poses a good question for us.

 

• Here our Psalmist has found himself in a dilemma.

• He has a propensity to seek the wrong things.

• And his response to walking the wrong direction is that he wants God to explain His word to him.

 

WHY SEEK THE WORD HERE?

Why not seek a vision?

Why not seek an experience?

Why not seek a sign?

 

#4 HIS DISCERNMENT

Psalms 119:38

 

Here is the key verse of the stanza.

Furthermore it explains why when his life is out of sorts

Why he wants God’s word.

 

“Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You.”

 

WHAT DOES GOD’S WORD PRODUCE?

Reverence for God.

Fear of God.

 

And I find this to be such a foundational passage

To the way in which we live.

 

Think of all the things he could have substituted there for God’s word.

“Give me a vision, to produce reverence…”

“Give me an experience to produce reverence…”

 

But none of those things produce genuine reverence.

God’s word produces reverence for God.

 

Listen to what God told Moses.

 

In regard to the King.

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. “It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.”

In regard to the feasts

Deuteronomy 31:10-13 “Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. “Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law. “Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live on the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”

 

Moses knew that nothing produced reverence for God

Like the reading of God’s word.

 

• This is also why Ezra read the whole Law to the people.

• This is why Paul commanded Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture”

• This is why we read and preach Scripture.

 

NOTHING PRODUCES REVERENCE FOR GOD LIKE HIS WORD

 

And the Psalmist knows it too.

“Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You.”

 

And now it all begins to make sense.

 

• Here is a man who recognizes his heart desires the wrong things.

• But he wants that to change.

• And in order to help him change he asks God to teach him His word,

• Because he knows that God’s word will change his heart.

 

ISN’T THAT BEAUTIFUL!

And certainly we understand that.

 

How many times have we had God’s word literally grip us and change us into the person God desires us to be?

 

The Psalmist knows that he will never be right without the word of God.

 

His Desire, His Dependence, His Dilemma, His Discernment

#5 HIS DREAD

Psalms 119:39

 

Now this is an interesting verse, but one that is very honest.

 

The Psalmist knows that learning and adhering to God’s word

Is the only thing that will effectively change his life.

 

But there is a problem with that.

With obedience comes reproach.

And he dreads being reproached.

 

“Turn away my reproach which I dread,”

 

And this may have actually played a role

In his going the wrong direction in the past.

 

But now he wants to have and obey God’s word,

He just dreads the reproach that so often comes with it.

 

So his request is that God turn that reproach away.

 

And his request is based on a fact.

“For Your ordinances are good.”

 

In other words, there is no reason for this world

To reproach those who obey Your word, because Your word is right.

 

There is no basis for their mocking and attacks,

Because Your word is good.

 

So what we are hearing here is very clear.

• It is a man who wants righteousness,

• Who knows it only comes through God’s word,

• But he dreads the reproach that so often comes with it,

• He is asking God to take it away.

 

We call that a cross roads.

It is decision time in his life.

 

He has to choose either to obey God or to yield to the skeptics.

He has to choose if he will fear men or fear God.

 

And this is no small decision for him, for he dreads what is coming.

 

WHAT DOES HE CHOOSE?

# 6 HIS DECISION

Psalms 119:40

 

“Behold, I long for Your precepts;”

 

WHY?

Because of the righteousness that comes with them.

 

“Revive me through Your righteousness”

 

My choice God, in spite of my dread of reproach, is that I want Your word anyway, for it is the only thing that can make me righteous.

Now here is the point.

It is clear that our Psalmist dreaded the reproach

That comes with obedience to the word of God.

SO WHY DID HE CLING TO GOD’S WORD?

 

Because that was the only way

To obtain the reverence and righteousness that he wanted.

 

This is like Jesus in the garden praying, “Let this cup pass from Me…Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

 

That is to say if there is any other way, let’s do it.

But there was no other way.

 

I realize that Bible study isn’t the easiest practice in the world.

I realize that Bible study takes work.

I realize that Bible study takes time.

I know it can be frustrating

(especially since we are dependent upon God even to understand it)

 

I realize it takes discipline.

I realize it takes commitment.

 

BUT YOU AND I STILL MUST DO IT, BECAUSE IT IS THE ONY WAY.

 

God’s word isn’t just sufficient of life, It is necessary for life.

You have to have it.

 

I remember a conversation I had with a man several years ago.

• Confused theologically

• Wanted closer to God

• Wanted to know how to do it.

I told him, “You can’t obtain spiritual growth through a drive through window. There is no substitution for you studying the Bible.”

 

And that is what is so badly missing in so many lives.

• People want the quick version.

• I want holiness through a drive through window.

• They want spiritual maturity in a 40 day study.

• They want depth of understanding in a 30 minute sermon.

 

They want the end result without the dedication.

 

But that is not possible.

• This man wanted reverence and so he cried out for the word of God.

• He knew it would bring reproach, but he asked for it anyway.

• And all he asked of God is that God teach him, help him understand, and enforce his word to him.

And if God would do that, he said

“I shall observe it to the end…And keep it with all my heart.”

 

There was no substitute for God’s word in his life.

 

• There is a “knock-off” brand for everything in this life.

• There are generic versions of just about everything you need.

• There is generally even a “soy” imitation of what you want.

 

BUT THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR GOD’S WORD

If you and I desire holiness and freedom from our apathy,

We must dive into the word of God.

 

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

 

Handling Hypocrisy

Psalms 119:25-32

September 4, 2011

 

As you know we are working our way through the 119th Psalm,

And as we do, we not only get a new appreciation for the word of God,

But we also learn something of it’s sufficiency.

 

• We have seen that God’s word is sufficient to bring about blessing in a life.

• We have seen that God’s word is sufficient to produce purity in a life.

• We have seen that God’s word is sufficient even when you aren’t getting the specific answers you desire.

 

Tonight we will learn that God’s word is sufficient to revive us.

 

Verse 25 is often quoted anytime a church

Schedules a revival meeting for the congregation.

 

“Revive me according to Your word”

 

Revival is for the redeemed to be re-vived.

(not necessarily an evangelistic event)

 

And the insinuation is that those are God’s people

Have cooled off, or backslidden, or have grown apathetic

And need to be confronted, and convicted back into a dedication

 

That is the purpose of revival.

 

What I hope to show you tonight is that revival is always at your disposal,

Even if your church isn’t planning one in the near future.

You can have revival any time, for God’s word is sufficient to produce it.

 

The power behind revival has never been the preacher or the song leader,

But has always been the word of God.

SO IF YOU HAVE THE WORD, YOU HAVE ENOUGH.

 

The fact of the matter is that even believers stumble and struggle

And need to be revived at times.

 

Even believers can go through moments in life

In which they don’t look or act or talk like true believers.

 

Even believers have moments when they display hypocrisy.

 

Now I know that is a harsh word.

 

Hypocrite is a word often used in the New Testament.

John used it on Jerusalem, Jesus used it on the Pharisees.

 

In the New Testament it comes from the Greek word HUPOCRITES,

Which was the name for a Greek “actor”.

It referred to someone who wore a mask, someone who played a role.

 

Jesus often called the Pharisees

“actors” or “pretenders” or “role players”.

 

They were not real, they were phony.

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

 

The word “hypocrisy” appears significantly less in the Old Testament.

Daniel 11:34 “Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy.”

 

There the Hebrew word literally mans “smoothness”

And it is a word used other places to refer to the anti-Christ.

 

Daniel 11:21 “In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.”

 

But you get the picture.

It is someone who deceives, who lives inconsistent with their heart.

It is someone who puts on a show, and someone who is very good at it.

 

Now the hypocrisy of the wicked and the hypocrisy of the redeemed look completely different.

 

A lost man displays hypocrisy any time he acts like he loves God.

(This is what the Pharisees did)

 

A believer, however, demonstrates hypocrisy

Any time he acts contrary to the word of God.

 

You see a believer’s heart has been redeemed.

He has been made righteous. He has been given a love for God.

So for him hypocrisy is to live or act contrary to God’s truth.

 

So a lost man is a hypocrite when he acts like he is saved.

A saved man is a hypocrite when he acts like he is lost.

 

And while none of us wants to be a full-blown hypocrite,

I think we can all agree there have been times

When we have all show hypocrisy.

 

Let me tell you about a man named Peter.

 

Galatians 2:11-13 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”

 

There Peter actually displayed a form of hypocrisy,

And I think we can identify.

 

In fact, I like to call this stanza of Psalm 119 “Peter’s Stanza”,

Because I think it properly mirrors how Peter must have felt

At various times in his life.

 

I’m certainly not critiquing Peter, he was a great apostle, but even Peter would admit he had moments of inconsistency in his life.

 

• Certainly one we just read about.

 

• But how about the day when he confessed that Jesus was the Christ, and then in his next breath tried to talk Him out of going to the cross?

 

• Or how about the day when he was bold enough to walk on water, but to frightened to stay afloat?

 

• Of course Peter will always be tagged for the night he promised to die with Jesus, only to deny Him three times before sunrise.

 

But of all those incidents in Peter’s life,

Scripture only gives Peter’s response to one of them.

 

Luke 22:60-62 “But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.”

 

Did Peter have a good heart?

Yes

Was Peter redeemed?

Yes

Did Peter always act like it?

No

 

And I think we can all identify with that.

Furthermore we should also be able to identify with Peter’s response.

 

“He…wept bitterly”

 

And please understand, that Peter didn’t weep

Because of the consequences he received.

(That was like the man in the first 8 verses,

Who was broken because of his sin and now lived in shame)

 

Peter wept because he would have rather died

Than to have this awful feeling in his stomach.

Peter walked in hypocrisy and it broke his heart.

And that leads us to our Psalmist tonight.

 

As we have done, tonight, let me show you the circumstances our Psalmist is in.

 

#1 HIS CIRCUMSTANCE

Psalms 119:25

 

After reading that first verse

It really isn’t hard to tell where our Psalmist currently dwells.

 

“My soul cleaves to the dust”

 

You’ve seen that word “cleaves” before.

Genesis 2:24 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

 

You probably learned it “and cleave unto his wife”.

 

This man is literally married to the dust.

He didn’t just fall, he is broken.

He is on the ground, and he can’t seem to pick himself up.

 

And of course what he longs for is revival.

“Revive me according to Your word”

 

He is broken and he longs to be restored to a proper biblical state.

 

Now that isn’t the only place we see his circumstance.

 

(28) “My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word.”

Not only is his soul cleaving to the dust,

But his soul is also heavily grieved and weeps.

 

Even the fact that he prays for strength

Indicates that he has none in and of himself.

 

This man is totally and completely broken.

 

(32) “I shall run the way of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart.”

 

Obviously there he has a plan with the consequence being

That God will enlarge his heart.

 

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Psalms 118:5 “From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place.”

• This man feels trapped in.

• This man is getting spiritual claustrophobia.

• His world is pressing in on him.

 

The NIV actually translates his request as “set my heart free”.

 

This man is carrying a massive burden,

And it has him broken without strength, and cleaving to the dust.

 

SO WHAT IS HIS BURDEN?

WHAT IS IT THAT HAS HIM ENCLOSED?

 

Well, he doesn’t state specifically what he did,

But by his requests we can tell.

 

(29) “Remove the false way from me”

 

There is something about himself that he does not like.

He has been prone to walk in “the false way”

 

Literally translated “the lying way”

 

In other words this man played the hypocrite.

 

Just like Peter hypocritically denying the Lord and then weeping bitterly,

That is where this man is.

 

He walked in hypocrisy and the weight of the guilt

Is more than he can bear.

 

Like Peter, he isn’t necessarily under certain consequences,

He just hates himself for what he has become.

 

I think most of us can identify with that feeling.

• It is the feeling we get when we don’t do what the Lord requires.

• It is the feeling we get when we feel as though we let God down.

• It is the feeling we get when we don’t live as a Christian should.

 

And even if we seem to get away with it at the moment,

The inner turmoil of it is bad enough

That we almost would have rather gotten caught.

 

So we have here a man who walked in hypocrisy; that is his circumstance.

 

Let’s move on.

#2 HIS CONFESSION

Psalms 119:26

 

Now this is actually a very important step to this Psalm.

 

I don’t want to minimize the total sufficiency of the word of God,

But you understand that God’s word is not all you need at this moment.

 

A person also needs repentance.

And this man does that.

 

“I have told of my ways”

 

And notice the response.

“and You have answered me.”

 

That is forgiveness.

 

Psalms 32:3-5 “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

 

When we sin against Him, especially with hypocrisy,

It is vitally important that we confess that to Him.

 

There must be repentance,

Because it is repentance that moves God to forgiveness,

And apart from forgiveness we will never get out of the dust.

 

So don’t miss the importance of his confession here to God.

 

If you have walked in hypocrisy,

You must confess that to God and ask for His forgiveness.

 

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

This Psalmist did that.

“I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; Teach me Your statutes.”

 

And not only did his mouth confess, but his heart repented,

And now he wants to learn the commands of God.

 

His Circumstance, His Confession

#3 HIS CRY

Psalms 119:27-29

 

I suppose we could really throw the end of verse 26 in here as well

When he asked “Teach me Your statutes”,

For it flows in line with what he asks for in these verses.

 

And let’s break his cry down a little bit.

You can really see four things he asks for.

(Good requests for a recovering hypocrite)

 

1) ENLIGHTEN ME (27)

 

I like how he says, “Make me understand”.

He almost paints himself as a hard-headed pupil.

 

Don’t stop on me until I get it.

(I can identify with that)

 

“Make me understand the way of Your precepts”

 

What do precepts speak of? – “treasure”

 

So his request is that God will make him

Understand the value and the treasure of His word.

 

His prayer is that God will open his eyes to see how valuable His truth is.

 

WHY DOES HE WANT TO SEE THAT?

“So I will meditate on Your wonders”

 

The point is, that he had lost his excitement about the word of God.

The “new” had worn off to him.

He had gotten to a place where he was no longer captivated by God’s word.

 

(Hint: Losing our excitement about God’s word is the first step to hypocrisy)

 

But he doesn’t just say, “I’m gonna get excited about Your word.”

He knows his weakness.

 

He asks God to help him see why His word is so great

So that it will be easy to be captivated by it.

 

This, by the way, is why I preach.

And this verse is my goal for you as we study this Psalm.

 

I want to make you understand the infinite value of God’s word

So that you will be captivated and will meditate on God’s wonders as well.

 

But this guy wants to turn his life around and he asks God to help him.

 

Enlighten me

2) STRENGTHEN ME (28)

 

We already saw that he was broken and without strength.

 

The problem is that his weakness makes it virtually impossible

For him to pull himself out of this spiral.

Was Peter strong enough to confess Christ upon pain of death?

No, not on his own.

 

If Peter was going to stand, Christ would have to make him stand.

The Psalmist has learned that as well.

 

He is praying that God will make him strong so that he doesn’t fall again.

This too is a good idea.

 

3) PURIFY ME (29a)

 

“Remove the false way from me”

• Please take away my hypocritical heart.

• Please help me not to be an actor.

• Please help me not to be a pretender.

 

We read it earlier, but I love the verse.

1 John 1:9“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

Obviously I love the forgiveness part,

But I also love the promise that He will cleanse us.

 

I don’t just want to be forgiven, I want to be changed.

As believers we aren’t looking for a means to sin,

We are looking for freedom from it.

 

Remember David’s great penitent Psalm?

Psalms 51:1-3 “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.”

 

He didn’t just want his sin forgiven, he wanted it removed.

And this, by the way, is at the heart of atonement.

 

Remember the day of atonement?

Two goats, one to sacrifice, and one to send away.

 

It signified, sin atoned for, and carried away.

Christ also did this.

 

“Living He loved me, dying He saved me, Buried He carried my sins far away, rising He justified, freely forever, one day He’s coming, O glorious day!”

 

And that is precisely what that Psalmist wants.

Forgive me, but don’t stop there, purify me as well.

 

Enlighten me, Strengthen me, Purify me

4) BLESS ME (29b)

“And graciously grant me Your law.”

 

When I look this verse up in my interlinear bible

(which gives the actual order of words)

They translate this verse, “with Your law favor me”

 

In other words, it is not only gracious for God to give His word,

But God’s law is also the means by which he shows you favor.

 

There is no greater blessing God can bestow upon us,

Than to reveal Himself to us, and this He does through His perfect word.

 

This is what the Psalmist wants.

 

I’ve been a hypocrite and I’m sorry.

• Now, please remind me why your word is great,

• Strengthen me not to do this again,

• Purify me of the wickedness that would do this in the first place,

• And bless me with Your word one more time.

 

That is a repentant prayer of a recovering hypocrite.

 

If you or I have walked in hypocrisy,

This is certainly how we approach God’s throne of grace.

 

His Circumstance, His Confession, His Cry

#4 HIS COMMITMENT

Psalms 119:30-32

 

All three of these verses speak of his new commitment.

 

But this is important.

It is not just a commitment not to be a hypocrite again.

 

Certainly that is part of it.

 

But many a man has told God, “I’ll never do that again”

Only to fall right back into the sin.

 

See, we need more than a commitment not to sin,

We need help not to sin.

 

WHERE DO WE GET THAT HELP?

From God’s word.

 

So this man doesn’t just commit not to be a hypocrite,

He commits to God’s word, which will help him not to be a hypocrite.

 

1) HIS CHOICE (30)

See, he made a choice to walk in “the faithful way”.

Your Bible may call it “the way of truth”

 

At any rate, he has chosen to quit being a hypocrite.

But just a decision alone is not enough.

 

So he does something to cement his decision.

“I have placed Your ordinances before me.”

 

He genuinely wants to walk in the way of truth,

So he puts God’s word before his eyes.

 

Tired of being a hypocrite?

Tired of living a double life?

Then the first step is to get into God’s word.

 

That was this man’s choice.

2) HIS FAITH (31)

 

I just love reading the truthfulness of the Psalms.

I can identify with their fears.

 

WHAT IS THIS MAN AFRAID OF?

That God will lead him to shame.

 

That is why he prays, “O LORD, do not put me to shame.”

 

Why would he be worried about shame?

Because he is clinging to God’s testimonies.

 

Now we have also talked about “testimonies” before.

This refers to the recordings of God’s faithful acts in the past.

 

And by the way, trusting in them requires faith.

And with faith often comes fear.

 

“God, if I do this, and You don’t come through, I’m gonna look like an idiot”

That is how this man feels.

 

He knows that he wants to cling to God’s “testimonies”

But he also knows that God will have to come through.

 

You see, he has chosen to walk by faith.

 

And this indicates the strength of his commitment.

Many times I am committed until I am forced to trust God alone,

And then I retreat to what seems to be safer waters.

 

That is hypocrisy.

It is to claim a trust in God, but to bail when the waves crash.

This man already did that, and he doesn’t want to do that again.

So he is going to cling to God’s word

And pray that God doesn’t let him look like an idiot.

 

His Choice, His Faith

3) HIS EAGERNESS (32)

 

I can’t help but here seeing Peter running

And taking that head-first dive into the empty tomb of Jesus.

 

This man is running to God.

 

WHY?

“For You will enlarge my heart”

You will set my heart free.

 

This man has been oppressed and the walls closed in on him.

Next time he is running to God’s word

Because he doesn’t ever want to feel this way again.

 

I can’t help but wonder if it was the remember pain of his previous denial

That gave Peter the strength to stand while being martyred for the Lord.

 

Martyrdom was bad, but he had already felt the guilt of hypocrisy

And he didn’t want to feel that again.

 

• This time he saw the green pastures…

• This time he saw the still waters…

• This time he saw the wide open spaces…

They were found by obeying God and so he was eager to do it.

 

And there you have the steps to climb out of hypocrisy.

• Confess it before God

• Cry out for God’s help to defeat it

• Commit to God’s word

• Choose to read it

• Cling to it even when faith is required

• Run to it like a glass of water in the middle of the desert

 

You see God’s word not only protects from hypocrisy,

But it is also sufficient to pull a life out of hypocrisy.

 

So if you have found yourself grieved to the soul,

Then confess it to God, cry out to Him, and commit yourself to His word.

 

It will protect you and it will guide you

To help you never play the hypocrite again.

 

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