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Thinking About Confidence
Psalms 119:41-48
October 31, 2021

The last time we covered this passage the sermon was entitled,
“How To Answer Wisely”

That was taken primarily from the dilemma which was revealed in verse 42. “So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me…”

The Psalmist was clearly dealing with the issue
Of being able to answer those who persecuted him.

Even in the last stanza of Psalm 119
We discovered how fear of reproach had greatly impacted our Psalmist.

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

In the previous stanza the Psalmist actually prayed that God
Would turn away these sort of negative reproaches from him.

And certainly we understand that mentality.
After all Jesus taught us to pray:

Matthew 6:13 “‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”

I certainly don’t have a problem with praying
That I can avoid persecution or attack.

And yet, we also know that because of the condition of this world,
Some reproach is absolutely unavoidable.

It is coming.

And so while the Christian may certainly pray to escape reproach,
The Christian at the same time must be prepared to answer it.

And that is what we discussed last time we studied this stanza.
We talked about how to make that wise answer.

We’re not going to rehash that entire sermon here,
But I do think some discussion is certainly necessary.

Peter addressed this topic sort of head on.

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;”

There was a sense in which Peter understood that if you do what is right
Then you should be able to avoid most confrontation and reproach.

However, Peter also knew that is not always true.
There will come times that you will “suffer for the sake of righteousness”

Jesus taught:
Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “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.”

And that is what Peter was talking about.
• Peter knew that there would be times when the righteous would suffer simply because they are righteous.
• Peter knew about reproach.

And at that point Peter gave some stellar advice.
• “Do not fear”
• “Do not be troubled”
• “sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart”
• “always be ready to make a defense”
• “always be ready to give an account for the hope that is in you”
• “give an account with gentleness and reverence”

That is all sound advice.

It was directed to people just like this Psalmist.
Avoid reproach if you can, but when it comes
And you are called to give an account, then give a splendid account!

You may remember the early church here.
TURN TO: ACTS 4:23-31

• On the previous day, Peter and John had been going to the temple to pray where they encountered a crippled man and Peter healed him.
• This drew a crowd and Peter began to preach about Jesus and the necessity that Israel repent and return.
• The chief priests came up with the Sadducees and arrested Peter and John and put them in jail.
• On the next day the intimidation began.
• Peter and John were surrounded by Annas and his entire mobster family in order to intimidate them.
• But Peter and John remained confident and boldly proclaimed that they must obey God rather than men.
• Verse 21, “When they had threatened them further, they let them go…”

Peter and John went to the church and told them all about it.
• The miracle
• The sermon
• The arrest and night in jail
• The interrogation
• The threats

In some sense the church was just put on notice.
How do you respond?

Here is how the early church responded:
(READ 23-31)

• No fear, no intimidation.
• They sanctified Christ as Lord
• And they prayed

Verses 29-30, “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

They wanted confidence.
They wanted to know what to say and they wanted the boldness to say it.

The church began to contemplate how to respond to reproach.

This is something that the church must do.
• We certainly desire to live in peace with all men.
• We certainly desire things like unity and harmony.
• We certainly desire to get along in our society.

But there are times when the church must also
Voice both her dissent and her response.

Certainly this is a requirement for elders.
Titus 1:9 “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”

But you are also aware that
You may not always be in the company of your pastor.

There may very well come a time
• When you are called upon to give an account.
• When you are called upon to “have an answer for him who reproaches”

Now this stanza of Psalms 119 actually outlines responsibilities here.

• Verses 41-43 speak to what would be God’s responsibility.
• Verses 44-48 speak to what would be our responsibility.

You notice the Psalmist’s prayer to God.

(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 Psalmist prays first and foremost for God to provide
• “lovingkindness” and “salvation”
• Just as God has promised or “according to Your word.”

During that reproach he is asking God to be loyal to me and to save me.

We might better understand it as him asking,
“Be on my side, and bail me out!”

I need You to show up and give me an answer.

And this is certainly warranted.
Jesus said:
Matthew 10:19-20 “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.”

And that was certainly proved true with Peter and John for even when they were surrounded by the Chief Priests we read:
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.”

It is clear that in that instance Christ was for them
And Christ delivered them or saved them.

• He gave them wisdom.
• He gave them confidence.
• And even though they were uneducated and untrained in debate, Jesus bailed
them out.

That is what the Psalmist wants.
Help me God in that situation.

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

It is a call very simply that God would not let him forget the Scripture.

Remember what Jesus told the apostles:
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.”

• That was a promise given to the apostles and it is such that allowed them to
record the New Testament.
• We might simply pray that God help us remember His word any time we are
called to give an account.

But simply we see at the outset that the Psalmist understands
That a certain part of this burden falls on God.

He is not going into this battle alone.

• He prays that God will show him loyalty.
• He prays that God will deliver him.
• He prays that God will bring His word to mind so he’ll have an answer.

And all of those are really good prayers.
I highly recommend you pray all of that
Any time you are called to give an account.

Tonight as we think about confidence that is a very important part of it.
IT IS CONFIDENCE IN GOD.
• It is confidence that God will not fail you.
• It is confidence that God is for you.
• It is confidence that God will deliver you.
• It is confidence that God will bring His word to your mind.

Your confidence in that situation rests upon who God is & what God does
We certainly never miss that.

But the thing I want to look at a little more closely TONIGHT
Is the SECOND HALF of this stanza.

It is in verses 44-48
Where the Psalmist talks about his responsibility in this process.

I hesitate to say that applying these principles will give you confidence.
I think certainly it is best that all our confidence be in God.

But I will say that FAILING TO APPLY these principles
Will CERTAINLY ERODE any confidence that you might have.

To put it another way.

If you aren’t faithful to take care of your responsibility in this area,
It is going to make it extremely difficult for you to be confident
When you are called to give an account even with God on your side.

Let me explain what I mean.

In these last 5 verses the entire emphasis shifts to the Psalmist expressing to God what he will do.
• (44) “I will keep Your law continually”
• (45) “I will walk at liberty”
• (46) “I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings”
• (47) “I shall delight in Your commandments”
• (48) “I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments”
• (48) “I will meditate on Your statutes”

They are statements of commitment.
They are statements of action.

And this is what I want you to understand.

You should never be confident in your own ability or knowledge or faithfulness, but if you don’t do the things the Psalmist mentions here you’re going to have a really tuff time being confident even in God.

So let’s look at the Psalmists commitment; his responsibility.

There are 3 main things here you should see.
#1 HIS COMMITMENT TO OBEY GOD’S LAW
Psalms 119:44-45

You see the commitment very easily.
• “I will keep Your law continually”
• He goes on to add “Forever and ever.”

I know we can get into the gospel implications of this and recognize that no man has ever obeyed the law continually or forever and ever except for Christ.

That we understand.

And yet, no Christian ever goes to God and says,
“God I’m committed to obey 75% of Your word.”

Though we certainly fail
The Christian ambition & commitment is exactly what this Psalmist says
• It is the goal…
• It is the objective…
• It is the ambition…
• To “keep Your law continually, Forever and ever”

Let me ask you WHY?
Certainly because it’s God’s law and we want to please Him.

But more than that…
• We are talking about the dilemma of being called to give an account.
• We are talking about have “an answer for him who reproaches”

WHY IS OBEDIENCE SO IMPORTANT IN THAT SCENARIO?
(45) “And I will walk at liberty”

Very simply put the Psalmist recognizes that
There is a freedom that is only found in being a law-keeper.

We know that in a judicial sense in our own country.
If you break the law you lose your freedoms.

While it is true that you may lose your freedoms even if you are obedient to the law, you will certainly lose them if you disobey it.

Remember what Jesus said
As He prepared the disciples for their first missionary journey.
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”

What is He saying?
When the world wants to beat you in the head,
Don’t supply the hammer.

1 Peter 4:15-16 “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”

Think about the many trials of Jesus.
• It would have been far easier for them to condemn Him if they actually had any evidence against Him.
• Now to be sure, they hated Him so much that they invented false charges but the point is that He didn’t make it easy.

If you want to be able to give a defense to those who reproach you I can promise you that your defense will be much easier
If you are actually innocent.

It will be much easier for you to defend the truth you proclaim
If you have lived the truth you proclaim.

The fastest way our world discredits the Christian message
Is by pointing out the inconsistent living of Christian people.

Part of being able to give a good defense is by living an obedient life.

1 Peter 2:11-12 “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

1 Peter 2:15 “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

That is also why when Peter told you to be ready to give an account he began by saying, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts”

Nothing will derail your defense of the gospel faster
Than when people start pulling out all your instances of disobedience.

But even beyond that, nothing will erode your confidence faster
Than your own awareness of your failures.

Have you ever contemplated sharing the gospel or preaching repentance to someone only to have this thought: “Who am I to tell them to repent?”

You may have been extremely convicted about the truth of your message
But it was your own disobedience that eroded your confidence.

YOU WERE AFRAID, not because you were wrong,
But because YOU WERE HYPOCRITICAL.

You had yet to deal with the log in your own eye
And knew you were not equipped to deal with the speck in theirs.

It is a real dilemma.

If you want to maintain your confidence
On the day when you are called to give an account
That will be much easier if you have been obedient.

• So obey the Scriptures.
• And in those areas where you have not obeyed, repent of your disobedience.
• Make it your ambition to live an obedient life
• And I promise you it will be far easier to give an account to those who reproach you.

You need a commitment to obey God’s Law
#2 A COMMITMENT TO PROCLAIM GOD’S LAW
Psalms 119:46

Here the Psalmists commitment is still clear.
“I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings And shall not be ashamed.”

We’ve talked about this many times.
• We’ve read Paul’s famous “I am not ashamed of the gospel”
• We’ve listened as Paul told Timothy “Do not be ashamed”
• We remember our Lord saying to “Confess Me before men”

We know the passages and we understand the calling.

Where I think we often fail is in the preparation.

I heard John MacArthur say one time that “Sermons should never be the primary goal of your Bible study, they should only be the overflow of it.”

And I certainly understand the point
That there is primarily a desire in our study of God’s word
To commune with God and to know Him better.

However,
I would point out that even though the majority of Christians may not study the Bible with an eye to writing a sermon…

Every Christian should study the Bible with the expectation
Of sharing what they have learned with someone.

Certainly we study the Bible to see God and to learn truth.

• But when you study the Bible do you give any thought to how you might explain the passage to someone else?

• When you study the Bible do you give any thought to how you might apply it to a situation or someone’s life?

• When you study the Bible do you contemplate how this truth confronts the culture and how you might use it to do so?

I love the specific word the Psalmist uses here.

He says, “I will also speak of Your TESTIMONIES before kings”

• God’s word is certainly called His “law” as something we are to obey.
• God’s word is certainly called His “precepts” as guides for living.
• God’s word is certainly called His “statutes” as that which is engraved in iron and immovable.
• God’s word is certainly called His “ordinances” as that which governs life.

But God’s word is also called His “testimonies”
As that which is to be proclaimed.

When we read God’s word there must be an understanding,
Even a commitment to realize that some day
I will be called upon to proclaim these truths I am learning.

Do you remember the rebuke that the writer of Hebrews gave to his congregation?
Hebrews 5:11-14 “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

Do you think of yourself as a teacher?
• The Bible calls us a kingdom of priests, does that not include teaching?
• We are lights in darkness.
• We are salt to the tasteless.

There is very much an EXPECTATION
That you will be the one to disseminate truth to the world.

2 Timothy 3:13-17 “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Again we understand that God has given His word to be shared.
• That we will use it to confront an evil culture.
• That we will use it to bear witness to Christ.
• That we will use it to give an account of our own hope.

• We use it to teach.
• We use it to reprove.
• We use it to train in righteousness.

The Psalmist knew this in his study.

He wasn’t just studying God’s word as some sort of elective in life. It wasn’t just some hobby. He was training for battle.

He was learning God’s word and digesting it
Because one day he might be given the opportunity to testify of it.

And this is yet another reason why so many Christians
HAVE NO CONFIDENCE to share the word of God.

• They have never considered in their own mind that this is their job.
• They have never made that inward commitment like this Psalmist that they
are going to share God’s word.
• They have always sort of side-stepped the job to someone else.
• And so they have no confidence to do it.

Now again, no man shares God’s word in his own strength.
Our confidence most certainly is in God,

But at the same time
IF YOU HAVE NOT yet begun to consider yourself a bearer of truth
Then I promise in the moment you’ll have no confidence to do so.

You need a commitment to obey God’s Law
You need a commitment to proclaim God’s Law
#3 A COMMITMENT TO LOVE GOD’S LAW
Psalms 119:47-48

The language is great here isn’t it!
• “I shall delight in Your commandments, WHICH I LOVE”
• “I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, WHICH I LOVE”
• “I will meditate on Your statutes.”

This reality feeds the first two commitments.

We read the Psalmists prayer in verse 43,
“And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your ordinances.”

It is a cry that God will let him both understand and remember His word.

And we read about
• How God will bring to your remembrance all that He said.
• How not to worry when you stand before kings for God will supply the words.

BUT HERE IS THE QUESTION.
Have you filled up the storeroom?

One thing we are NOT LOOKING FOR on the day of reproach
Is some NEW REVELATION.

Nor are we seeking to argue in our own logic.

When we are called to answer a reproach
There is only one thing we want to answer with
And that is THE WORD OF GOD.

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?”

• We have no desire to give men our anecdotes…
• We have no desire to wow men with our logic…
• We have no desire to show men our experiences…

Isaiah 55:11 “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

What else would we give?

But the question to be asked now is have you feasted on it?
• Have you delighted in it?
• Have you loved it?
• Have you submitted to it? (“lift up my hands to”)
• Have you meditated on it?

Do you really expect on the day of reproach
That God is simply going to pop into your head
Some Bible passage that you have never read?

Or is it far more likely that God will bring to your remembrance that passage that you have studied and meditated on and loved?

Carrie shared her testimony during Disciple Now
(If you haven’t watched it, you should, it is great)

Even before I heard her share I knew some of the verses she would use.
• I knew Matthew 16:24 was coming out (“deny yourself”)
• I knew Philippians 3 was coming out (“count them but dung”)
• I knew Lamentations 3:22 was coming out (“mercies new every morning”)

Carrie was being called to give an account of the hope that is in her.
And those are the passages
That she has wrestled with perhaps more than any other.

• Those are the ones she has studied.
• Those are the ones she has meditated on.
• Those are the ones she has lifted up her hands to.
• And therefore those are the ones that she loves!

We all have them.
Romans 1:16 – “I am not ashamed of the gospel…”
2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He made Him who knew no sin…”
Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation…”

What are yours?
Those verses that you’ve digested and meditated on and perhaps wept over and finally submitted to and lifted up your hands to?

Are those not now the verses that you love?
And are those not now the verses that you are more prone to proclaim?

Well that’s great, now go get some more!
That is the commitment that is needed.

And again, it’s not that your confidence
Will ever be in your own Bible knowledge,
But I can promise you a lack of Bible knowledge
Will not help your confidence
In the day you are called to give an account.

When Paul spoke of the gospel armor he wrote:
Ephesians 6:15 “and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;”

• You stand on this.
• This is your traction.
• Your foundation is this gospel of peace.
• Be prepared for it.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

BE READY.

So tonight as we just think a little bit about
Having confidence to answer him who reproaches
I simply want you to contemplate your own preparation.

• Be committed to obedience
• Be committed to proclamation
• Be committed to loving God’s word

It’s not that you should be confident in your own abilities,
That comes in God.

But a failure to be committed to those things
Will most certainly rob your confidence.

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Be Ready
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
October 31, 2021

After taking a week off for our annual Disciple Now,
This morning we return to our study of this book of Ecclesiastes.

And since we are in the second half of this book,
We are looking “The Noble Pursuit of Wisdom”.

That is what the preacher has been instructing us in.
And we have seen this wisdom in various ways.

We’ve seen the wisdom that can be gained through mourning and sorrow and even attending a funeral.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 “It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes it to heart.”

The preacher taught us that
There is wisdom in avoiding a party and attending a funeral
Because it is more likely to push us
To contemplate the realities of death and judgment.

We’ve seen the wisdom of pursuing righteousness even though righteousness doesn’t always bring an immediate and temporal reward.

The preacher told us
• Not to expect that righteousness will instantly make life easier,
• But also not to think that the wicked will get away with it.

A wise man holds to righteousness
But doesn’t allow suffering to push him toward wickedness.

Ecclesiastes 7:18 “It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.”

That is a wise man acknowledges that righteous men can suffer,
But still holds to the fact that it is better than wickedness.

We’ve seen the wisdom of civil submission.

Ecclesiastes 8:2 “I say, “Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God.”

Ultimately reminding us that it is our fear of God that teaches us
To respect His authority even when we don’t understand it.

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 “Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.”

We’ve seen the wisdom of contemplating death and thus learning to enjoy life and to prepare for eternity.

Ecclesiastes 9:12 “Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.”

So man should certainly live with the coming expectation of judgment.

We’ve seen the wisdom of showing respect because a humble response is more successful then a violent one.

Ecclesiastes 10:10-11 “If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.”

That was a proverb reminding us to avoid being defensive and combative,
But to speak with honor and respect
If we want to have success with the king.

All of this is simply practical wisdom from the preacher
And all of these things certainly come with gospel implications.

A person who attends a funeral or accepts a rebuke
Is finding the type of humility needed to also respond well to God.

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

A person who learns to pursue righteousness
Is ultimately a man who will run to Christ who alone provides it.

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

A person who learns to submit to civil authorities
Is ultimately learning the type of meekness needed to submit to Christ.

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

A person who embraces the reality of death and judgment
Is ultimately a person who will seek for life beyond the grave.

Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

I just simply want to remind you this morning that
The truths we are learning here from the preacher in Ecclesiastes
Are not just temporal wisdoms designed to give you a more enjoyable life.

Rather, the wisdom he is imparting
Is the very wisdom which you will need
If you are going to respond properly to Christ and the kingdom of heaven.

If you can’t learn to embrace mourning and rebuke here,
• What will you do when Christ confronts your sin?

If you can’t learn to submit here,
• What will you do when Christ calls you to deny yourself?

If you can’t learn to humble yourself here,
• What will you do when Christ exposes your sin and demands repentance?

If you are unwilling to acknowledge the certainty of death now,
• What will you do when Christ calls you to lose this life that you may gain the next?

You see that all this wisdom that is given to us by the preacher
Is ultimately wisdom that prepares us for the gospel.

It is the type of instruction that teaches us
To put aside the foolishness of our flesh so that we might run to Christ.

Ecclesiastes is a great book for preparing us for the gospel.

It is important that you understand that so that we give the proper weight and seriousness to the preacher as he teaches us wisdom.

Well THIS MORNING his wisdom continues.

And as he has masterfully done throughout the book,
• The preacher on the surface gives us what may simply be seen as practical advice for living,
• But what is really wisdom to prepare you for salvation.

Some see it as practical advice about commerce.
• They see the reference to (1) “cast your bread on the surface of the waters” as a reference to shipping of goods across the ocean.

• I’m not sure that is his intent, but many have seen that as practical advice about commerce.

• Certainly people have read his advice to (2) “divide your portion to seven, or even to eight” as sound advice regarding diversification and preparation for the future.

Verses 3-6 follow practical admonitions regarding farming.
• The importance of diligent labor, avoiding procrastination, and even embracing a little uncertainty as you work.

You can see a lot of practical wisdom regarding life in these verses.

Yet, does anyone really believe that the preacher’s only objective here
Was to teach you better commerce or better farming practices?
Of course not!

JESUS gave plenty of farming parables as well,
And yet none of them actually had to do with farming.

The preacher’s objective
• Is more than to give you temporal advice, though his advice is sound.
• Is to impart to you the kind of wisdom that is needed to enter the kingdom of
heaven.

He is giving you parables so that you will
Take logical advice and apply it on a spiritual level.

And just so you can be thinking as we work our way through this text,
The point of his imparted wisdom this morning is that you BE READY.

And you already realize that those are two words which our Lord delivered frequently.

NOW TO GET STARTED
I want to make THE DIVISIONS in the text easy for you to see.

3 times in these 6 verses the preacher makes the same application, and it revolves around what you don’t know.
• (2) “…for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”
• (5) “…so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.”
• (6) “…for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.”

The divisions of the text align around what you and I do not know.
• We don’t know about misfortune.
• We don’t know the activity of God.
• We don’t know the potential for success.

We live life in the dark in all 3 of those areas.

So let’s listen to the wisdom of the preacher here and we’ll divide our text along those three areas of ignorance.

#1 YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN MISFORTUNE WILL COME, SO BE PREPARED
Ecclesiastes 11:1-2

These verses are not totally unfamiliar to us,
We actually hear them quoted from time to time and with various connotations.

If you are looking merely for the face-value wisdom in them,
There is a reference to how you manage your finances or your treasure.

Verse 2 clearly has to do with the idea of DIVERSIFICATION.

However even in an earthly wisdom mindset
There is a bit of confusion regarding what is meant in verse 1.

We read, “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.”

It is a rather cryptic statement.
• Some, as we said, have taken it as a reference to shipping and commerce.
• Namely that a man should be busy in exporting and importing goods.

But that is a problematic application because
• IF “cast your bread on the surface of the waters” is a reference to shipping,
• THEN it is hard to understand what is meant by “you will find it”.

To “cast your bread on the surface of the waters”
Is to most certainly lose your bread.

No one who ever tossed a piece of bread into a pond
Ever expected to get it back, let alone to eat it one day.

If you throw bread in the water, it’s quite likely that an animal will eat it, but even if they don’t, it’s going to be soggy and ruined and you’re never going to want to eat it.

So the statement here is actually somewhat absurd.

If you “cast your bread on the surface of the waters” then “you will find it after many days.”

Well that’s just dumb sounding.
How does that work?

I don’t think the reference here is to COMMERCE, for that is a logical business with a logical expectation.

I think the reference here is to BENEVOLENCE; to generosity.
• How many of you have ever given money to the poor and expected to get it back?
• How many of you ever gave a meal to a poor man and expected a return on it?

No one.

From a purely financial standpoint, giving your bread to the poor
Is as bad of an investment as throwing it into the water.

Yet, this is the wisdom of the preacher.

But there is very much some practical wisdom here.
Proverbs 19:17 “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.”

Certainly the New Testament affirms this:
Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

The preacher says that this is wisdom.

But from a worldly perspective
Few things make as little sense as pure benevolence.

When the world gives they do it for the certain gain.
• They do it if they can reap tax benefits from it.
• They do it if they can reap social benefits from it.

I laughed recently at an article that exposed the Anheuser-Bush Beer company.
• In 2017 the beer company donated 2 millions cans of drinking water to help
hurricane victims. That’s good.
• They then ran around $40 million dollars worth of advertisements in the
Superbowl to tell people about it.
• https://www.mic.com/articles/187623/budweiser-spent-a-ton-of-money-on-a-super-bowl-ad-thats-all-about-its-charitable-efforts

The world is generous when there is profit to it.

But true wisdom understands that generosity is profitable
Not because of our earthly reward
But because God rewards generosity.

This is why Jesus said:
Matthew 6:2-4 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

Luke 14:12-14 “And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

And that idea is stretched further in verse 2
Where he goes on to say, “Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”

There again many take that verse as a mere text talking about
The importance of saving and diversification.

Sort of that “keep something for a rainy day”
And “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” mentality.

But be careful that you don’t allow your interpretation of one text
To contradict what is clearly taught in Scripture.

You cannot allow the preacher here to be at odds with Jesus
Who was adamant that we not store up treasures on earth.

Be careful that worldly logic doesn’t drive your interpretation of this text.

The New Testament certainly speaks of diversification,
But not in a way in which you might not expect.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”

And so it seems best again to follow along with the preacher
As though he is also referring to generosity here.

That would be to say that a man
Should not only be generous and benevolent to the poor,
But to seven or eight different poor people.

You should invest in several of the poor.

WHY?
“for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”

You don’t know when things may go bad for you
And when you will need the help of others.

Luke 16:1-9 “Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. “And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. ‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ “And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ “Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ “And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

Do you see what the manager did?
• He used benevolence as a means to secure his own future and Jesus praised him for it.

This is the practical wisdom that the preacher is giving here.
You don’t know what misfortune might be heading your way
SO BE PREPARED.

Don’t prepare in a worldly way, prepare in a wise way.
Don’t invest in stocks and bonds and other perishable commodities,
Invest in people and the poor and ultimately in God.

And ultimately the point is to BE READY FOR COMING MISFORTUNE

That is wisdom.
#2 YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT GOD IS DOING, BUT YOU DO KNOW WHAT YOUR JOB IS.
Ecclesiastes 11:3-5

The preacher leaves financial advice and moves TO FARMING ADVICE.

But again, we would be naïve to think that all he has in mind here is farming.
There is a practical wisdom to be gleaned from his instruction.

(3-4) “If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.”

There are two elements of nature that are discussed here.
• Clouds – which when they are full give rain.
• Wind – which when it blows might blow down a tree.

Now to a farmer both of those are realities that they pay attention to.

As I’ve told you before I meet for prayer and breakfast every Friday with 4 farmers.

I’ve heard the conversations:
• “I sure need a rain so I can plow”
• “I sure hope it doesn’t rain, I’ve got hay on the ground.”
• “That cotton sure needs a rain on it.”
• “I wish it would quit raining so I can get in my field.”

And the same is true for wind.
• “I need the wind to die down so I can spray some weeds”
• “A good wind would sure help dry things out”

THE POINT IS that farmers depend on rain and wind.
It can be welcomed or it can be unwelcomed.

And the threat of either can drastically change a farmer’s plans.

“It’s supposed to rain tonight” or “It’s supposed to blow tomorrow”
Are phrases that can drastically change a farmer’s plans.

But there is more to the point.
THE FARMER HAS NO CONTROL OVER EITHER.

That is what is meant by the statement
“wherever a tree falls, there it lies.”

The wind and the rain greatly dictate a farmer’s plans and
They have absolutely no control over whether it comes or not.

BUT HERE IS WISDOM:
(4) “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.”

Farmers will understand this.

Let’s say you need to cut hay.
Well you don’t want to cut hay and then have it get rained on.

But what if the farmer goes outside every morning and says, “I better not cut my hay because it might rain.” Well, he’s never going to do it.

What if he needs to spray weeds, but he goes out every morning and says, “I better not spray today because the wind might blow.”
Well, he’s never going to do it.

IN ONE SENSE certainly the point would be that
You can’t always wait for ideal conditions. That is true.

But there’s more here than that.
(5) “Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.”

• Things like wind and rain – that is God’s job.
• Things like plowing and sowing – that’s your job.

God has given you a job to do and you do it.
That’s how farmers operate.

If farmers waited for God to forecast for them the rain and the wind
They might not ever farm at all.

Instead, they have to operate in faith
That God is doing His job and they have to do their job
Even though they don’t know what God might or might not do.

THAT’S LIFE ISN’T IT?

There are things that God has commanded you to do,
But procrastinating or waiting on them
Because you don’t know God’s timetable is A FOOLISH GAMBLE.

We are talking here about the responsibility of man.
(Certainly we love to talk about the sovereignty of God, but don’t swing your pendulum so far that you lose sight of man’s responsibility)

Certainly God is at work to regenerate and awaken and draw and call and save and secure. We love to discuss His work of grace.

But that doesn’t negate the fact that man is also called
To seek, to repent, to trust, and to endure.

And you can never adopt this totally “Let go and Let God” Mentality without falling into disobedience.

Take evangelism for example.
(People often use this chapter to speak of evangelism)
• Can you save anyone? No, God has to do it.
• But what are the means through which God saves? You preach the gospel.

You have no idea who God is working on,
But you are still called to preach the gospel.
You don’t know what God is doing,
But you still have to be prepared to do your job.

But it is also so very true in regard to salvation.
God has commanded you to repent of your sin and trust in Jesus.
But so many wait because they aren’t sure if judgment is coming yet.
• Do you know when the clouds are going to let loose the flood?
• Do you know when the winds are going to topple your tree?

No, so BE READY

God promised to flood the earth but to save Noah.
What did Noah have to do? Build a boat

God sent Joseph to Egypt to save his brothers.
What did Joseph have to do? Ration grain

God sent Judah into Exile to lead to their purification.
What did Judah have to do? Repent

GOD WILL DO HIS JOB, BE SURE YOU DO YOURS.
Be prepared, be ready. That is wisdom.

#3 YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN PRODUCTIVITY WILL BE HIGHEST SO KEEP SOWING.
Ecclesiastes 11:6

Still on the analogy of a farmer,
You don’t know when the best time to sow will be.

• But if you are able to sow in the morning what should you do? Sow
• And if you are able to sow at evening what should you do? Sow

Why?
“you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.”

And certainly that’s fine advice for farming.
• We all know how the cotton farmers will sow at all hours when it is time to put the seed in the ground.

But again we are naïve to think that
The advice here is simply about better farming practices,
Just like we are naïve to think that verse 1 is about financial advice.

The point here is much like the previous ones.
Be ready and SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITY.

There are 3 problems that are actually addressed in this text.

1) Preparation – failing to prepare for coming misfortune.

2) Procrastination – not doing what you should when you should.

3) Idleness – failing to seize the opportunity before you.

Now you know and I know that we COULD MAKE some real practical points about WORLDLY SUCCESS here.

• We could talk about good financial practices and good work habits.
• We talk about the practical wisdom of diversification, hard work, and seizing
opportunities.
• And a good motivational speaker could tie all of those in to how you can live a
successful life on this earth.

BUT DON’T FALL INTO THAT TRAP.

The wisdom of the preacher
IS NOT A WISDOM that is concerned with your temporal comfort.

The wisdom of the preacher
IS A WISDOM that is preparing you to stand before God.

THESE ARE PARABLES TO APPLY TO SALVATION.
• Everyone knows not to put all their eggs in one basket.
• Everyone knows that the secret to success is work.
• Everyone knows that you have to seize your opportunities.
• Laziness and sloth will never pay off.

But what is true in a temporal sense is even more true in a spiritual one.
And this is where gospel wisdom is applied.

You can find wisdom here for the believer and the unbeliever.

FOR THE BELIEVER apply it to evangelism.

When you share the gospel, share it at all times and in all seasons.
• You don’t know when it will be effective.
• You don’t know when the soil will receive it.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

We would also remind a believer to be generous and ready to share
And to store up for themselves a true treasure in eternity.

Luke 12:13-21 “Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

It would be a horrible mistake to be a person
Who is rich in this world but not rich toward God.

It would be a horrible mistake
To have a bigger bank account on earth than in heaven.

James said:
James 5:1-6 “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.”

There is a lot of application there.
• I realize that giving to the poor might feel like throwing your bread in the water, but never disregard the value of lending to God or of storing treasure in heaven.

• I realize that sharing the gospel can be discouraging and it may feel like nothing comes of it, but you don’t know what God is doing so do your part and keep sowing.

That would be very practical wisdom to the believer.

And yet, I would argue that the wisdom of the preacher here
Is meant even more FOR THE UNBELIEVER.

To tell the man to let go of this world
That he might take hold of that which is life indeed.

• That he would tell the sinful man to open his eyes to the fact that one day misfortune will come and he had better be ready for it.

• That he would tell the sinful man to not get distracted but to understand he is called to repent and trust in Christ.

• That he would tell the sinful man to not disregard his opportunity for salvation but to seize it.

The fact is that in this life there are things you and I don’t know.
• We don’t know when trouble may come.
• We don’t know what God is doing.
• We don’t know the length of our window of opportunity.

And that is true for eternity.
• A wise man prepares for the future.
• And while the world understands this financially or even in regard to farming.
• WE UNDERSTAND IT SPIRITUALLY

You must prepare for the future (ETERNITY).
The favorite words of Jesus were “Be ready”

Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”

Luke 12:35-40 “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. “Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. “Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

• Are you ready for misfortune?
• Are you ready for the harvest?
• Are you preparing today for what will certainly come later?

This is wisdom.
Be ready.

Download Here:

Thinking About Reverence
Psalms 119:33-40
October 17, 2021

The last time we discussed this stanza from Psalms 119
The clear focus of our study was on verse 38.

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

And indeed, even as I approached this text now ten years later
That was still the verse that really jumped off the page at me.

The Psalmist wants reverence.
• It is literally the word for “fear”
• He understood that it was God’s word and God’s word alone which produced that necessary reality we know as “the fear of the LORD”

He wanted that holy reverence.
And he knew that it only came through the word of God.

We read some great passages from the O.T. that illustrated this point.

When God gave orders concerning a FUTURE KING, He said:
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.”

The king had to be committed to God’s word
Because that was the only thing that would produce
The kind of reverence he needed to be a godly king.

When everyone came to Jerusalem for the FEAST OF BOOTHS:
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.”

When they all gathered they were to read the whole Law
Because it alone could produce the fear of the LORD that was necessary.

And if we go to the New Testament
We might listen to Paul’s admonition to Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

Paul wanted Timothy to read God’s word, teach God’s word, preach God’s word Because it is only God’s word that can “ensure salvation”.

It is only God’s word that produces that type of fear and reverence.

And we understand that.

IT IS GOD’S WORD WHICH LAYS US BARE

We have all experienced what the writer of Hebrews taught:
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.”

God’s word has a way of exposing and attacking
Even the most hidden crevices of a sinful heart.

IT IS GOD’S WORD WHICH EXPOSES US WITH GOD’S HOLINESS

We know what James meant when he compared God’s word to a mirror.
It first shows us who we are.

But at the same time it shows us the perfection of God and of Christ
And the extreme contrast between who He is and what we are
Is a convicting and condemning reality.

We see our wickedness and our sinfulness in God’s word.

IT IS GOD’S WORD THAT OPENS UP TO US THE REALITIES OF JUDGMENT

No sooner do we learn of our sin and of God’s perfection then are we introduced to the realities of the judgment which sin brings.
• We see the earth flooded…
• We see Sodom burned…
• We see Babel fall…

And it isn’t long until the Law and the prophets show up to show us why.
It is God’s word that teaches us to fear God.

IT IS GOD’S WORD THAT EXPLAINS THE GLORIES OF SALVATION

• Just when God’s word exposes and condemns us…
• Just when God’s word reveals the perfection of a holy God…
• Just when God’s word shows us the coming judgment of sinners…
• It immediately opens up to us the possibility of mercy and forgiveness and salvation.

AND THIS TAKES OUR FEAR TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
It moves us from the fear that is afraid of God
To the type of fear that reverences and loves God.

John described it like this:
1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

God’s word produces all of that.
• It takes sinners who are at enmity with God
• It shows them their pitiful condition
• Then it leads those sinners to redemption
• And turns them into sons who love and respect their Heavenly Father.

We have all witnessed that journey in our lives.
God’s word leads us through all of that.

So we understand the Psalmists cry in verse 38, “Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You.”

THAT IS A GREAT REQUEST.

Well LAST TIME we really focused on the last half of that verse.

We talked about the “as that which produces reverence for You” part.

TONIGHT I want to focus more on the first part of that verse.

I want to look at the “Establish Your word to Your servant” part.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

We know why the Psalmist wants God to establish His word
(because it will produce reverence).

The question I want to ponder tonight is:
HOW DOES GOD DO THAT?

What did the Psalmist mean
When he asked God to “establish His word” to him?

If you ask God to do that in your life, what exactly are you asking?

The Hebrew word for “establish” is QUM (koom)
And in this particular tense it means
“to raise”, “to set up”, “to build”, “to make binding”

He is asking God to raise up His word or to make His word binding in his life so that it produces reverence.

And I think you’re going to like the imagery the Psalmist uses
To flesh out this request to God.

BUT BEFORE WE FULLY UNPACK HIS REQUEST
Let’s go back to the beginning of this stanza because I want you to understand the Psalmists desire.

(READ 33-34)
“Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law And keep it with all my heart.”

What we see here is that the Psalmist has a goal or an objective.
His goal for his life is obedience.

But not just any old obedience.
• He has no interest in half-hearted obedience.
• He has no interest in temporary obedience.

This guy wants total obedience in all ways.

Look at this request.
“Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, AND I SHALL OBSERVE IT TO THE END.”

• That is enduring obedience.
• You give me Your Law and I’m going to keep it forever.

“Give me understanding, that I may observe your law AND KEEP IT WITH ALL MY HEART.”

• That is full obedience.

That is a pretty lofty goal isn’t it?
I want to obey You full and I want to obey You forever.

That is a great goal.
Indeed it should be the goal of every believer.
BUT AGAIN WE RUN INTO A PROBLEM.
(no one has ever been able to live up to such a desire)

No one except Christ.
• Only Jesus can claim to have fulfilled the desire set forth in those verses.
• Only Jesus obeyed God fully.
• Only Jesus obeyed to the end.

It certainly represents a noble goal and a lofty standard for us,
But the reality is that none of us live up to it.

And of course this is why we rejoice again
In the imputed righteousness of Christ.

“In Him” we fulfill this.
“In Him” we identify with this.

But on our own we fall miserably short.

And what becomes apparent in this stanza is that
THE PSALMIST KNOWS THAT ABOUT HIMSELF.

His goal is right on.
Perfect obedience forever.

The problem seems to be that he is WELL AWARE that
He does not live up to such a lofty expectation.

AND IF YOU’RE PAYING ATTENTION
YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT THE PSALMISTS SOLUTION IS

• What is it that he needs to help him obey to the end with all his heart?
• What is the thing he is currently lacking that causes him not to obey like this?

REVERENCE

In his mind, if he had more fear of the Lord;
If he had more reverence, then his obedience would be better.

And that is sound logic.
• Fear is a great motivator.
• You are likely never more compliant than when you are afraid.

SO in order for him to fine tune his obedience
He wants God to “establish” (build up) His word
So that he’ll be more reverent and thus more obedient.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND HIS THINKING?

Now that’s not all you need to see.

At the same time the Psalmist recognizes his problem.
That is to say he knows why he lacks reverence.

He knows why he fails to rightly focus on God’s word at all times.
HE GETS DISTRACTED

There are 3 massive distractions that the Psalmist lists that seem to always catch his eye and pull him away from his devotion to God’s word and the reverence that comes with it.

Do you see them?

(38) “Incline my heart to Your testimonies And not to dishonest gain.”

There is the first one.
“dishonest gain”

It is that which has the propensity to catch his eye; to turn his head;
and to lead him astray.

I like the Hebrew word there, it is BESA (beh-tsah)
It can mean “covetousness” or “profit obtained by violence”
Or my personal favorite “filthy lucre”

You’ve seen the word:
Genesis 37:26 “Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?”

• It was the corrupt profit that Judah wanted from the life of Joseph.
• It was this desire for a profit that led Judah to sell Joseph.

And the Psalmist knew that this temptation
Had the propensity to pull his heart away as well.

Too often he was captivated by the profit of this world.
Too often he was captivated by glittering gold of the world.

This is why even in the Old Testament when Moses was SEARCHING FOR ELDERS to share in the burden of judging the people, Moses laid out criteria:

Exodus 18:21 “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.”

Spiritual leaders of the flock had to be those who hated dishonest gain.

This is a criteria that carries over into the New Testament
Where elders must be “free from the love of money.”

For Paul even describes false teachers as those who are characterized by it:
Titus 1:11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

“sordid gain” is the phrase that the KJV translates “filthy lucre”.

Many of man has been derailed on his quest for godliness
Because he was captivated by the wealth of the world.

Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:9-11 “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God…”

Loving money will pull you away from devotion to God’s word
And the reverence it produces.

Well the Psalmist knew that in his own life.
“dishonest gain” had been one of those temptations that had distracted him in the past.

There is another distraction he mentions.
(37) “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways.”

Do you see the second distraction?
“VANITY”

This ISN’T the same word you are used to in Ecclesiastes
That speaks of a vapor or a mirage.

This word is SAV (shawv)
It means “emptiness” or “worthlessness” or “falsehood”

It is the word used when you are told
Not to “take the name of the LORD in vain”.
(Don’t let that be an empty confession)

But what it has to do with more in this case would be IDOLATRY.

Psalms 24:3-4 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.”

“falsehood” there is the same word as “vanity” here.

It is a man who was allured into trusting and following
The false hopes of the world.

• Certainly it could be a graven image…
• Certainly it could be a false deity…
• But it could also be just a propensity to get caught up in the affairs of life and to put your trust in a man.

Psalms 60:11 “O give us help against the adversary, For deliverance by man is in vain.”

And again the Psalmist spoke of a thing
That had a tendency to push him off track.

And I think I can understand this one pretty easily.

Do you ever get caught up in politics?
(I have)

Is politics wrong?
• No, not necessarily.
• Christians have a civil duty and wisdom exercises that in a godly way.

But have you ever gotten so caught up in politics
That you tend to forget that God is sovereign over all things
And you actually start seeing some politician as your savior?

Not intentionally, but it happens doesn’t it?

Look, there have been plenty of Christians over the last 6 months
Who have longed for the return of Donald Trump
More than they even longed for the return of Christ.

Sometimes we can get distracted by “vanity”
(emptiness, worthlessness, falsehood)

The Psalmist said that he did.
“dishonest gain”, “vanity”

There was a third distraction.
(39) “Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your ordinances are good.”

Do you see the third thing that had a tendency to distract him?
“REPROACH”

The word here speaks of the scorn of the enemy or the scorn of the world.
You might better identify it as persecution.

This one didn’t distract him in the same way as the first two.
• The first two had the propensity to captivate him.
• This one had the propensity to silence him and push him away.

It is when you don’t want to stir up trouble through your convictions.
It is when you just sort of go along with the crowd instead of inviting trouble.

And look, we’ve all been there too.

Someone once said, “There are times when silence is golden, but other times it’s just plain yellow.”

This fear of reproach has caused many of us
To shy away from obedience in our lives.

So I think we understand now where the Psalmist is coming from.

He is a man who wants to obey with all his heart firm until the end.
The problem is that he gets distracted.

He gets distracted by Treasure, Vanity, and Reproach

It has led to a lack of commitment to God’s word
And consequently a lack of reverence for God.

Can you identify?
(probably)

Well, as we said earlier,
His request to remedy all of this was perfect.

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

• He wanted God to build up His word.
• He wanted God to bring His word to the forefront.
• He wanted God to make His word binding in his life.

And we asked, WHAT EXACTLY DOES THAT MEAN?

Well let me show you what it meant to the Psalmist.

Look again at verse 36.
“Incline my heart to Your testimonies…”

“Incline” is a word that means “to extend” or even “to turn aside”.
It was often used of a man pitching his tents somewhere.

The Psalmist tells God,
• I want you to grab my heart, and I want you to extend it toward Your word.
• I want you to turn it aside.
• I want you to pitch the tent of my heart in You word.

You just grab my heart and force it into Your word
So that I am no longer distracted by dishonest gain.

Look at verse 37
“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity…”

“Turn away” is a Hebrew word
That means “to pass over” or “to cover”

The Psalmist asks God to in effect put Your hand over my eyes so that I can no longer see those things.

He uses the same word down in verse 39
“Turn away my reproach which I dread…”

There it is again, just put You hand over my eyes
And don’t let me look at that stuff.

Look at verse 35
“Make me walk in the path of Your commandments…”

That word means just what it says.
God, you just push me where I need to go.

Now, as I studied all those words and gained an understanding of what the Psalmist was asking a vivid analogy came to my mind.

My dad was a horse trader as you all know.

His basic operation was to buy a horse, do a little training on that horse,
And then sell the horse for a profit.

Now, the process for this was pretty simple.
• You just had to make the horse ride good when you went to sell it.

I mean certainly you hope that it rides good the rest of its life,
But you have no control over that.

So our objective was simply to take a horse that might not ride good
And “school on it” enough to get it to ride good.

And there were techniques my dad had.
But basically it boiled down to this: “Find something the horse doesn’t want to do, and use whatever means necessary to get that horse to do it.”

Dad would often say, “That horse needs his attention got”
And some horses required more drastic measures than others.

The whole point was to teach that horse reverence.
If you had a horse that wasn’t walking in the fear of you,
It needed to learn that you were the boss and not the horse.

Now, we had techniques we used over and over.

• For example, some horses didn’t like to cross water, so when there was water in our little creek, you could go there and work on them until they crossed.

• There was runway behind our land with some big pipe structure that seemed to scare horses to death and so you could make them ride past it.

• Some horses wanted to go back to the barn, so you could prevent that or make them go slower.

• Some horses just didn’t pay attention so you could jig them through the mesquites until they learned to pay attention to you.

But there was something you quickly learned about riding those horses.
If you controlled their head, you controlled the horse.

(That’s why they put a bit in their mouth)

• That’s why dad would often say, “Pull their head around”
• That’s why people will put blinders on a horse to keep them from getting distracted.

Now, as I read this, I fully understood what the Psalmist was saying.

“I’m like a dumb horse”

• I get distracted by everything…
• I’m afraid of things…
• I don’t always pay attention…
• I want to do things that aren’t beneficial…

So God, put the blinders on me and pull my head around.
Then sink your spurs into my side
And make me go where I might not go on my own.

Do you see that prayer?

• God I want to be a man who obeys whole-heartedly to the end.
• But man I get distracted easily by the things of this world.
• Would you please take control and push me down the right path?

Would you take your word and push it right against my forehead
Until I learn reverence?

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

Have you ever prayed like that?

I didn’t use that wording, but I used to pray all the time, “God, keep me on a short leash, and use a choker chain if You have to.”

It was in essence the same thing this Psalmist is saying.

Now, where I want to close tonight is that
I WANT TO SHOW YOU HOW GOD ANSWERED THAT REQUEST.

I want you to see how He has answered that request for you.

He’s done it in two ways.

1) He sent Jesus to obey Him perfectly in your stead.
• Christ came and perfectly fulfilled the Law and then imputed that righteousness
to you.

So any fear of repercussion for having failed to obey totally is removed
Because in Christ God reckons us righteous.

From God’s perspective we have obeyed Him with all our heart until the end, because Christ did that and we are in Christ.

That’s one way God has answered that prayer.

And that is certainly good news.

But even as we said last week, we don’t just want justification,
WE ALSO WANT SANCTIFICATION.

I am certainly grateful that Christ has fulfilled this requirement on my behalf, but I still want to be obedient to God.

• This Psalmist wanted God to force him into obedience.
• This Psalmist wanted God to take His word and sort of cram it into his life.
• This Psalmist wanted God to take His heart and pitch a tent in the middle of His word.
• This Psalmist wanted God to produce reverence or fear in his life.

He in essence begged God to do it.

Here is the other thing God did for you.
2) He sent His Spirit to produce reverence in you.

Jeremiah 32:36-41 “Now therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine and by pestilence.’ “Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. “I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.”

That is THE OTHER VERSE in Jeremiah
That references the coming new covenant.

You are already familiar with the first.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

You are familiar with what Ezekiel said:
Ezekiel 36:26-27 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

Do you see how God has answered that request?
• He sent Christ to justify you by fulfilling this reality on your behalf.
• He sent His Spirit to sanctify you by producing this same reality in you.

What this Psalmist begged for,
God did through Christ and through His Spirit.

I think this is a wonderful way to understand sanctification.

This Psalmist begged for God to manually do this in his life.
And that is precisely what the Spirit of God is doing.

• He is building God’s word in your heart.
• He is covering your eyes from the things of the world.
• He is turning your head away from worthless things.
• He is spurring you down the right path.

That is a glorious reality!
What the Psalmist craved, we are now experiencing.

God has done and is doing in us
What this Psalmist only dreamed of.

He wanted to be revived.
He wanted to live for God.
And we now can do that through Christ.

We’re actually going to study this passage next week at Disciple Now,
But listen to what Paul says.

Galatians 2:19-20 “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

• Through Christ we now can live to God.
• Through Christ we now have been taught a holy reverence.
• Through Christ we now can obey with all our heart.

And in Christ we will obey to the end.

• How glorious it is to be those who have received this New Covenant.
• How wonderful to no longer be like the Psalmist begging to be made obedient, but now to be in Christ and to see Him doing that in our lives.

Praise the Lord!

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The Wisdom of Showing Respect
Ecclesiastes 10:2-20
October 17, 2021

This morning we continue in our study of Ecclesiastes
And the pursuit of practical wisdom.

And we do so by approaching TWO DIFFERENT TOPICS
That we have ALREADY DISCUSSED before.

On one hand we are going to talk about the tongue,
On the other we are going to talk about how we use it in regard to the governing authorities.

The preacher first addressed the issue of the tongue
Back in chapter 5 especially as it related to our addressing God.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.”

It was an important reminder that GOD IS GOD AND WE ARE NOT,
And that we are not here to give Him advice, but rather to receive His instruction.

And we remember Ecclesiastes 8 where the preacher told us to obey the king.

Ecclesiastes 8:2 “I say, “Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God.”

• We were reminded by the preacher that God sits sovereign over all rulers

• And just because we may not understand why He might bring a certain man to
power does not mean He does not know what He is doing.

• Rather, God simply asked us to trust that He knows what He is doing and to
obey Him by being submissive to the king that He has placed in authority.

Both of those topics were extremely convicting
And now, in order to make sure we grasp wisdom
The preacher combined them and brings them to us again.

VERSES 2-20 DEAL PRIMARILY WITH
The way we talk to and the way we talk about
Those whom God has place in authority over us.

The most obvious application here is regarding a ruler.
But I think it is an easy application made to anyone whom God has put in authority over us.
• It could be parents, a boss, or certainly the civil authorities.

But the issue here is regarding the respect we show.

What you’re going to see is that the whole of the text deals again with
Having an incompetent ruler and how we should wisely respond.

Only this time the message is NOT talking about your civil submission.
No, the preacher hasn’t changed his mind about that.

But rather, this chapter deals with your attitude toward this ruler,
And respect that wisdom will give him.

And namely because your attitude can go a long way toward determining
• Not only your safety (because the king could punish you)
• But also it can do a long way toward determining your effectiveness in giving
him your advice.

We are talking about the type of wisdom it takes
To positively influence a situation
When someone above you has all the authority.

THIS IS VALUABLE WISDOM.
• Certainly applicable to how we show respect to the governing authorities,
• But you will see it is also wisdom that is extremely valuable to how we deal with people in general.

So we’re going to study these verses and learn a little about
THE WISDOM OF SHOWING RESPECT.

Now, that’s NOT the current trend of our culture.

The current trend is to belittle and curse and complain and mock.

Our culture has totally lost its grip on respect and grace and gentleness.
There isn’t really any such thing as civil disagreement anymore.

That is true in general, but it is certainly true in the political arena.
• Where mocking and cursing even the highest official in our land just seems to
come with the territory.
• It is certainly a violation of Scripture since we are unequivocally commanded
to render honor to whom honor is due.

But what the preacher wants you to understand here is that
Not only is it disobedient to curse the king, but it is also foolish.

So let’s look at our text this morning
And learn about the wisdom of showing respect.

There are 5 points to be seen here.
#1 HIS ADVICE
Ecclesiastes 10:2-4

You’ll notice that the preacher begins by talking about how
A wise man is directed to the right and the foolish man to the left.

(2) “A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.”

No, this is not a reference to American politics that a wise man is on the right and a foolish man on the left…politically.
(although you might have fun quoting it that way)

Rather the reference is to the right hand or the left hand of the king.

The right hand of the king was a place of HONOR,
A place of PROTECTION, and a place of INFLUENCE.

Consider Jesus’ parable:
Matthew 25:31-33 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”

And you remember how the sheep are welcomed into the kingdom,
But goats are sent to judgment.

There was honor and protection to be on the right hand of the king.

Not only that, but it was also a PLACE OF INFLUENCE.
• Consider that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father and there
He performs His work as our Great High Priest and intercessor.

And perhaps more than any other aspect
THIS IS WHAT THE PREACHER HAS IN MIND.

“A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right…”

MEANING THAT
• A wise man would seek to be in the good graces of the king.
• A wise man would seek to be in the protection of the king.
• A wise man would seek to be in a position of influence with the king.

It doesn’t do you any good to walk around all day airing your opinions
If the king is unwilling to listen to you.

You may feel better for doing it, but there is no real benefit.

All that happens is that you end up on the king’s bad side.
And “the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.”

That’s really THE SCENARIO of wisdom we are dealing with here.

Sometimes those who bark loudly may really think they are doing all the good, but are they?

• Is that wisdom?
• Or is it foolishness?

The preacher goes on to say:
(3) “Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.”

Being loud and running your mouth and complaining and threatening
Is not the type of behavior that lends people to think you are wise.

Perhaps you’ve heard the old adage, “Better to keep your mouth closed and to be thought of a fool than to open your mouth and prove it.”

As you will see, we are talking here about a loudmouth
And though he may think he is doing all the good
All he is really accomplishing is
Losing favor with the king and proving himself a fool.

That is not a wise move.

But the preacher DOES HAVE ADVICE for what wisdom looks like.

(4) “If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.”

To understand the point
You simply need to understand the protocol of the day.

When you went before a king what was your “position”?
• You bowed.
• You humbled yourself in his presence.

Well here a man went before the king and bowed himself,
But the king was angry at him.

“the ruler’s temper” rose against this man.

But what was the preacher’s advice?
“do not abandon your position”

“Don’t get off the floor; don’t puff up to him. Stay humble.”

WHY?
“because composure allays great offenses.”

That word for “composure” is translated “yielding” in the KJV
And carries more the idea of meekness than anything.

The idea here is that when the king is upset and you are at odds with him
The WISEST MOVE IS NOT for you to jump up and argue with him,
But rather to humble yourself under his authority.

It is the wisdom and power of humility.
It is the wisdom and power of meekness.

Certainly we have long since learned this when dealing with God.
James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

• You know that about God.
• You don’t argue with Him.
• You don’t defend your position.
• You humble yourself before him and plead for mercy.

That is certainly true for God, but it is ALSO TRUE
When dealing with those who have authority over you in this life.

I’m going to share with you the verse that probably has a greater impact on how I deal with people on a daily basis than any verse in the Bible.

I recommend that is you are ever going to deal with people on any level that you commit this verse to your memory and apply it liberally and apply it often.

Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”

I have proven that proverb true countless times.

Just a couple of weeks ago we went on our yearly golf trip.
• Leo and Lance drove on the fairway
• The manager came out angry
• I gave a gentle answer
• By the end he was super friendly

But if when confrontation arises you feel the need to rise up and state your case, well get ready for a fight.

My dad used to have that mentality.
Even at the end of his life when he was sort of taking inventory he told my mom, “You know I don’t think I ever accomplished anything by doing that.”

The wise advice of the preacher is to keep your mouth shut, humble yourself, and instead of winning the argument
Try to end up on the right side of the king.

It won’t do you any good to state your argument
If it only causes you to end up on the wrong side of the king.

You may have a good story to tell at the coffee shop,
But you just ruined your chance to influence the king.

NOW, THAT’S THE PREACHERS ADVICE.
• Be humble, stay on the king’s good side.
• Don’t be a fool who delights in airing his grievances.

But you know that brings with it the next logical question.

Well preacher I understand that if I made a mistake, but what if I was actually right? What if the king was wrong?

#2 HIS OBSERVATION
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7

Here the preacher’s point gets more obvious.
• And we return that the previous point about submission to the governing authorities.

The preacher here is NOT telling you to respond with humility because you are wrong and he is right.
The preacher IS telling you to respond with humility
Because he is the king and you are not.

In fact, what we have here is a king who lacks discernment.

We have a king who, according to the preacher, commits error.

Namely he exalts the wrong people and overlooks the wrong people.

(5-6) “There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler— folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.”

Here we have a ruler who appoints foolish men to lead
And overlooks more qualified men.

For example:
(7) “I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.”

He is NOT here bragging on a king for freeing slaves.
• Rather he is making the point that he has seen people in positions they were not qualified to hold.
• And he has seen people who were qualified for those roles totally overlooked and relegated to nominal tasks.

The point is that the king routinely commits error
And places the wrong kind of people in leadership positions.

He sees that.
It “is an evil I have seen under the sun”
• He is aware that when he asks you to humble yourself before the king that it may be a difficult task.
• He is aware that when he asks you to keep your mouth shut that it may be hard to do.

But the wise advice to you and I remains the same.
“do not abandon your position” – be humble.

Now at this point we clearly see the advice,
But we are HAVING TROUBLE SEEING THE WISDOM of it.

How is that going to help?
What is that going to accomplish?

Well, the preacher is about to give that.

His Advice, His Observation
#3 HIS WISDOM
Ecclesiastes 10:8-14

His wisdom starts with a sort of proverb
And then he’ll get more plain spoken.

These are the types of statements that I suppose could stand alone,
But if we keep them in context we’ll know better what the preacher means.

He says, “He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. He who quarries stone may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.”

Now in a simple sense all of those proverbs make sense.
• Things don’t always work out like you plan.
• There are inherent risks to everything.
• What you think will work, might actually end up hurting you.

That could be applied in a wide variety of places.

But let’s consider them in context and regarding a man
Who is being asked to be humble before a foolish king.

“He who digs a pit may fall into it”

Digging a pit carries the connotation of setting a trap.
• Think about Joseph’s brothers throwing him into a pit.
• Or Jeremiah being thrown into a well.

You may think that rebellion and setting a trap for the ruler is a good plan,
But be careful sometimes men who set traps fall into them.

We all remember the story of Haman and how he was hung
On the very gallows he had built for Mordecai.

“a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.”

• You can go charging through that wall…
• You can go bust down that door…
• But are you sure you know what is on the other side?

Going after a ruler might come with unexpected consequences.

“He who quarries stones may be hurt by them”

You can gather stones and the implication here would be for a stoning.
You can pick up a rock to throw, but be careful.

We’ve heard the adage about how
“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

The Pharisees who set out to stone the woman caught in adultery found out that the plan to attack massively backfired.

When you attack the king it could backfire on you as well.
It didn’t work out so well for Absalom.

“he who splits logs may be endangered by them.”

• You can go to swinging that axe if you want, but be careful.
• You might end up hurting yourself.

YOU GET THE POINT.
It may seem like a wise move to go on the attack against the king,
But are you sure?

• Are you sure you know how it will play out?
• Furthermore are you sure your plan will be effective?

That sort of bold, impulsive, prideful attack may gratify the flesh, but is it the most EFFECTIVE approach to accomplishing your goal?

Are you really going to fix anything by setting a trap, busting through a door, throwing rocks, or swinging an axe?

Blowing your top and running your mouth
Might not accomplish what you hoped for.

INSTEAD, HERE IS SOME WISDOM.
(10-11) “If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.”

Do you want the axe to work better? Sharpen it first.
• Wet the stone, take your time, sharpen it.

Do you want to keep the snake from biting? Charm it first.
• Hissing at a snake won’t help.

“Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.”

If you want to influence your ruler, try sharpening the axe.
If you want to influence your ruler, try charming the snake.

Today we might say something like:
“You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

If you really want to influence the king. If you really want to effect change.
Then get on the king’s good side.
“A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right”

Be humble and quiet.
Don’t go badmouthing him…
That won’t work nearly as well as you think.

And I know today you likely realize that
YOU HAVE NO ACCESS TO THE RULERS OF OUR LAND
And so you wonder how this applies.

I would lift up to you:
1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

You will accomplish way more regarding the direction of our nation
By talking to God than you ever will by complaining on Facebook.

APPLY WISDOM.
The fool kicks down walls and utters threats.

And that is how the preacher GOES ON TO EXPLAIN his wise proverbs.
(12-14) “Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?”

Now the preacher’s wisdom comes to light.

Instead of being accusatory and criticizing
And expecting that banter and threats are going to advance your cause,
Take some guidance from the preacher.

“Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious”

Aren’t you are more apt to listen to and take advice from a person who speaks graciously to you as opposed to a man who condemns you?

All you accomplish when you get accusatory and threatening
Is to cause the person you are speaking to
To want to get away from you as quickly as possible.

“the lips of a fool consume him”

You don’t win, you only set your cause back.

IT DOESN’T WORK.
THAT’S THE POINT OF THE PREACHER.

And listen to how he describes this argumentative and arrogant person.
I can promise you that this is how you sound to the person you attack.

(13) “the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness.”

To the person you start lambasting.
You start out sounding stupid and you end up sounding insane.

• Can’t you see that person give that “wide eyed” look to their friend or roll their eyes to their buddy?
• They are giving the body language that you are a madman and can’t be reasoned with.
• At that point they have quit listening to you and now just want to appease you enough to get away from you.

You didn’t win anything.
And the only thing you accomplished
Was to convince them that you are a fool.

(14) “Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?”

Ever argue with that guy?
• His lack of insight doesn’t seem to translate to a lack of words.
• They don’t know, but they keep on talking.
• And you can’t tell them anything.

We all know what it’s like to deal with that type of person.
• Waitresses know about those kind of people…
• Customer service workers know about those kind of people…
• And according to the preacher, so does the king…

And the point is again that there is wisdom in saying sweet words…
• There is wisdom in a gracious tongue…
• There is wisdom in a gentle answer…
• There is wisdom in a humble response…
• There is wisdom in showing respect…

And again, that DOESN’T IMPLY that the situation is easy.

#4 HIS SYMPATHY
Ecclesiastes 10:15-19

He is well-aware that you have a lazy, good-for-nothing ruler
Who is ruining everything.

Here he describes the grief of a nation who has a lazy and unfit king.

We have a king who toils but he toils so foolishly he accomplishes nothing.
(15) “The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not eve know how to go to a city.”

He’s working…on something…but he’s accomplishing nothing.

And we have a king who is far too consumed with his own personal interests than the interests of the kingdom.
(16) “Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning.”

They party when they should work.

(17) “Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time – for strength and not for drunkenness.”

A good king who works hard is certainly to be desired.

BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU MAY HAVE.
You could actually have a lazy and foolish king who is ruining everything.

(18-19) “Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks. Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything.”

He’s talking there about a bad ruler.
• He doesn’t take care of business, like a man who doesn’t take care of his house.
• Eventually if you neglect responsibility long enough the whole thing falls apart.

But instead of taking care of business
This ruler only wants to eat and drink and get rich
Because he things that “money is the answer to everything.”

THAT IS A BAD RULER.

So the preacher sympathizes.
BUT THAT DOES NOT change his advice.

Having a bad or lazy ruler does not negate wisdom.

• Just because you may not like the job your superior is doing DOES NOT MEAN that you should take up that tactics of a fool.

• Just because you don’t like the work of the king DOES NOT MEAN you should dig a pit for him, break through the door, go to throwing rocks and swinging the axe.

YOU SHOULD STILL MAINTAIN WISDOM.
• You should still use gracious words.
• You should still be humble.
• You should still show discretion.

He’s merely telling you how a wise man lives
In this fallen and backward world.

While a fool rises up, runs his mouth and kicks down a door,
The wise man holds his tongue, humbles himself, and gives grace.

And then we get one final point.

#5 HIS WARNING
Ecclesiastes 10:20

The verse starts with the word “Furthermore”
But I think it is more fitting to see it as “However”.

That is to say that
Just because you have a foolish king who feasts in the morning, neglects the rafters, and is only interested in getting rich.

Even then you had better BE CAREFUL cursing him.

Why?
“in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.”

Our words have a way of getting exposed.

Jesus told us:
Matthew 12:36-37 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

And even if this was a warning 3,000 years ago
It is certainly STILL RELEVANT today.

Go ask the recently resigned and publicly berated former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders (Jon Gruden) who found himself in trouble for private emails he sent over 10 years ago.

Do people really think that all the words they post on social media or send in emails or text messages have just disappeared?

It’s all seen, it’s all saved.

And the warning of the preacher is that
It never ends well for the fool who multiplies words.

If you want to know how a wise man acts even when under a foolish king,
• He maintains his humility,
• He limits his words,
• He speaks with grace,
• And he shows respect.

He charms the snake before he approaches it.
He sharpens the axe before he swings it.

THAT IS WISDOM.

NOW, ONE FINAL POINT.

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?
What does it have to do with the gospel or salvation?

I have told you all along that the preacher in Ecclesiastes
Is not just giving you wisdom, but it the wisdom that leads to salvation.

And I’m just going to tell you straight out.

If you can’t learn meekness and humility,
You’ll never be ready to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Have you considered that one of the reasons God in His sovereign prerogative gave you such a contemptable king is to teach you respect and grace and humility?

You have to have it if you are to be saved.

Listen to what Jesus said:
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

If you can’t learn to lower your head and close your mouth and respond with grace and respect then you’ll never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Because when HEAVEN’S KING comes knocking
He’s going to OFFEND MORE than your sense of patriotism.

When heaven’s King comes knocking
He’s going to expose the very corruption of your heart.

• He’s going to expose how sinful you are…
• He’s going to expose your motives…
• He’s going to expose your corruption…
• And He’s going to demand repentance…

But if your response is to get up off the floor
And give Him a piece of your mind then you can forget salvation.

When He approaches you,
You’d better humble yourself, close your mouth, respond with respect
And do whatever you can to get on the good side of the king.

Be a sheep on the right, not a goat on the left.

For as we read:
Matthew 25:31-34, 41 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

And I remind you again that all authority comes from Him.

So learn to submit to your earthly authority
If for no other reason than to prepare you
To submit to your heavenly one.

I’ll leave you with one illustrative story that fits the text so well:
Matthew 15:21-28 “Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”

The wisdom of showing respect pays off.

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Thinking About The Faithful Way
Psalms 119:25-32
October 10, 2021

Tonight we come to the 4th stanza of this 119th Psalm.

I would remind you again that
We completed a study of Psalm 119 almost ten years ago.
(We actually last studied this stanza September 4, 2011)

And because those sermons and the notes are readily available on our website I have no intention of just covering it the same way again, so I would encourage you during the week to go look those up and familiarize yourself with it.

That study was more comprehensive,
What we are doing now is merely seeking to build upon what we learned then.

Tonight we are going to do a little thinking about “The Faithful Way”

When you read the stanza
There are TWO CONTRASTING WAYS that emerge.

In verse 29 the Psalmist cries, “Remove the false way from me,”
In verse 30 he declares, “I have chosen the faithful way;”

What we are discussing is lifestyles or life patterns or directions of living.

And the Psalmist is clear in this stanza that
His goal and objective and desire is to follow the path of faithfulness.

It reminds us of that great prayer to end Psalms 139
Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

In the New Testament we see a parallel
In Paul’s pattern in Philippians 3.

After expounding on his desire to leave the old life
And gain Christ and the righteousness of Christ.

Paul then says:
Philippians 3:12-16 “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. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

• It is true that in Christ Paul had been declared righteous.
• It is true that being found in Him had resulted in Christ’s righteousness being credited to his account.

Before God, Paul had been declared righteous.
That is JUSTIFICATION.

But like all true believers Paul’s goal was more than just justification.

The glory of the gospel is that God declares men righteous while they are still sinners. That is a wonderful truth.
But it is also true that the desire of those justified sinners
Is to stop acting like sinners.

Those who have been justified crave to be sanctified.
There is no Scriptural basis for a true believer who is content in their sin.

That is what Paul is talking about there in that Philippians passage.

Righteousness had been credited to his account,
But perfect righteousness had not yet been achieved in his life.

And so Paul’s goal, his objective, his journey was to
“lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

THIS IS THE CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE.

It is the desire to see the false way disappear
And to walk in the faithful way.

If I might give you some other lingo that speaks to the same point.
Ephesians 4:17-24 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

Paul says, “Look, if you’ve really been saved then you know that Christ didn’t save you so that you could keep living like a lost person. Quit living like a sinner and start living like Christ.”

It is the Christian objective.

We often talk about justification as
• Us being clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
• We say that we are wearing His righteous robe.

Well Paul, in a sense, is bidding you now to wear it daily
And to never put your old work clothes back on.

Paul would tell you to put it on and leave it on
And do your best to live up to it.

To the Colossians he wrote:
Colossians 3:8-10 “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him”

• Take off that old man and “put on the new self”
• That new creation which you have been made in Christ.
• Put that on.

Colossians 3:12-14 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

• There it is again, “put on…compassion”; “put on love”
• Walk like Christ.

IT’S ALL THE SAME POINT.
Stop walking in the false way and start walking in the faithful way.

That is very clearly the Christian ambition.
That is the Christian goal.

BUT HAVE YOU EVER FELT THE GRIEF OF FALLING SHORT OF THAT GOAL?

Have you ever gotten up in the morning and out of habit you just put on the old man, that old set of clothes, and walked right out the door and acted like the old unredeemed you?
• The driver cut you off…
• The waitress wouldn’t come back and refill your drink…
• Your boss gave credit you deserved to someone else…

And in a flash you found yourself wearing that old man and those old clothes
And the old you just came gushing out.

Has that ever happened to you?
Of course it has.

We are in a spiritual battle 24/7.
• Paul told us to keep that belt of truth on at all times.
• He told us not to remove that righteous breast plate.
• He told us to be shod with the gospel of peace.

But the enemy blindsided us; it was a surprise attack.
An unexpected temptation and without even thinking we took the bait.

And just like that, the old Rory came right out and started talking.

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN THAT HAPPENS?

Well, if you aren’t saved, it doesn’t bother you at all.
In fact, if you are unsaved the only thing about that that will bother you is if you got caught and are looking at some unfavorable consequences.

But if you are saved, it makes you feel just terrible.

One writer DESCRIBED THAT FEELING like this:
“My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders. My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word. Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Your law. I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.”

That is what we find here in this 4th stanza of Psalms 119.
• We have here a redeemed man.
• We have here a saved man.
• We have here a man of faith.

That is easy to spot.
You see the beatitudes all over his life.

• You see him “poor in spirit” – “My soul cleaves to the dust”
• You see him “mourning over sin” – “My soul weeps because of grief”
• You see him “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” – “Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts.”
• You see him “pure in heart” – “Remove the false way from me”

This is a saved man.
But he blew it.

Once again “the false way” reared its ugly head.

WE WOULD CALL THAT HYPOCRISY.
• This believer had a moment when he didn’t live like a believer.
• His outside didn’t match what he claimed on the inside.
• He stumbled…
• He tripped up…

AND HE HATED IT!
He wanted it gone and gone forever.

THE LAST TIME we looked at this stanza we broke it into 4 main points.

1) His Circumstance (25, 28)
• We talked about how broken and grieved he was.

2) His Confession (26)
• We talked about how he had confessed that sin to God.

3) His Cry (27-29)
• We talked about how he asked God to enlighten him and strengthen him and purify him and bless him.

4) His Commitment (30-32)
• We talked about how he would no choose and cling to and run toward God’s word.

And we referenced the LIFE OF PETER here for an example.

If you’ve read the gospels you know that when Peter first shows up in the gospel account his name is not Peter, it’s Simon.
• It was Jesus who said, “I’m going to call you Peter”
• The name Peter meant “Rock”
• That is what Jesus was going to make Simon in to. Jesus was going to make
Simon into a rock.

But what is interesting in the gospel accounts is that while most of the time Jesus called him Peter, there were some of those “hiccup” moments where Jesus called him Simon because he was acting more like the old man than the new man.
• We can think of Peter telling Jesus that the crucifixion should never happen.
• We can think of Peter walking on water and then sinking in fear.
• We can think of Peter pulling his sword in the garden.
• We can think of Peter boldly declaring allegiance and then denying 3 times.

And we talked about Peter because after that final blunder
Luke’s gospel says he went out and wept bitterly.

And that sure feels like the same mindset of our Psalmist here.

“My soul cleaves to the dust”
“My soul weeps because of grief”

• He has blown it.
• He went back temporarily to “the false way”
• And he is begging God that it never happen again.

WELL TONIGHT, LET’S GET PRACTICAL.

LET’S ASSUME that you have fallen temporarily into sin and you’d desperately like out of it…
• Maybe you’ve got a recurring habit that you have yet to see removed from your
life…
• Maybe you periodically blow it with an old sin that can reemerge from time to
time…

And you really want that false way gone
And you really want to walk in the faithful way.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Well it’s clear what the Psalmist did.
HE RAN TO GOD’S WORD.

(30-32) “I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.”

Clearly the Psalmist saw that any success that he would have
Leaving the false way behind and walking in the faithful way
Would center around God’s word.

But I think tonight perhaps we should try to understand that a little better.

There seems to be at this point a BIT OF A DILEMMA that emerges.
And if you study the Scripture you know what I mean.

Here we have an Old Testament man who has fallen in sin
And his goal to see that sin fixed is to run to the word of God.

When this man speaks of God’s word,
In the Old Testament he is talking about God’s Law.

So he has fallen in sin and his plan is to go to God’s Law to fix it?

What does the New Testament tell us about that approach?

Romans 7:7-12 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

When Paul first went to the Law what did he find?
• He found a command “You shall not covet”
• So, PROBLEM SOLVED RIGHT? No more coveting for him.

WRONG!
“sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind”

If anything he got worse!
And he said that “this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;”

• I found out about sin, I ran to the Law, and it didn’t help me at all.
• It just kept condemning me.
• It just kept exposing me.

You know how that chapter goes.
The good I wanted to do, I never did, I kept doing the very evil that I hated.

You know the dilemma.

It CULMINATED in Paul saying what?
“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

When Paul found sin in his life and ran to the Law,
It didn’t help him at all.
His sin got worse and his conviction and despair grew stronger.

Where did Paul get relief?
Where did Paul find victory?

• Christ, right.
• Christ set him free
• Christ declared him righteous

Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

But what about that lingering problem of sin?

WHAT ABOUT COVETING NOW?
How was he going to defeat it?

If you read Romans 8 the answer is given: THE HOLY SPIRIT

Romans 8:5-11 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

• Paul said that it was the Spirit who sanctified him.
• Paul said that it was Christ who freed him
• And the Spirit who gave him a new resurrected life.

• The Law didn’t make him righteous, Christ did.
• The Law didn’t sanctify him, the Holy Spirit did.

SO IT’S A LITTLE MISLEADING
To come to Psalms 119:29 and see a man who has struggled with sin
And to tell him that the solution to his problem
Is to just be more committed to God’s word.

We’re not sure how well that’s going to work out for him.

Beyond that, does not the Old Testament spell this out?
Do you we not remember Jeremiah or Ezekiel and their talk of the coming New Covenant?

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

Even the prophets knew that simply going to God’s Law
Was not going to provide any relief.

Sinful men with sinful hearts were not capable of obeying God’s Law.
IT WAS BEYOND THEM.

All they were going to find was more failure, more conviction,
More regret, and ultimately condemnation.

WE KNOW THIS ABOUT THE LAW.

• We know that Christ had to come and redeem us from the curse of the Law.
• We know that Christ had to condemn sin in the flesh.
• We know that Christ had to fulfill the Law in our stead.
• We know that Christ had to atone for our transgressions against God’s Law.

We know that.

So I don’t want you to read Psalms 119:25-32
And take some simplistic approach to it.

I DON’T WANT YOU TO READ IT AND SAY, “Oh, well if you stumble in sin, then the solution is to go read your Bible.”

Now, here’s the kicker, that is true.
THAT IS THE SOLUTION.

But I want you to know WHY that is the solution.
I want you to know what is happening and how it is happening.

IF YOU ARE A LOST PERSON
• And you seek relief from your sin
• And you think that you will get it by reading the Bible more,
• I have some sad news for you.

Just reading the Bible is NOT going to help.
NOT, IF you are reading it like some sort of checklist.

The Bible helps because it bears witness of Jesus.
Remember?

John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”

We definitely tell a lost person to read the Bible.
Not so they can learn how to live better,
But so they will run smack dab into Jesus.

BUT WE’RE NOT TALKING HERE ABOUT A LOST MAN BEING SAVED.

We are talking about a saved man who stumbles in sin
And doesn’t want to do it anymore.

We say that this man should also run to the Bible.
We say that this man should also read Scripture.

I mean, that’s what the Psalmist clearly did.
(30-32) “I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.”

• He clearly gave a new and greater commitment to Scripture.
• He placed God’s ordinances in front of him – HE READ IT
• He determined to cling to it
• He ran after obedience.

Certainly we see the commitment to God’s word.

What I want you to understand tonight is
WHY THAT APPROACH WORKS.

So let me just make a statement here:

You cannot use the Bible to sanctify yourself.
But when you go to the Bible, God will use it to sanctify you.

If you think that Scripture reading is some sort of tool or process
THAT YOU USE to become a better person, you are wrong.

The Scripture is a tool that THE HOLY SPIRIT USES
To mold and shape you into the image of Christ.

This Psalmist is not running to the Bible
So he can do away with his sin.
He is running to the Bible so God can do away with his sin.

Look at his requests.
• (25) “Revive me according to Your word”
• (26) “Teach me Your statutes”
• (27) “Make me understand the way of Your precepts”
• (28) “Strengthen me according to Your word.”
• (29) “Remove the false way from me”

Let me ask you, is the Psalmist doing any of that?
No, God is doing it all.

• The Psalmist can’t revive himself
• The Psalmist can’t teach himself
• The Psalmist can’t give himself understanding
• The Psalmist can’t strengthen himself
• The Psalmist can’t remove his own false way

BUT GOD CAN

And how does God do it?
Through His word.

The best analogy I could think of to illustrate this
Was an AUTOMATIC CAR WASH.

Often times when we go to Lubbock we might say,
“We need to go wash the car.”

So where do we go?
We go to an automatic car wash.

• Now, if I don’t go to the carwash will the car get washed? NO
• If I don’t commit to the carwash (pay money) will the car get washed? NO
• If I don’t pull into the little rail and put it in neutral will the car get washed? NO

So I DO have some responsibility here.

But am I about wash this car? Not at all.

THINK ABOUT READING YOUR BIBLE IN THE SAME WAY.

You aren’t reading your Bible to wash your life.
You are reading your Bible so God can wash your life.

It is the Spirit of God that uses the word of God
To perform sanctification in you.

Now, if you grieve because you stumble in sin
But you never go read your Bible,

That’s like a man who cries because his car is dirty
But won’t drive it through the carwash.

If you want a clean life, you must run to the Scripture.
But don’t be under any allusion here
As to who is doing the cleaning.

Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

• Christ washes his bride with the water of His word.
• She doesn’t wash herself, He washes her and He uses His word.

We think then to the upper room and that great illustration of sanctification.

John 13:3-10 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”

• The disciples were clean, that is to say they were justified.
• They had been declared righteous (all but Judas).
• But they still needed their feet washed because at times this world still sticks to you.

But they didn’t wash their own feet, Jesus washed their feet.
In fact He said, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

THAT IS THE SANCTIFICATION PROCESS.

I saw a quote by Robert Godfrey this week that I shared on Facebook, some of you may have seen it.

Since October is Reformation Month.
Godfrey said, “It wasn’t Luther or Calvin who reformed the church, it was the Word of God that reformed the church.”

THAT’S TRUE.
• You don’t revive yourself
• You don’t reform yourself
• You don’t teach or cleanse or sanctify yourself

God does that, and He does it through His word.

This Psalmist knew that.
He was going to commit himself to God’s word
So that God could complete all that he desired
Regarding his sanctification.

SO HERE’S THE APPLICATION PART.

Do you desire sanctification?
Do you want to stop seeing “the false way” show up in your life?
Do you want to walk in “the faithful way”?

Then place God’s word before you, cling to it, and run after it.
God will use it to clean you up.

AS YOU READ,
• He’ll change your thoughts,
• He’ll change your desires,
• He’ll change your motives,
• He’ll change your perspectives,
• He’ll change what gratifies you,
• He’ll change what offends you,
• He’ll change everything.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”

So as we think about the faithful way and walking in it.

For us, that begins with a commitment to reading Scripture
So that God may perform His work on us.