1 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:06,910 Speaker: Have you ever opened a gift, maybe Christmas or your birthday, 2 00:00:06,910 --> 00:00:10,010 and you've looked at this gift and thought to yourself, "What is it? 3 00:00:10,969 --> 00:00:12,219 And what do I do with it? 4 00:00:12,950 --> 00:00:13,660 And what good is it?" 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,939 I remember, uh, my mother-in-law, who likes to buy gifts for us off of 6 00:00:17,939 --> 00:00:21,619 Shark Tank each Christmas just to, to be funny, uh, one year she got 7 00:00:21,619 --> 00:00:22,719 us something called the StopDrop. 8 00:00:23,309 --> 00:00:28,090 And, uh, I, I remember opening it, and it was this black kinda nylon, uh, covered 9 00:00:28,260 --> 00:00:30,060 foam tube with a little slit in it. 10 00:00:30,060 --> 00:00:32,359 And I remember looking at it, and that was one of those moments I 11 00:00:32,359 --> 00:00:33,980 thought to myself, "What is this? 12 00:00:34,559 --> 00:00:35,709 What do I do with it? 13 00:00:35,739 --> 00:00:36,620 And what good is it?" 14 00:00:37,829 --> 00:00:41,649 She explained, uh, it's for your car, and it goes over your seatbelt buckle, and 15 00:00:41,649 --> 00:00:46,270 it, it fills the gap in between the center console and your seat, your driver's seat. 16 00:00:47,189 --> 00:00:50,109 I thought, "Okay, I, I don't know how useful that is, but fine, I'll, 17 00:00:50,109 --> 00:00:51,580 I'll put it there," and I did. 18 00:00:51,580 --> 00:00:54,489 And, and I, I installed it, and I started using it in my car, and I still didn't 19 00:00:54,489 --> 00:00:56,029 really know, well, what good is it? 20 00:00:56,559 --> 00:01:00,069 And then I, then I realized the first time that I dropped my phone 21 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,089 and it didn't go into that crevice where you can't get it because it's 22 00:01:04,110 --> 00:01:06,920 Your, your hands are too big, and you can't get them between the seat, and you 23 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,360 can't reach it, and you have to get a hockey stick or something like that to try 24 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:11,830 to wedge under there to get the phone out. 25 00:01:11,830 --> 00:01:14,949 Or the first time I dropped some french fries and they didn't go 26 00:01:14,950 --> 00:01:18,440 down to become petrified french fries for future generations to 27 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,030 discover in archeological digs. 28 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:27,238 Then I realized how good the StopDrop was Some of us might look at the Bible 29 00:01:27,258 --> 00:01:28,598 like I first looked at the StopDrop. 30 00:01:29,838 --> 00:01:32,777 Maybe you're here this morning and you hear messages and sermons like you've 31 00:01:32,777 --> 00:01:35,678 been hearing this summer on Summer in the Word about, "Okay, I'm supposed 32 00:01:35,678 --> 00:01:38,247 to read the Bible, I'm supposed to be in the Bible, I need to take it in," 33 00:01:38,247 --> 00:01:41,687 but y- you're kinda looking at it the way I first looked at that gift and, 34 00:01:41,687 --> 00:01:45,508 and you're wondering to yourself, "Yeah, but what good does it do?" 35 00:01:46,807 --> 00:01:48,287 Or maybe just, "What does it do at all?" 36 00:01:49,857 --> 00:01:54,527 Or maybe some of you in the room, uh, y- you know theoretically, conceptually, 37 00:01:54,527 --> 00:01:57,457 what the Bible is supposed to do in your life, but you've been in a rut 38 00:01:57,488 --> 00:02:02,238 recently, and you need some reminders of how good God's word is for us. 39 00:02:03,558 --> 00:02:06,767 Well, this morning, no matter where you are on that spectrum, I, I hope and I, 40 00:02:06,808 --> 00:02:10,638 I trust and I pray that our passage is going to encourage you this morning that 41 00:02:10,638 --> 00:02:13,748 the word of God is good and good for us. 42 00:02:14,707 --> 00:02:17,138 The word of God is good and good for us. 43 00:02:17,407 --> 00:02:22,497 Take your Bibles and open up to Psalm 119, and we're gonna begin in verse 49. 44 00:02:22,768 --> 00:02:25,047 We're gonna go down through verse 56 total, but let's just look at 45 00:02:25,067 --> 00:02:26,877 the first four verses together. 46 00:02:27,317 --> 00:02:30,828 Says this, "Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. 47 00:02:31,247 --> 00:02:36,187 This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. 48 00:02:36,537 --> 00:02:40,227 The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. 49 00:02:40,427 --> 00:02:44,167 When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord." 50 00:02:44,988 --> 00:02:48,167 I mentioned this last week, but we see again here in these verses 51 00:02:48,168 --> 00:02:51,628 that the psalmist was not writing Psalm 119 from the lap of luxury. 52 00:02:52,297 --> 00:02:55,547 If it was David, then David knew what it was to suffer. 53 00:02:55,547 --> 00:02:56,928 He knew what it was to be afflicted. 54 00:02:56,928 --> 00:02:59,007 He knew what it was to be in turmoil. 55 00:02:59,567 --> 00:03:04,098 Whoever it was, he says very plainly here that he is in affliction. 56 00:03:04,098 --> 00:03:06,417 "This is my comfort in affliction." 57 00:03:06,738 --> 00:03:07,937 He needs comfort. 58 00:03:07,947 --> 00:03:10,427 The insolent are utterly deriding him. 59 00:03:11,007 --> 00:03:13,567 And so sometimes we can come to church and we can be around other Christians, 60 00:03:13,577 --> 00:03:17,218 and we might think, "Well, your life is buttoned up and it looks all nice and, and 61 00:03:17,218 --> 00:03:20,647 neat and clean, so of course you would say that the word of God is working for you." 62 00:03:21,607 --> 00:03:23,767 But the word of God doesn't just work for us when life is good. 63 00:03:23,797 --> 00:03:28,137 The word of God in times works for us even more when life is, is not 64 00:03:28,527 --> 00:03:32,117 going so well, and that's where the psalmist is as we pick up. 65 00:03:32,558 --> 00:03:33,348 He needs comfort. 66 00:03:33,348 --> 00:03:34,128 He's in affliction. 67 00:03:34,528 --> 00:03:36,637 And so what the scriptures do, and one of the first things that we're gonna 68 00:03:36,638 --> 00:03:39,617 see here that the scriptures do for our good, is that the scriptures encourage us 69 00:03:39,817 --> 00:03:42,777 and spur us and propel us to keep going. 70 00:03:43,418 --> 00:03:46,057 Uh, the scriptures come alongside us when we need the boost, when we need 71 00:03:46,058 --> 00:03:49,038 the perspective shift, when we need the reminder of God's faithfulness. 72 00:03:49,837 --> 00:03:52,248 And so as we gather together this morning and asked ourselves the 73 00:03:52,248 --> 00:03:53,966 question, "What good is God's word?" 74 00:03:54,677 --> 00:03:56,947 the first thing that we're gonna see is God's word is good because 75 00:03:56,947 --> 00:04:00,707 point number one, it provides promises that fuel endurance. 76 00:04:01,617 --> 00:04:05,527 God's word is good for you because it provides promises that fuel 77 00:04:05,558 --> 00:04:08,267 endurance, that keep us going. 78 00:04:10,232 --> 00:04:13,032 Remember back in our study of 1 Peter, if you were with us then, I 79 00:04:13,032 --> 00:04:15,732 made the argument that we are not the church on vacation, we are the church 80 00:04:15,762 --> 00:04:19,072 in exile, that we are sojourners. 81 00:04:19,101 --> 00:04:21,711 We are strangers and aliens, as Peter says here. 82 00:04:21,712 --> 00:04:24,782 And so as such, we should expect affliction in this world. 83 00:04:25,262 --> 00:04:28,011 We should expect that we're not gonna be comfortable. 84 00:04:28,011 --> 00:04:32,341 We should expect that we're going to need the fuel of the promises of God 85 00:04:32,361 --> 00:04:34,972 to keep us going, to help us to endure. 86 00:04:35,622 --> 00:04:38,141 See, because we have an enemy who's prowling around like a roaring lion 87 00:04:38,142 --> 00:04:42,191 seeking someone to devour, who wants to do everything he can to discourage you 88 00:04:42,301 --> 00:04:46,651 from being in God's Word, to discourage you from enduring, to discourage you 89 00:04:46,841 --> 00:04:49,381 from your faithfulness, and he's been doing this from the very beginning. 90 00:04:50,281 --> 00:04:52,882 In fact, look at the very beginning of Ge- the, the Bible, Genesis 91 00:04:52,882 --> 00:04:54,441 chapter 3 with me for a second. 92 00:04:54,441 --> 00:04:57,981 It says this: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of 93 00:04:57,981 --> 00:04:59,771 the field that the Lord God had made. 94 00:04:59,781 --> 00:05:00,961 And he said to the woman…" 95 00:05:00,961 --> 00:05:03,941 Now, maybe you're not super familiar with the creation account, 96 00:05:04,301 --> 00:05:06,821 but at this point, this is Satan speaking through the serpent. 97 00:05:06,832 --> 00:05:10,231 So the s- the serpent is, uh, Satan has, has possessed the serpent, and the 98 00:05:10,231 --> 00:05:11,681 serpent goes and speaks to the woman. 99 00:05:11,681 --> 00:05:12,431 This is Eve. 100 00:05:12,981 --> 00:05:16,791 And he says to the woman, "Did God actually say?" 101 00:05:16,792 --> 00:05:18,761 So notice right away what the serpent is doing. 102 00:05:18,991 --> 00:05:20,421 He's attacking the Word of God. 103 00:05:20,421 --> 00:05:21,711 He's undermining the Word of God. 104 00:05:21,711 --> 00:05:25,032 He's introducing doubts into God's Word, questioning God's 105 00:05:25,222 --> 00:05:26,841 faithfulness and His goodness. 106 00:05:27,241 --> 00:05:30,531 "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?' 107 00:05:31,481 --> 00:05:35,341 And the woman, Eve, said to the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees 108 00:05:35,341 --> 00:05:38,212 in the garden, but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that 109 00:05:38,212 --> 00:05:41,631 is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."' 110 00:05:42,734 --> 00:05:44,394 But the serpent said to the woman 111 00:05:44,494 --> 00:05:45,244 Notice the contrast. 112 00:05:45,253 --> 00:05:50,354 God said, but the serpent said in verse 4, "You will not surely die. 113 00:05:50,573 --> 00:05:54,133 For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will 114 00:05:54,133 --> 00:05:57,494 be like God, knowing good and evil." 115 00:05:58,082 --> 00:06:01,523 And so notice that you and I have an enemy whose tactic from the very 116 00:06:01,523 --> 00:06:05,373 beginning has been to undermine God's faithfulness, to undermine the Word of 117 00:06:05,373 --> 00:06:10,013 God, to cause you to doubt, to cause you to question, to cause you to wonder, 118 00:06:10,173 --> 00:06:13,623 "God, are you really going to come through on what you said you would do?" 119 00:06:13,843 --> 00:06:17,584 To cause you to say, "God, what did you really mean when you said this?" 120 00:06:17,584 --> 00:06:22,063 To cause you to rationalize even and excuse disobedience, or to cause you 121 00:06:22,063 --> 00:06:24,423 to say, "Do I really need the Bible?" 122 00:06:24,434 --> 00:06:27,943 Or to cause you even, like we talked about last week, to wonder, "Is it even 123 00:06:27,943 --> 00:06:30,464 worth it to keep reading the Bible? 124 00:06:30,503 --> 00:06:33,332 Is it even worth it to keep pursuing the Lord?" 125 00:06:34,353 --> 00:06:35,593 That's what your enemy wants to do. 126 00:06:36,164 --> 00:06:37,383 That's the world in which we live. 127 00:06:37,734 --> 00:06:41,464 That's the reality of being sh- sojourners and strangers and exiles in this world. 128 00:06:42,353 --> 00:06:46,523 And so that's one of the reasons why we need the Word of God to fuel our 129 00:06:46,543 --> 00:06:48,683 endurance, to fuel our endurance. 130 00:06:48,704 --> 00:06:51,433 And what that endurance does for us, what that looks like, what that means is this. 131 00:06:51,443 --> 00:06:54,494 I think there's three things that we see in these verses where we can get 132 00:06:54,494 --> 00:06:56,904 some characteristics of the one who is enduring, and the first is this. 133 00:06:57,113 --> 00:07:01,223 It means standing firm in the promises of God, standing firm in them. 134 00:07:01,653 --> 00:07:06,744 Verse 49: "Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope." 135 00:07:07,384 --> 00:07:09,053 Remember your word to your servant. 136 00:07:09,064 --> 00:07:11,443 The psalmist, uh, calls on God. 137 00:07:11,443 --> 00:07:13,733 I- in fact, it's in a command voice in the Hebrew. 138 00:07:13,743 --> 00:07:14,663 It's an imperative verb. 139 00:07:15,063 --> 00:07:19,093 He's commanding, which sounds uncomfortable, but i- we'll talk 140 00:07:19,094 --> 00:07:21,663 about what he means here in a second, God to remember something. 141 00:07:21,673 --> 00:07:24,224 Now, God is omniscient, which means what? 142 00:07:24,243 --> 00:07:26,103 God knows all things. 143 00:07:26,313 --> 00:07:27,623 God exists outside of time. 144 00:07:27,623 --> 00:07:28,953 He knows the end from the beginning. 145 00:07:29,304 --> 00:07:31,933 If God had a phone, He would have an iPhone, not an Android, by the 146 00:07:31,933 --> 00:07:36,183 way, but if God had a phone, He would not need the Reminders app. 147 00:07:36,793 --> 00:07:37,734 He is God. 148 00:07:37,743 --> 00:07:38,823 He knows all things. 149 00:07:39,873 --> 00:07:43,353 And so as such, what is David or the psalmist or the author, what 150 00:07:43,353 --> 00:07:48,582 is he doing, saying, commanding God to remember His promises? 151 00:07:50,113 --> 00:07:53,013 Well, what he's doing is, is he's not implying that God might 152 00:07:53,013 --> 00:07:56,403 have forgotten, but he's simply cashing in the promises of God. 153 00:07:57,034 --> 00:08:00,343 He's saying, "God, I know that you have said these things, and I'm laying 154 00:08:00,344 --> 00:08:04,013 them before you because I need to know that you are faithful, and I need 155 00:08:04,013 --> 00:08:05,423 to remember that you are faithful. 156 00:08:05,424 --> 00:08:07,823 So God, please remember things like the fact that you are working 157 00:08:07,833 --> 00:08:11,053 all things together for my good because your word tells me you are. 158 00:08:11,793 --> 00:08:14,783 Please remember, God, that you are the God that's gonna wipe away 159 00:08:14,784 --> 00:08:17,424 every tear from my eyes because right now I'm weeping a lot of them. 160 00:08:17,832 --> 00:08:20,183 Please remember, God, that you are the God who knows the beginning 161 00:08:20,183 --> 00:08:23,444 from the end because right now I have questions, and I can't see 162 00:08:23,444 --> 00:08:24,644 the end from where I'm standing." 163 00:08:25,902 --> 00:08:30,282 And so the psalmist is calling on God, uh, uh, to, to remember these 164 00:08:30,292 --> 00:08:34,801 things, and he says, "These promises in which you have made me hope. 165 00:08:34,942 --> 00:08:37,861 Remember your word that you have given to your servant in 166 00:08:37,871 --> 00:08:38,931 which you have made me hope." 167 00:08:39,001 --> 00:08:41,322 The word hope there is the same word in the Hebrew for the word wait. 168 00:08:41,331 --> 00:08:44,191 I-I-- In which I'm waiting on you, God. 169 00:08:44,191 --> 00:08:47,391 Remember the things that I'm waiting for you to, to fulfill. 170 00:08:48,211 --> 00:08:51,671 And then he says in verse fifty, "This is my comfort in my affliction, 171 00:08:51,931 --> 00:08:54,331 that your promise gives me life." 172 00:08:55,001 --> 00:08:58,501 This is what comforts my soul, that your promise gives me life. 173 00:08:58,501 --> 00:09:00,831 You-your promise revives my soul. 174 00:09:00,841 --> 00:09:01,742 It awakens me. 175 00:09:01,751 --> 00:09:02,782 It enlivens me. 176 00:09:02,782 --> 00:09:05,691 Psalm nineteen says that, "The word of God revives the soul." 177 00:09:06,541 --> 00:09:09,792 So that you might be in the valley of the shadow of death, but the word of God is 178 00:09:09,792 --> 00:09:12,491 gonna give you the light of life as you're there because it's gonna remind you of 179 00:09:12,492 --> 00:09:16,491 the promises of God, that God is faithful, so you can stand firm in the promises. 180 00:09:16,492 --> 00:09:20,632 So when you are there and you sense the enemy is coming alongside to try 181 00:09:20,632 --> 00:09:22,581 to undermine your confidence in God. 182 00:09:23,242 --> 00:09:26,161 Did God really say that He would work all things together for your good? 183 00:09:26,161 --> 00:09:26,921 Did God really… 184 00:09:27,201 --> 00:09:29,571 Do you think God really cares about where you are right now? 185 00:09:29,571 --> 00:09:31,161 Do you think God cares about your struggle? 186 00:09:31,162 --> 00:09:32,801 Do you think God really cares about this? 187 00:09:33,652 --> 00:09:36,401 You need to preach the promises of God to your soul in those moments. 188 00:09:37,152 --> 00:09:39,602 You need to go back to, like, Romans eight, when I talked about that last week, 189 00:09:39,602 --> 00:09:42,491 that there's nothing that can separate you from the love of God under Christ Jesus. 190 00:09:42,701 --> 00:09:43,902 You need to preach that to your soul. 191 00:09:44,052 --> 00:09:46,591 You need to go to Ephesians one and preach to your soul that you have been 192 00:09:46,591 --> 00:09:49,771 sealed with the promised Holy Spirit as a guarantee of your inheritance, and 193 00:09:49,771 --> 00:09:51,401 that nothing can take you away from that. 194 00:09:51,611 --> 00:09:54,621 You need to preach to your soul, First Peter, chapter one, that you 195 00:09:54,631 --> 00:09:58,022 have been born again to a living hope that is imperishable and undefiled 196 00:09:58,022 --> 00:10:00,631 and unfading, that's being kept in heaven for you who are being guarded 197 00:10:00,631 --> 00:10:03,852 by God's power for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. 198 00:10:03,852 --> 00:10:07,372 You need to preach to your soul, Revelation twenty-one, that as you 199 00:10:07,372 --> 00:10:11,021 cry tears now, one day God is gonna wipe away all tears from your eyes. 200 00:10:12,402 --> 00:10:16,381 And you need to stand firm in those promises and say, "God, I'm, I'm 201 00:10:16,521 --> 00:10:18,221 immovable because You are faithful. 202 00:10:19,082 --> 00:10:19,661 You are faithful. 203 00:10:20,262 --> 00:10:22,451 You've promised You will, and I trust You will." 204 00:10:24,292 --> 00:10:26,142 So endurance means standing firm in the promises of God. 205 00:10:26,792 --> 00:10:29,462 Endurance also means, though, not being thrown by the world's opposition. 206 00:10:30,722 --> 00:10:33,012 I, I mentioned it a second ago, y- you should expect it. 207 00:10:33,321 --> 00:10:35,002 You should expect the opposition of the world. 208 00:10:35,012 --> 00:10:36,142 L- look at verse 51. 209 00:10:36,162 --> 00:10:39,051 He says this, "The insolent," the rude, the haughty, the prideful, 210 00:10:39,062 --> 00:10:41,790 the wicked, "they utterly deride me. 211 00:10:42,451 --> 00:10:44,661 They greatly mock, they disparage me. 212 00:10:45,632 --> 00:10:47,361 But I do not turn away from your law." 213 00:10:48,671 --> 00:10:49,961 The insolent utterly deride. 214 00:10:50,511 --> 00:10:51,621 They greatly mock me. 215 00:10:53,201 --> 00:10:56,412 I've been watching a lot of World Cup soccer recently, and there's 216 00:10:56,412 --> 00:10:58,391 something that happens in the second half of a soccer game 217 00:10:58,392 --> 00:11:01,081 specifically with a team in the lead. 218 00:11:01,432 --> 00:11:05,352 And that is that if one of the opposing players gets within breathing distance 219 00:11:05,352 --> 00:11:08,142 of them, they'll fall down, and they'll grab something on their leg, and they'll 220 00:11:08,142 --> 00:11:09,832 roll around on the ground, right? 221 00:11:10,492 --> 00:11:11,541 A- and they, they, uh… 222 00:11:11,552 --> 00:11:13,452 Or worse, the goalie will… 223 00:11:13,511 --> 00:11:16,291 A ball will roll up slower than a toddler could kick it, and the bully- 224 00:11:16,372 --> 00:11:18,972 goalie will pick it up, and then he'll fall down on the ground like 225 00:11:18,972 --> 00:11:20,251 he just had to make a diving save. 226 00:11:21,061 --> 00:11:22,091 And we all know what they're doing. 227 00:11:22,091 --> 00:11:23,132 Everybody knows what they're doing. 228 00:11:23,171 --> 00:11:23,991 They're killing time. 229 00:11:24,421 --> 00:11:27,792 They're trying to delay to get the clock to run out so that the match 230 00:11:27,822 --> 00:11:31,581 ends, and they can emerge victorious, and it is the most annoying thing 231 00:11:31,581 --> 00:11:33,012 on the face of the planet, right? 232 00:11:33,811 --> 00:11:37,271 But what happens when, when the opposing fans see a team doing that? 233 00:11:38,171 --> 00:11:38,721 What do they do? 234 00:11:38,752 --> 00:11:40,012 They boo, right? 235 00:11:40,042 --> 00:11:41,352 Or the Europeans whistle. 236 00:11:41,962 --> 00:11:45,661 Americans, we give a good throaty boo, and it's so much better to dis- to 237 00:11:45,661 --> 00:11:47,181 express our displeasure than the whistle. 238 00:11:48,271 --> 00:11:48,761 Whatever. 239 00:11:48,881 --> 00:11:49,872 That's neither here nor there. 240 00:11:50,222 --> 00:11:50,851 But they boo. 241 00:11:50,862 --> 00:11:52,031 You know what I've never seen? 242 00:11:52,241 --> 00:11:55,771 I've never seen a soccer team affected by the boos of the opposition so 243 00:11:55,771 --> 00:11:56,790 that they go, "You know what, guys? 244 00:11:57,182 --> 00:11:57,511 We are s- hold on. 245 00:11:57,521 --> 00:11:59,081 C- ref, can we call time out here? 246 00:11:59,351 --> 00:12:01,151 We are so sorry we've been dishonest. 247 00:12:01,651 --> 00:12:04,191 We are so sorry that we've been acting like sissies, rolling around and 248 00:12:04,221 --> 00:12:06,881 holding our shins 'cause we got a little boo-boo when he kicked me in the leg. 249 00:12:07,241 --> 00:12:10,692 We are so sorry that we have been flopping on the ground. 250 00:12:10,692 --> 00:12:11,821 W- we're gonna stop. 251 00:12:11,851 --> 00:12:14,541 We're gonna run after every ball that's kicked out of bounds as fast 252 00:12:14,541 --> 00:12:15,891 as we possibly can, full speed. 253 00:12:16,161 --> 00:12:18,492 We're gonna make sure that, that we get the ball back in play 254 00:12:18,691 --> 00:12:22,531 because you booed us, and that was shocking, and we did not expect that. 255 00:12:22,761 --> 00:12:25,312 And so we don't want you to be against us, so we're gonna change 256 00:12:25,312 --> 00:12:26,471 everything about what we're doing." 257 00:12:27,322 --> 00:12:28,461 Never seen a soccer team do that. 258 00:12:29,201 --> 00:12:35,402 In fact, I've seen them just be more sissy about things after that Y'all, we 259 00:12:35,402 --> 00:12:37,142 need to expect the boos of the world. 260 00:12:38,022 --> 00:12:41,352 We need to expect the fact that they're not gonna get what we're doing here. 261 00:12:41,352 --> 00:12:43,452 We need to expect the whistles of the Europeans. 262 00:12:44,411 --> 00:12:46,421 We need to expect that they're gonna look at your view of 263 00:12:46,422 --> 00:12:48,790 marriage and say, "What are you thinking, you narrow-minded bigot?" 264 00:12:49,982 --> 00:12:52,582 We need to expect that they're gonna look at our view of human sexuality 265 00:12:53,882 --> 00:12:56,942 and think y- you're intolerant and unloving and cruel and harsh. 266 00:12:57,931 --> 00:13:01,312 We're gonna have to expect that they're gonna look at us and say, "Why don't 267 00:13:01,322 --> 00:13:03,511 you use the same profanity that I use? 268 00:13:03,511 --> 00:13:04,341 Are you better than me?" 269 00:13:05,501 --> 00:13:09,901 We need to expect that our coworkers or our neighbors or our friends, 270 00:13:10,071 --> 00:13:12,541 quote-unquote, are gonna stop inviting us to things because they 271 00:13:12,542 --> 00:13:13,661 won't wanna be around us anymore. 272 00:13:14,922 --> 00:13:19,711 We need to expect that your friends are gonna think to themselves, "Why wouldn't 273 00:13:19,722 --> 00:13:21,271 you put your kid on the travel ball team? 274 00:13:21,281 --> 00:13:23,791 Because you just want them to be there on a Wednesday night for adventure club? 275 00:13:23,791 --> 00:13:27,612 W- w- why wouldn't you go to, to the travel tournaments on the weekends? 276 00:13:27,612 --> 00:13:28,922 Because you think it's important to be at church? 277 00:13:29,132 --> 00:13:29,952 What are you thinking?" 278 00:13:31,451 --> 00:13:35,891 We need to expect the opposition of the world. 279 00:13:36,941 --> 00:13:40,431 And expecting it, when we encounter it, we can't be thrown by it. 280 00:13:40,441 --> 00:13:42,232 We need to keep going. 281 00:13:43,051 --> 00:13:44,301 We need to keep pressing on. 282 00:13:44,572 --> 00:13:46,671 He says, "But I do not turn away from your law." 283 00:13:47,142 --> 00:13:48,641 The, the mocking is gonna come, the derision is gonna come, the 284 00:13:48,641 --> 00:13:52,851 disparaging is gonna come, and yet we need to say w- we're ready for 285 00:13:52,852 --> 00:13:55,361 that because we expect it and it's not gonna throw us from our mission. 286 00:13:56,282 --> 00:13:57,542 So we're gonna keep going. 287 00:13:58,001 --> 00:14:00,522 And so maybe you think about the, the family that's next door to you that 288 00:14:00,522 --> 00:14:02,812 you've invited to VBS for the last four years and they haven't come. 289 00:14:02,812 --> 00:14:03,382 Don't give up. 290 00:14:04,742 --> 00:14:06,672 Or maybe you think about the neighbors across the street and you've been 291 00:14:06,672 --> 00:14:08,711 trying to get to know them and, and they're one of those families that 292 00:14:08,712 --> 00:14:11,581 they pull into their driveway and the garage door closes as soon as 293 00:14:11,581 --> 00:14:13,291 their car gets into the, the house. 294 00:14:13,291 --> 00:14:14,091 Don't give up. 295 00:14:15,021 --> 00:14:16,602 Don't, don't stop pursuing. 296 00:14:17,361 --> 00:14:20,041 Or maybe it's your spouse who's been an unbeliever for the last… 297 00:14:20,051 --> 00:14:22,971 Y- you, you got saved two decades ago, and you've been living with somebody 298 00:14:22,971 --> 00:14:26,371 for 20 years who doesn't follow Christ and has drained you, and you've shared 299 00:14:26,371 --> 00:14:28,252 the gospel, and they've still resisted. 300 00:14:28,471 --> 00:14:29,051 Don't give up. 301 00:14:30,501 --> 00:14:33,771 The, the worst thing that could happen to us as a church, y'all, is for us 302 00:14:33,771 --> 00:14:37,701 to look around our community and think to ourselves, "They just don't really 303 00:14:37,701 --> 00:14:41,032 like Jesus, so why don't we just hang out together since we all like Jesus? 304 00:14:41,882 --> 00:14:43,281 Why don't we just become a holy huddle? 305 00:14:43,282 --> 00:14:45,002 Why don't we just get inwardly focused here? 306 00:14:45,002 --> 00:14:49,142 Why don't we just become our, our, our Christian clique, our sanctified sect, 307 00:14:49,481 --> 00:14:53,452 and just hang out together and let the world be the world a- and, and we'll just 308 00:14:53,452 --> 00:14:54,751 ride this out until Jesus comes back?" 309 00:14:56,878 --> 00:14:59,318 Y'all, that would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to us as a church. 310 00:15:00,568 --> 00:15:01,838 We are here to be a lampstand. 311 00:15:01,938 --> 00:15:02,768 We're here to be a light. 312 00:15:03,278 --> 00:15:04,208 We're not here to be comfortable. 313 00:15:05,428 --> 00:15:06,757 We're, we're here to be on mission. 314 00:15:07,358 --> 00:15:08,748 We're here to reach the neighbors. 315 00:15:09,347 --> 00:15:12,308 We're here to reach the people that don't look like us and worship at a 316 00:15:12,308 --> 00:15:13,837 temple instead of worshiping at a church. 317 00:15:15,017 --> 00:15:18,637 That's why God has us here, and as we try to pursue them, they are 318 00:15:18,638 --> 00:15:19,938 going to oppose what we stand for. 319 00:15:20,917 --> 00:15:24,567 We shouldn't be shocked by that, but instead we need to stay faithful. 320 00:15:24,567 --> 00:15:26,278 We don't need to turn away from the mission that God 321 00:15:26,278 --> 00:15:28,468 has given us and what we do. 322 00:15:28,468 --> 00:15:31,097 So endurance means not being thrown by the world's opposition. 323 00:15:31,817 --> 00:15:32,727 But third, what does endurance mean? 324 00:15:32,727 --> 00:15:35,348 It means this, it means being comforted by God's proven track record. 325 00:15:36,777 --> 00:15:39,697 And so the first part of endurance is looking forward, saying, "God, I'm 326 00:15:39,698 --> 00:15:42,617 gonna keep going because you've got promises that you're going to fulfill." 327 00:15:44,472 --> 00:15:46,015 Standing firm in the promises of God. 328 00:15:46,015 --> 00:15:48,682 A-and then the second part of endurance looks like saying, "You know what? 329 00:15:48,682 --> 00:15:51,452 The world's gonna oppose me as I'm doing that, and yet I'm 330 00:15:51,452 --> 00:15:52,182 not gonna be thrown by that. 331 00:15:52,182 --> 00:15:52,812 I'm gonna keep going." 332 00:15:53,752 --> 00:15:59,001 And this third one is the balm to the soul as we stand firm, as we keep going, 333 00:15:59,242 --> 00:16:02,382 and that is to be comforted by the promises of God's Word, comforted by 334 00:16:02,382 --> 00:16:04,301 the, the, the proven track record of God. 335 00:16:05,812 --> 00:16:08,011 He says that … He says in verse 52, "When I think of your rules 336 00:16:08,021 --> 00:16:09,201 of old, I take comfort, O Lord. 337 00:16:09,921 --> 00:16:10,942 When I think of your rules of old…" 338 00:16:10,942 --> 00:16:14,021 So he's looking backwards, and for the psalmist, he's looking back probably 339 00:16:14,021 --> 00:16:18,531 to the Abrahamic Covenant and the blessings, the promises to Abraham and 340 00:16:18,532 --> 00:16:21,511 Sarah of the birth of Isaac, the promises that went through the forefathers, 341 00:16:21,521 --> 00:16:22,802 the inhabiting of the Promised Land. 342 00:16:23,032 --> 00:16:25,002 And he's looking back at those things saying, "God, you were 343 00:16:25,002 --> 00:16:28,742 faithful then, and you'll be faithful now, and that comforts me." 344 00:16:29,901 --> 00:16:32,871 We have the benefit and the blessing of being able to look back not just to the 345 00:16:32,872 --> 00:16:35,881 Abrahamic Covenant but also to all of the different promises that God has fulfilled. 346 00:16:35,891 --> 00:16:38,790 Just think about some of the Messianic promises that were fulfilled 347 00:16:38,790 --> 00:16:39,891 in Christ at His first coming. 348 00:16:40,361 --> 00:16:43,711 Depending on your source, there's anywhere from 57 to s- I, I saw one source said 349 00:16:43,712 --> 00:16:47,371 there were over 300 different Messianic allusions or prophecies that you could 350 00:16:47,372 --> 00:16:48,821 trace to the first coming of Jesus. 351 00:16:50,101 --> 00:16:52,381 Things like He was born of a virgin, Isaiah chapter 7. 352 00:16:53,722 --> 00:16:57,161 Or He was born in Bethlehem Ephrathah, a town too small to be numbered among 353 00:16:57,161 --> 00:17:00,861 the, the, the tribes, Micah 5:2. 354 00:17:00,862 --> 00:17:03,561 Or that He was born of the line of David in 2 Samuel chapter 7. 355 00:17:05,060 --> 00:17:07,142 Or that He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our 356 00:17:07,142 --> 00:17:08,742 iniquities in Isaiah chapter 53. 357 00:17:10,541 --> 00:17:12,891 So we can go to the Word of God and say, "God, you have fulfilled your promises 358 00:17:12,892 --> 00:17:16,531 time and time and time again, a-and, and so I'm gonna take great comfort in that." 359 00:17:16,731 --> 00:17:19,050 But then we can even go beyond that and, and not just look to the 360 00:17:19,050 --> 00:17:20,732 scriptures, but look to your own life. 361 00:17:20,771 --> 00:17:23,800 Every single one of us in this room who named Christ as our Savior have a 362 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,070 testimony to add and layers to add to saying, "God, you've been faithful in 363 00:17:27,071 --> 00:17:29,322 my life in the past in so many ways. 364 00:17:29,541 --> 00:17:31,301 You came through and provided a child. 365 00:17:31,301 --> 00:17:32,761 You came through and restored my marriage. 366 00:17:32,761 --> 00:17:36,261 You came through and, and, and provided for our, our financial needs. 367 00:17:36,261 --> 00:17:39,672 God, y-you have been so good to me in the past." 368 00:17:40,962 --> 00:17:45,411 And so when I consider your rules of old, I take comfort, O Lord. 369 00:17:46,282 --> 00:17:48,631 Endurance means being comforted by God's proven track record. 370 00:17:49,361 --> 00:17:52,351 If He was faithful then, He's gonna be faithful to you still, and He will 371 00:17:52,351 --> 00:17:55,862 be faithful to you in the future, 'cause He's a God who is unchanging. 372 00:17:57,941 --> 00:18:01,262 The point is we can look to the scriptures and we can find that comfort. 373 00:18:01,281 --> 00:18:02,911 We can find that encouragement to endure. 374 00:18:03,281 --> 00:18:05,691 And the enemy all along is gonna be trying to get you off the Word. 375 00:18:06,171 --> 00:18:08,751 He's gonna be trying to undermine the Word, trying to question the Word of God. 376 00:18:09,012 --> 00:18:09,931 Don't let him do it. 377 00:18:10,141 --> 00:18:12,331 Hold fast to the scriptures. 378 00:18:12,531 --> 00:18:13,201 Endure. 379 00:18:13,212 --> 00:18:15,331 Hold fast to the promises that fuel endurance. 380 00:18:16,910 --> 00:18:20,260 But I wanna, uh, talk now about w-what do I do with the opposition, though? 381 00:18:21,610 --> 00:18:23,910 Uh, what do we do about the wickedness that we see so 382 00:18:23,910 --> 00:18:25,159 prevalent in the world around us? 383 00:18:26,379 --> 00:18:29,009 The Word of God is good because it fuels our endurance, but the Word of God also 384 00:18:29,009 --> 00:18:33,319 is good because it helps us begin to understand and frame our understanding 385 00:18:33,330 --> 00:18:34,420 of the wickedness in this world. 386 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:35,319 Look at verse 53. 387 00:18:35,789 --> 00:18:39,290 He says this, he says, "Hot indignation seizes me because of 388 00:18:39,290 --> 00:18:40,649 the wicked who forsake your law. 389 00:18:41,199 --> 00:18:43,660 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked who forsake your law." 390 00:18:43,660 --> 00:18:45,199 I wanna talk about something just briefly. 391 00:18:45,199 --> 00:18:49,220 I don't have time to do it full justice, but from a high level here, there's a, 392 00:18:49,250 --> 00:18:52,640 an argument for the existence of God in apologetics that's called the moral 393 00:18:52,689 --> 00:18:56,929 argument for the existence of God, and the moral argument for the existence of God, 394 00:18:57,610 --> 00:19:03,529 in summary, says this: there are moral right and wrongs that exist that transcend 395 00:19:03,599 --> 00:19:07,729 culture, transcend time, transcend race, transcend religion, transcend people. 396 00:19:08,669 --> 00:19:11,629 A- and at the end of the day, we have to be able to point to something 397 00:19:11,660 --> 00:19:13,479 that explains why that's there. 398 00:19:14,750 --> 00:19:18,519 A- and really, you need a source that transcends all of that. 399 00:19:18,910 --> 00:19:22,800 You need a source outside of that which has been created to be able to 400 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:27,119 provide the standard that is written on the hearts of all human beings that 401 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:28,469 says this is right and this is wrong. 402 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,880 In a naturalistic worldview, that is, a worldview that eliminates God from 403 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:37,069 the equation, a worldview that says that, that there is no God, they… 404 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:41,700 That worldview cannot explain the existence of these universal morals. 405 00:19:43,450 --> 00:19:47,049 Case in point, let's just take the main precept of Darwinian 406 00:19:47,049 --> 00:19:48,909 evolution, which is survival of what? 407 00:19:49,689 --> 00:19:50,590 The fittest. 408 00:19:51,029 --> 00:19:52,479 There's no morality in that. 409 00:19:53,429 --> 00:19:57,819 A Darwinian evolutionist can't argue morals, because if I tell you, "Yes, 410 00:19:57,819 --> 00:20:01,949 but this puts me above you, and this is about my survival over your 411 00:20:01,950 --> 00:20:06,789 survival," then I'm following the, the worldview of a Darwinian evolutionist. 412 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,259 You have to have something that exists outside to be able to f- provide a 413 00:20:11,259 --> 00:20:14,600 moral standard that's gonna transcend all time, space, and culture. 414 00:20:15,700 --> 00:20:19,290 And so with that in view, and again, that's a, a, a very truncated view 415 00:20:19,309 --> 00:20:22,850 there of the, the moral argument for the existence of God, I see 416 00:20:22,850 --> 00:20:26,919 that principle here in Psalm 119:53. 417 00:20:26,919 --> 00:20:32,110 Because what Psalm 119:53 does, for us as believers at least, is it provides 418 00:20:32,110 --> 00:20:36,599 a framework for us to understand the wickedness and the evil and the 419 00:20:36,639 --> 00:20:40,219 opposition of the world that we're gonna encounter as we navigate this life. 420 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:42,590 The Word of God is good. 421 00:20:43,109 --> 00:20:45,669 It's good because it provides promises that fuel endurance, and 422 00:20:45,669 --> 00:20:50,190 second, it's good because it provides a framework to respond to evil. 423 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,859 It provides a framework to respond to evil 424 00:20:56,686 --> 00:21:03,916 If I reject God, I don't really have a leg to stand on to object to evil. 425 00:21:05,636 --> 00:21:08,956 Because again, if I go back to the very principle of naturalistic evolution, 426 00:21:08,966 --> 00:21:10,596 it is survival of the fittest. 427 00:21:12,245 --> 00:21:16,135 And so to appeal to something as right and wrong, I have to 428 00:21:16,155 --> 00:21:18,765 be able to appeal to someone who established what is right and wrong 429 00:21:20,942 --> 00:21:22,332 You've probably felt it before. 430 00:21:22,862 --> 00:21:26,312 As a believer, I would be sure that you've felt it before. 431 00:21:26,952 --> 00:21:31,542 A, a rising anger in the face of someone who is openly defying God and His Word. 432 00:21:32,911 --> 00:21:36,031 A, a, a simmering indignation over somebody who's flaunting 433 00:21:36,031 --> 00:21:39,982 their disobedience, who's boasting in their insolence. 434 00:21:41,532 --> 00:21:44,222 And maybe you've wondered, is there a permissible category for that? 435 00:21:45,942 --> 00:21:48,592 I believe Psalm 119:53 tells us that there is. 436 00:21:49,952 --> 00:21:53,251 He says here, "Hot indignation seizes me." 437 00:21:53,741 --> 00:21:56,841 The, the phrase, the two words there, "hot indignation," it, it's from a word in the 438 00:21:56,841 --> 00:22:00,921 Hebrew that means a, a burning, blowing wind, and it was used metaphorically 439 00:22:00,922 --> 00:22:04,102 to refer to rage and fury in a person 440 00:22:06,398 --> 00:22:11,558 That's a little odd to, to think about, that we should feel a, a rage and a 441 00:22:11,558 --> 00:22:13,558 fury about something as, as Christians. 442 00:22:14,488 --> 00:22:16,597 But notice there's a, a cause and effect relationship here. 443 00:22:16,787 --> 00:22:19,998 The psalmist is seized by hot indignation. 444 00:22:20,808 --> 00:22:22,448 He's not taking it up. 445 00:22:22,877 --> 00:22:26,428 He's not saying, "I'm choosing hot indignation." 446 00:22:26,607 --> 00:22:28,447 There's a, a cause and effect relationship. 447 00:22:28,587 --> 00:22:33,978 It happens to him, it seizes him because of the wicked who forsake your law. 448 00:22:35,127 --> 00:22:35,857 Because of the wicked. 449 00:22:35,867 --> 00:22:38,817 In the, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it's a word for sinners there. 450 00:22:39,248 --> 00:22:42,798 Because of the sinners who forsake your law, they reject your law, they set 451 00:22:42,798 --> 00:22:44,137 it aside, they cast it behind them. 452 00:22:44,807 --> 00:22:45,997 They openly defy you. 453 00:22:46,707 --> 00:22:51,267 And when I see that, the cause, their rebellion, it produces the 454 00:22:51,268 --> 00:22:55,067 result in me, the effect in me of this hot indignation that I have. 455 00:22:56,277 --> 00:22:59,027 Which again, for us as Christians makes sense because we appeal to a 456 00:22:59,027 --> 00:23:03,707 holy God who's established through his law what is right and what is wrong. 457 00:23:04,457 --> 00:23:08,117 And so we see what is wrong, and then the response in us is to be 458 00:23:08,397 --> 00:23:12,627 offended for God, to have a, a holy and a righteous indignation. 459 00:23:12,797 --> 00:23:16,747 That's the natural response that we should feel towards sin. 460 00:23:17,447 --> 00:23:18,357 In fact, let me go further. 461 00:23:18,568 --> 00:23:22,677 Our love for the Lord and our love for his Word, it eliminates the possibility 462 00:23:22,678 --> 00:23:26,857 for us as Christians that we should see sin and feel nothing about it 463 00:23:29,006 --> 00:23:31,906 And it certainly eliminates the possibility that we should see 464 00:23:31,906 --> 00:23:35,546 sin and want to fellowship with those who are openly defying God. 465 00:23:36,636 --> 00:23:39,655 I just wanna read a few verses from the scriptures that speak to the contrast 466 00:23:39,656 --> 00:23:42,916 that exists between those that are of the Lord and those that are of the world. 467 00:23:43,956 --> 00:23:47,305 Psalm 1:1, we've referenced it a few times in this series, "Blessed is the 468 00:23:47,305 --> 00:23:50,686 man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, 469 00:23:50,865 --> 00:23:53,046 nor sits in the seat of scoffers." 470 00:23:54,555 --> 00:23:58,406 Psalm 97:10, "O you who love the Lord, hate evil." 471 00:23:59,736 --> 00:24:01,436 O you who love the Lord, hate evil. 472 00:24:02,785 --> 00:24:06,345 Proverbs 4:18-19, "But the path of the righteous is like the light 473 00:24:06,375 --> 00:24:10,345 of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day. 474 00:24:10,945 --> 00:24:14,016 The way of the wicked is like a deep darkness; they do not 475 00:24:14,026 --> 00:24:16,585 know over what they stumble." 476 00:24:17,456 --> 00:24:19,205 The righteous, their path is like the light. 477 00:24:19,225 --> 00:24:21,445 The path of the wicked is like the darkness. 478 00:24:21,445 --> 00:24:26,415 Th- this is something that John picks up on in John 3:19-21. 479 00:24:26,416 --> 00:24:30,005 Says, "This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and the people 480 00:24:30,006 --> 00:24:33,425 love the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 481 00:24:33,796 --> 00:24:37,225 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the 482 00:24:37,226 --> 00:24:39,726 light, lest his works should be exposed. 483 00:24:39,995 --> 00:24:44,095 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that 484 00:24:44,095 --> 00:24:45,845 his works have been carried out in God." 485 00:24:46,805 --> 00:24:48,075 Light and darkness. 486 00:24:49,195 --> 00:24:53,416 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. 487 00:24:53,756 --> 00:24:56,675 For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? 488 00:24:56,845 --> 00:24:58,875 What fellowship has light with darkness? 489 00:24:58,985 --> 00:25:00,736 What accord has Christ with Belial? 490 00:25:00,906 --> 00:25:05,045 Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?" 491 00:25:06,205 --> 00:25:11,735 You can just jot down for yourself Ephesians 5:8-11, 1 John 1:5-7, 492 00:25:11,745 --> 00:25:14,345 more passages talking about the contrast between light and darkness. 493 00:25:15,535 --> 00:25:18,205 But all of this goes back to the fact that if we are in Christ and 494 00:25:18,205 --> 00:25:21,555 the Spirit dwells within us, there needs to be a response to sin. 495 00:25:21,565 --> 00:25:23,915 There needs to be a response to rebelliousness. 496 00:25:23,945 --> 00:25:28,995 There needs to be a, a hot indignation, a righteous anger that arises within 497 00:25:28,995 --> 00:25:30,906 us when we see God's Word openly defied 498 00:25:33,550 --> 00:25:36,210 There's a sense in which it's not only appropriate for us to have this visceral 499 00:25:36,210 --> 00:25:40,800 reaction to sin, but it's a mark of our faith that we should respond this way. 500 00:25:42,470 --> 00:25:45,989 And so when you see the world flaunt the perversion of God's design 501 00:25:45,990 --> 00:25:48,780 for marriage, it should inspire in you a righteous indignation. 502 00:25:49,769 --> 00:25:53,779 When you see the world defy God's created design for human sexuality, 503 00:25:53,780 --> 00:25:58,729 it should create in you a, a revulsion that is in a righteous indignation 504 00:26:01,336 --> 00:26:05,656 When you see evil in the world, despotic regimes, terroristic regimes, it should 505 00:26:05,656 --> 00:26:07,356 create in you a righteous indignation 506 00:26:09,912 --> 00:26:14,792 When you see people celebrate the murder of the unborn, it should 507 00:26:14,792 --> 00:26:16,612 produce in you a righteous indignation. 508 00:26:18,412 --> 00:26:21,492 When you see liars and thieves and adulterers and the like, it should 509 00:26:21,492 --> 00:26:23,592 produce in you a righteous indignation 510 00:26:26,222 --> 00:26:30,512 And let me also say, when you see sin in your own life, it should 511 00:26:30,512 --> 00:26:32,312 produce in you a hot indignation 512 00:26:34,424 --> 00:26:39,724 When we see covetousness, greed, lust, anger, sinful anger creeping up in 513 00:26:39,724 --> 00:26:45,494 our own lives, we would do well to be angry in the same way when we see it 514 00:26:45,494 --> 00:26:49,544 in other people's lives because it's rooted to an offense against God. 515 00:26:50,894 --> 00:26:54,024 A-a-and of that, let me just give you two caveats about this righteous 516 00:26:54,033 --> 00:26:55,363 indignation that we should have. 517 00:26:56,484 --> 00:27:01,063 The first is this, it's, it's not a license for sinful anger, right? 518 00:27:01,133 --> 00:27:04,053 And, and that's so important for us as the church to, to, to know. 519 00:27:04,273 --> 00:27:08,773 We should be angry when we see God's law defied, but we also have to remember 520 00:27:08,783 --> 00:27:13,363 that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual 521 00:27:13,364 --> 00:27:14,604 forces at work in this present age 522 00:27:18,158 --> 00:27:22,058 Psalm 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26, they both say, "Be angry and do not sin." 523 00:27:23,328 --> 00:27:28,967 So there is a way for us to be angry and not let it cross over into sin, which 524 00:27:28,977 --> 00:27:33,227 implies there's also a way for us to be angry and to let it cross over into sin. 525 00:27:34,118 --> 00:27:34,807 And so how do I know? 526 00:27:34,808 --> 00:27:35,487 How do I determine? 527 00:27:35,487 --> 00:27:39,697 Well, a good litmus test is, is my anger connected more to a personal 528 00:27:39,727 --> 00:27:44,327 offense or inconvenience, or is it more of an anger that is truly an anger 529 00:27:44,328 --> 00:27:48,777 because God's character is offended, because God's law is being broken? 530 00:27:50,318 --> 00:27:52,207 Is my anger leading me to slander? 531 00:27:52,217 --> 00:27:54,227 Is my anger leading me to divisiveness? 532 00:27:54,237 --> 00:27:56,877 Is my anger leading to a sinfulness in my attitude? 533 00:27:57,167 --> 00:28:00,457 Am I murdering someone in my heart with my thoughts about them? 534 00:28:01,408 --> 00:28:03,507 Well, if I am, then my anger is not a righteous anger 535 00:28:06,062 --> 00:28:09,022 Instead, our anger should be rooted to a deep love for the Lord and for 536 00:28:09,022 --> 00:28:12,891 His Word, that we're angry on God's behalf, that we're incensed because we 537 00:28:12,891 --> 00:28:16,502 know that all sin is an act of cosmic rebellion, a cosmic treason against God. 538 00:28:17,462 --> 00:28:21,312 That we're, we're angry because we know the lengths to which God went in 539 00:28:21,312 --> 00:28:24,762 order to deal with sin by providing a remedy through Jesus Christ, who died 540 00:28:24,762 --> 00:28:28,032 on the cross for our sins, that we would be forgiven, and then rose again 541 00:28:28,032 --> 00:28:29,792 that we would live for Him forever. 542 00:28:29,792 --> 00:28:33,512 But, but the idea that He died on the cross for our sins, and then we 543 00:28:33,512 --> 00:28:39,001 see people openly celebrating sin, that should produce in us a righteous 544 00:28:39,081 --> 00:28:43,871 indignation, which should then lead us and propel us and compel us to pray. 545 00:28:45,021 --> 00:28:47,391 To pray prayers like, "God, break their heart over their sin 546 00:28:50,399 --> 00:28:52,100 God put an end to that institution. 547 00:28:52,100 --> 00:28:54,860 We've been talking about in precatory prayers on the Psalms, uh, in the Psalms 548 00:28:54,949 --> 00:28:56,639 in our daily Bible podcast recently. 549 00:28:57,610 --> 00:29:01,339 To praise things like, "God, I want you to completely obliterate 550 00:29:01,340 --> 00:29:03,260 Planned Par- Parenthood from off the face of the planet. 551 00:29:03,980 --> 00:29:04,629 Shut it down 552 00:29:07,416 --> 00:29:09,446 God, defeat that measure before it becomes law. 553 00:29:11,116 --> 00:29:12,956 God, remove that person from office. 554 00:29:14,126 --> 00:29:16,015 God, end, overthrow that regime 555 00:29:18,446 --> 00:29:21,656 These are prayers that can be expressions of a righteous indignation, but it's 556 00:29:21,656 --> 00:29:23,426 not a license for a sinful anger. 557 00:29:24,795 --> 00:29:27,095 And along those lines, the second caveat is this, it, it doesn't 558 00:29:27,096 --> 00:29:29,535 compete with our love for the lost. 559 00:29:30,976 --> 00:29:32,426 It doesn't compete with our love for the lost. 560 00:29:32,436 --> 00:29:36,005 You can hate the sin of the lost and still pursue them with the gospel. 561 00:29:37,585 --> 00:29:39,315 In fact, that's what we're called to do as believers. 562 00:29:40,585 --> 00:29:43,295 And thank God, because all of us were at one point in time lost. 563 00:29:44,255 --> 00:29:46,525 All of us were at one point in time objects of the wrath of 564 00:29:46,525 --> 00:29:48,085 God, as Ephesians chapter 2 says. 565 00:29:48,635 --> 00:29:51,325 And yet God loved us so much to have somebody come, and even though 566 00:29:51,326 --> 00:29:54,475 they hated our sin, they still loved us to share the gospel with us. 567 00:29:55,755 --> 00:30:01,035 And so when you see these sinful acts that lead you into righteous r- r- indignation 568 00:30:01,035 --> 00:30:05,205 or, or hot indignation or righteous anger, don't let that be an excuse for why you no 569 00:30:05,205 --> 00:30:08,426 longer have to share the gospel with that person or why you can pray that, that that 570 00:30:08,426 --> 00:30:10,135 person just leaves and leaves you alone. 571 00:30:12,015 --> 00:30:14,476 There may be times where your prayer has to be, "God, bring somebody else 572 00:30:14,476 --> 00:30:17,125 in to share the gospel with them 'cause I don't know that I can right now." 573 00:30:17,126 --> 00:30:19,936 But you need to pray, "God, bring somebody else in to share the gospel with them. 574 00:30:20,955 --> 00:30:23,206 God, soften their heart so that they'll come to faith in Jesus." 575 00:30:24,565 --> 00:30:26,665 And so the righteous indignation that we feel doesn't compete 576 00:30:26,666 --> 00:30:29,095 with our love for the lost. 577 00:30:30,306 --> 00:30:33,095 Y'all, when we look to the Word of God, the Word of God uniquely 578 00:30:33,096 --> 00:30:37,806 provides a, a rational reason for the way we feel about sin in the world. 579 00:30:39,315 --> 00:30:43,265 Because we know a holy God who is the holy lawgiver, then we have 580 00:30:43,265 --> 00:30:47,705 a reason to feel incensed when we see sin, when we see evil. 581 00:30:48,835 --> 00:30:53,976 As Christians, we have a, a foundation for that, and God's Word provides the 582 00:30:53,976 --> 00:30:56,345 framework for us to respond to evil. 583 00:30:56,405 --> 00:30:58,356 It's another reason why it's good for us 584 00:31:01,432 --> 00:31:05,582 I could tell you my, my phone is, is good for me in some sense. 585 00:31:06,282 --> 00:31:08,802 It's certainly a, a, an ever-present companion with me. 586 00:31:09,092 --> 00:31:12,481 It, I use it to communicate with my family and, and to communicate with other people 587 00:31:12,481 --> 00:31:13,972 through text and email and phone calls. 588 00:31:15,092 --> 00:31:18,762 I use it, my, my email, my Slack on there, my calendar to keep my 589 00:31:18,762 --> 00:31:21,601 work life organized, and so it's useful to me for that degree. 590 00:31:21,602 --> 00:31:24,512 I, I've got maps apps so that I don't get lost or like Pastor Rob 591 00:31:24,512 --> 00:31:26,511 was preaching about a couple weeks ago, to be able to check traffic. 592 00:31:26,512 --> 00:31:27,792 So it's, it's useful for me. 593 00:31:27,792 --> 00:31:30,721 It's good for me there, and, and I- it's a, a present companion. 594 00:31:30,721 --> 00:31:32,891 I keep it with me on a regular basis for that. 595 00:31:33,242 --> 00:31:36,021 Um, I have a Kindle app on there, so while I'm waiting in line, I can make 596 00:31:36,021 --> 00:31:37,312 progress in a book that I'm reading. 597 00:31:37,582 --> 00:31:40,742 And I've also got some entertainment apps on there, YouTube or, or 598 00:31:40,742 --> 00:31:45,141 Victory+ to watch the Rangers lose to the evil Houston Astros 599 00:31:47,502 --> 00:31:48,262 But it's useful. 600 00:31:48,341 --> 00:31:48,892 It's good. 601 00:31:48,912 --> 00:31:51,282 It's a, it's a good companion, and it, and it is a companion. 602 00:31:51,282 --> 00:31:54,652 I make sure that I have it with me because I, I use it because it's helpful for me. 603 00:31:55,672 --> 00:31:59,472 But as scare quotes, "good" a companion as my phone is, 604 00:31:59,952 --> 00:32:01,141 the Word of God is far better. 605 00:32:02,391 --> 00:32:05,012 The Word of God provides a far better companion for us, and we 606 00:32:05,012 --> 00:32:06,601 see that here in our final section. 607 00:32:06,601 --> 00:32:07,431 Look at verse fifty-four. 608 00:32:07,432 --> 00:32:07,981 It says this. 609 00:32:08,272 --> 00:32:11,681 He says, "Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojournings. 610 00:32:12,201 --> 00:32:14,841 I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law. 611 00:32:15,141 --> 00:32:18,462 This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts." 612 00:32:20,686 --> 00:32:24,186 You know, I pray that you would find the Word of God not only to be useful, 613 00:32:24,196 --> 00:32:27,126 but that, that it would really truly as a result of that become your constant 614 00:32:27,136 --> 00:32:31,685 companion in this life as you seek to follow Christ faithfully, that you would 615 00:32:31,686 --> 00:32:33,166 see that the Word of God is good for that. 616 00:32:34,445 --> 00:32:36,606 What we're gonna see finally in this last section is this: the Word of God 617 00:32:36,606 --> 00:32:40,325 is good, third, because it provides a c- companion for navigating life. 618 00:32:41,666 --> 00:32:43,336 It provides a companion for navigating life. 619 00:32:43,705 --> 00:32:47,136 Companionship is, is something that, that is, is innate to humanity. 620 00:32:47,215 --> 00:32:48,495 We long for it. 621 00:32:48,985 --> 00:32:50,395 Uh, we, we desire it. 622 00:32:50,965 --> 00:32:56,356 Um, they have things out there to, to kinda fake companionship 623 00:32:56,356 --> 00:32:57,285 if, if I can put it that way. 624 00:32:57,285 --> 00:32:59,245 They've got robotic dogs that are out there that… 625 00:32:59,245 --> 00:33:03,965 or, or pets that you can have and, and it scratches an itch of companionship. 626 00:33:04,335 --> 00:33:09,196 Or recently, Pastor Rod sent us o- on the staff channel this week a, a YouTube 627 00:33:09,196 --> 00:33:13,895 video of the update to Slack's voice recognition situation where it can carry 628 00:33:13,895 --> 00:33:16,755 on a conversation with you and even interrupt you if you weren't interrupted 629 00:33:16,755 --> 00:33:17,896 enough by other people in life. 630 00:33:18,275 --> 00:33:19,525 Now AI will interrupt you. 631 00:33:19,596 --> 00:33:23,105 Um, you don't have to, to even do anything to, to thank it for doing that. 632 00:33:23,495 --> 00:33:27,565 But what was fascinating i- is this, the, this three people that they had on this 633 00:33:27,575 --> 00:33:32,186 YouTube video to talk about the new voice features on ChatGPT were these three 634 00:33:32,196 --> 00:33:36,575 elderly women, and they were t- they were talking to this as though it was a friend. 635 00:33:37,546 --> 00:33:41,685 And, and ChatGPT was talking back to them, and it was meant to be like, 636 00:33:41,695 --> 00:33:43,606 "It's less like talking to a machine. 637 00:33:43,606 --> 00:33:45,386 It's more like talking to a real person." 638 00:33:45,895 --> 00:33:47,076 In fact, the hook line is this. 639 00:33:47,275 --> 00:33:53,156 Their hook is, "A new generation of voice models for natural human-AI interaction." 640 00:33:55,928 --> 00:33:57,798 What does A stand for in AI? 641 00:33:59,267 --> 00:34:00,088 Artificial. 642 00:34:00,898 --> 00:34:03,687 What is artificial not? 643 00:34:04,638 --> 00:34:05,467 Natural. 644 00:34:05,597 --> 00:34:06,057 Okay. 645 00:34:06,777 --> 00:34:08,877 Listen, y'all, we're being fleeced, okay? 646 00:34:09,726 --> 00:34:11,078 Let me read the tagline again. 647 00:34:11,667 --> 00:34:15,917 "A new generation of voice models for natural human artificial 648 00:34:15,917 --> 00:34:17,578 intelligence interactions." 649 00:34:20,942 --> 00:34:25,952 But that's how deep our desire for companionship runs that we're even 650 00:34:25,952 --> 00:34:27,752 looking for it in the artificial. 651 00:34:27,762 --> 00:34:31,032 A- and let's not just blame the AI generation. 652 00:34:31,032 --> 00:34:34,172 This started, for all my 1980s kids, back with My Buddy and Kid Sister. 653 00:34:34,991 --> 00:34:37,312 Anybody old enough to claim knowledge of those things? 654 00:34:37,900 --> 00:34:39,362 You don't need real friends. 655 00:34:39,792 --> 00:34:41,692 Just carry this stuffed friend around. 656 00:34:42,371 --> 00:34:45,282 My Buddy, My Bu- Kid Sister, Kid Sister and me. 657 00:34:45,292 --> 00:34:47,061 The jingle, we'll get to jingles here in just a second. 658 00:34:47,311 --> 00:34:52,371 Anyways, companionship is something that we long for as human 659 00:34:52,371 --> 00:34:54,630 beings, and it's not a bad thing. 660 00:34:55,521 --> 00:34:57,101 In fact, what did God say when he created Adam? 661 00:34:57,101 --> 00:34:59,921 He said, "It's not good that man be alone." 662 00:35:00,692 --> 00:35:02,862 So we've been created to have a companionship. 663 00:35:02,872 --> 00:35:06,981 A- and as Christians, we can rejoice in the companionship of a spouse or kids 664 00:35:06,981 --> 00:35:11,982 or family or friends, but there's a companionship that we all need that's 665 00:35:11,982 --> 00:35:15,761 even greater than any of those are, and that's a companionship with the 666 00:35:15,762 --> 00:35:18,682 Word of God because the Word of God is our tether to the God of the Word. 667 00:35:19,431 --> 00:35:21,332 This is what we talked about last Sunday if you were with us. 668 00:35:21,861 --> 00:35:26,011 The Word of God is our conduit to our relationship with God, and that 669 00:35:26,012 --> 00:35:29,842 is the companionship that we need more than any other companionship 670 00:35:29,842 --> 00:35:30,692 on the face of this planet. 671 00:35:31,611 --> 00:35:35,202 The Word of God, as the writer of Hebrews says, is not inanimate, but it is living. 672 00:35:35,952 --> 00:35:39,021 It is living, and it is active, and so there's a dynamic relationship 673 00:35:39,022 --> 00:35:40,681 that we can have with God's Word. 674 00:35:40,901 --> 00:35:43,651 And so there's three expressions of our companionship with the Word that 675 00:35:43,651 --> 00:35:46,491 I wanna end with this morning, and the first is this: The Word of God 676 00:35:46,491 --> 00:35:48,011 should come with us throughout the day. 677 00:35:48,281 --> 00:35:52,652 If the Word of God is our companion, then it should come with us everywhere we go 678 00:35:55,064 --> 00:35:57,914 Verse 54, it says, "Your statutes have been my songs in 679 00:35:57,914 --> 00:35:59,204 the house of my sojournings." 680 00:36:00,294 --> 00:36:02,604 And so Da- if this is David, then, then he might have been thinking 681 00:36:02,614 --> 00:36:05,383 about running from Saul or, or running from Absalom, and as he's 682 00:36:05,384 --> 00:36:09,034 going around, he says, "Your statutes have been with me the whole time." 683 00:36:10,134 --> 00:36:12,333 And for David, it was in the form of songs. 684 00:36:12,943 --> 00:36:14,294 I think that's informative for us. 685 00:36:14,804 --> 00:36:17,714 God has created us to be musical creatures. 686 00:36:18,564 --> 00:36:21,314 I, I have never, and still, and I threw this out first service and nobody came 687 00:36:21,314 --> 00:36:24,484 and, and said any different, I've heard a lot of people say, "I don't like that 688 00:36:24,484 --> 00:36:27,333 music or that music or that music," but I don't know that I've ever run into 689 00:36:27,333 --> 00:36:28,953 anyone who said, "I don't like any music." 690 00:36:30,484 --> 00:36:32,644 There's something innate within us, I think just like the desire 691 00:36:32,644 --> 00:36:36,443 for companionship, that likes music, and God has designed us 692 00:36:36,453 --> 00:36:37,874 to be able to hold onto music. 693 00:36:37,874 --> 00:36:40,503 I mentioned the Kids Sister My Buddy jingle, which might still be there. 694 00:36:40,813 --> 00:36:44,553 Uh, for any of you locals here, how about call 267-8433? 695 00:36:44,554 --> 00:36:48,384 Because the next best thing to new is Dalworth Clean. 696 00:36:48,423 --> 00:36:48,964 Thank you. 697 00:36:49,284 --> 00:36:50,683 Bless you for coming through on that. 698 00:36:50,683 --> 00:36:53,803 First service, there were a few more that got that, but Dalworth Clean. 699 00:36:53,804 --> 00:36:56,213 I remember watching that jingle, that commercial growing up as, 700 00:36:56,413 --> 00:36:57,703 as a young boy here in this area. 701 00:36:57,703 --> 00:37:01,213 Or there's the Cars for Kids jingle that, that's around out 702 00:37:01,213 --> 00:37:02,774 there, or, you know, whatever. 703 00:37:02,783 --> 00:37:03,653 Zest Fully Clean. 704 00:37:03,653 --> 00:37:05,683 You're not fully clean unless you're Zest Fully Clean. 705 00:37:06,183 --> 00:37:10,173 Or you get in the car and, and whatever possesses you, and sometimes 706 00:37:10,173 --> 00:37:13,544 I, I'm possessed by the, the spirit of adventure, so I surf the radio. 707 00:37:13,573 --> 00:37:15,993 You know, that old thing that used to be in, in the car that it was 708 00:37:15,993 --> 00:37:18,234 all we had when we were driving around for a period of time. 709 00:37:18,723 --> 00:37:20,723 And so I'll just channel surf, and sometimes I'll land on a 710 00:37:20,723 --> 00:37:24,144 song, and I haven't heard that song for 20 years, 30 years now. 711 00:37:24,624 --> 00:37:28,533 And, and yet the w- the lyrics just, they just come straight back and straight out. 712 00:37:29,204 --> 00:37:33,223 Because music is a unique device that God has given us to remember things. 713 00:37:34,124 --> 00:37:37,313 And so David says, "Your statutes have been my song throughout my sojournings." 714 00:37:38,103 --> 00:37:42,183 Y'all, it is good for us if we wanna bring God's Word with us throughout the day to 715 00:37:42,183 --> 00:37:46,563 have the Word of God in the songs of God's people be part and parcel of our life. 716 00:37:47,493 --> 00:37:49,564 That's one of the reasons why we do worship on a Sunday morning. 717 00:37:49,573 --> 00:37:52,793 That's one of the reasons why Pastor Rod spends time thinking about the 718 00:37:52,793 --> 00:37:58,103 songs that we sing, because we want to have good, sound theology and 719 00:37:58,103 --> 00:38:00,783 doctrine that's coursing through your mind as you go throughout your day. 720 00:38:00,783 --> 00:38:02,883 In fact, we talked about being fueled by the promises of God. 721 00:38:02,914 --> 00:38:05,783 We sang right before the sermon, He Will Hold Me Fast. 722 00:38:06,354 --> 00:38:09,643 Man, I pray that that is an earworm that gets stuck in your head all 723 00:38:09,643 --> 00:38:10,974 week long, that you can't get it out. 724 00:38:10,974 --> 00:38:11,503 You're welcome. 725 00:38:12,793 --> 00:38:13,234 Because why? 726 00:38:13,244 --> 00:38:15,133 Because that's such a good thing to be dwelling on. 727 00:38:15,733 --> 00:38:17,224 Or think about some of the great hymns of old. 728 00:38:17,494 --> 00:38:20,773 It Is Well With My Soul, Horatio Spafford wrote that as the ship that he was 729 00:38:20,774 --> 00:38:24,603 sailing on came to the very spot he had sent his wife and his children ahead 730 00:38:24,604 --> 00:38:28,943 of him, and that boat was shipwrecked, and he lost his wife and his children. 731 00:38:29,433 --> 00:38:33,554 And as he was crossing over the ocean after them, when that boat got to that 732 00:38:33,554 --> 00:38:36,963 spot where his wife and his children perished, the, the captain told him, 733 00:38:36,964 --> 00:38:40,393 and he wrote the words, "When peace like a river attendeth my way." 734 00:38:43,032 --> 00:38:44,352 Where does peace like a river come from? 735 00:38:45,232 --> 00:38:46,852 It comes from Philippians chapter four. 736 00:38:47,592 --> 00:38:49,982 There's a peace of God that surpasses understanding that guards your hearts 737 00:38:49,982 --> 00:38:51,342 and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. 738 00:38:52,562 --> 00:38:56,231 Or when we sing a song like Great Is Thy Faithfulness, morning 739 00:38:56,232 --> 00:38:58,022 by morning new mercies I see. 740 00:38:59,641 --> 00:39:01,032 Where do we f- find that? 741 00:39:01,401 --> 00:39:02,511 Lamentations chapter three. 742 00:39:03,211 --> 00:39:05,032 His mercies are new every morning. 743 00:39:05,042 --> 00:39:05,731 Great Is Thy Faithfulness. 744 00:39:07,241 --> 00:39:09,971 And so to get the Word of God through the songs of God's people in our 745 00:39:09,971 --> 00:39:12,232 minds throughout the day is one of the best ways for us to bring it with 746 00:39:12,232 --> 00:39:14,872 us throughout the day, and so that's where this comes from when David says, 747 00:39:14,872 --> 00:39:16,182 "Your songs have been my companion. 748 00:39:16,182 --> 00:39:19,442 Your songs have been with me throughout my sojourning. 749 00:39:19,972 --> 00:39:21,372 Your statutes have been my songs." 750 00:39:22,531 --> 00:39:24,261 Y'all, let the Word of God be your songs this week. 751 00:39:25,252 --> 00:39:27,161 There's some good bands out there, the Getty, CityAlight. 752 00:39:27,171 --> 00:39:29,502 Let me recommend one maybe you haven't heard of, Still Creek. 753 00:39:29,821 --> 00:39:30,421 Still Creek. 754 00:39:30,851 --> 00:39:31,912 You can find them on Spotify. 755 00:39:31,912 --> 00:39:34,531 They're actually taking right now Psalm 119 and they're putting an 756 00:39:34,561 --> 00:39:37,292 anthology together where they're putting the words of Psalm 119 757 00:39:37,571 --> 00:39:39,401 to more modern-sounding music. 758 00:39:40,121 --> 00:39:40,801 It's a great band. 759 00:39:40,851 --> 00:39:41,341 Love them. 760 00:39:42,231 --> 00:39:45,071 Moms, if you're at home with young ones, a great resource 761 00:39:45,071 --> 00:39:46,442 for you, Seeds Family Worship. 762 00:39:47,041 --> 00:39:50,991 Bluey is, is fine and I appreciate the, the, the whole stance of Bluey and that 763 00:39:51,001 --> 00:39:53,931 you can watch it and as a Christian be like, "Yeah, this is great," but 764 00:39:53,941 --> 00:39:56,172 there are better things than Bluey to have in the background of your day. 765 00:39:57,301 --> 00:40:00,472 Seeds Family Worship is great, takes the scripture and puts it to music that 766 00:40:00,472 --> 00:40:01,692 your kids will engage with as well. 767 00:40:02,922 --> 00:40:04,282 And so let's get the Word of God in us. 768 00:40:04,282 --> 00:40:06,032 Let's bring it with us throughout our day. 769 00:40:06,032 --> 00:40:07,211 Music is a great way to do that. 770 00:40:07,221 --> 00:40:10,651 Second, though, another expression of companionship with the Word of God is 771 00:40:10,651 --> 00:40:12,221 that we are intentional to store it up. 772 00:40:13,251 --> 00:40:14,411 We're intentional to store it up. 773 00:40:15,992 --> 00:40:18,621 The psalmist says, "I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law." 774 00:40:19,661 --> 00:40:23,321 Th- th- the nighttime in this context is he's talking about affliction, and 775 00:40:23,321 --> 00:40:24,451 he's talking about needing comfort. 776 00:40:24,641 --> 00:40:27,872 The nighttime would've been indicative of times where he would've questioned, where 777 00:40:27,872 --> 00:40:29,831 he would've battled anxiety and fear. 778 00:40:30,562 --> 00:40:34,121 There's an old saying, "The nighttime is not the right time," and a, a 779 00:40:34,121 --> 00:40:36,441 lot of us can resonate with that. 780 00:40:36,551 --> 00:40:40,082 We understand what it is to, to struggle at, at night with fears and anxieties 781 00:40:40,082 --> 00:40:43,582 and what-ifs, and yet the psalmist is saying the Word of God being a 782 00:40:43,582 --> 00:40:47,671 companion for you then and there to remind you of the truths of God's 783 00:40:47,671 --> 00:40:52,931 Word, to say, "I remember your name in the night, O Lord, to keep your law." 784 00:40:54,281 --> 00:40:57,272 The Word of God being that companion, the truth of God to 785 00:40:57,272 --> 00:40:58,381 combat the lies of the enemy. 786 00:40:59,382 --> 00:41:01,181 But that's gonna take storing it up. 787 00:41:01,801 --> 00:41:05,131 If it's gonna be ready for you when you need it as the anxieties and the fears 788 00:41:05,132 --> 00:41:06,551 come, you have to have it within you. 789 00:41:07,671 --> 00:41:10,851 And so to be intentional about storing it up, to use the Bible memory apps, 790 00:41:10,852 --> 00:41:14,061 to use the index cards on the mirrors, to put it as a desktop background on a 791 00:41:14,061 --> 00:41:17,671 computer, to put it as the background on your phone, to set alarms or 792 00:41:17,671 --> 00:41:20,761 reminders on your phone to remember the Word of God throughout the day. 793 00:41:21,511 --> 00:41:21,982 Store it up. 794 00:41:21,992 --> 00:41:25,782 Treasure it up, and you will find the blessing that it is so useful for you. 795 00:41:26,481 --> 00:41:28,771 Because those moments where you are tempted to fear, those moments where 796 00:41:28,772 --> 00:41:32,292 you are tempted to doubt, God's Word is gonna be there to help combat those lies. 797 00:41:34,606 --> 00:41:37,216 So companionship with the Word looks like being intentional to store the Word up. 798 00:41:37,216 --> 00:41:39,656 And then finally, companionship with the Word looks like showing 799 00:41:39,656 --> 00:41:40,696 it through our obedience. 800 00:41:42,366 --> 00:41:44,396 This is what he means when he says, "I, I keep your law." 801 00:41:45,196 --> 00:41:48,405 Or in the very next verse, verse 56, "The blessing has fallen to me 802 00:41:48,405 --> 00:41:51,056 that I have kept your precepts." 803 00:41:52,626 --> 00:41:56,166 We can't claim to be a, a companion of the Word of God if we are also not taking the 804 00:41:56,166 --> 00:41:58,695 Word of God and putting it into practice. 805 00:42:00,455 --> 00:42:01,876 This is what the Word of God is for. 806 00:42:02,805 --> 00:42:04,795 In fact, in James chapter 1, James puts it this way. 807 00:42:04,795 --> 00:42:08,465 He says, "Therefore," verse 21, "put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness 808 00:42:08,466 --> 00:42:12,146 and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 809 00:42:12,995 --> 00:42:16,295 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 810 00:42:16,755 --> 00:42:19,906 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks 811 00:42:19,906 --> 00:42:21,556 intently at his natural face in a mirror. 812 00:42:21,856 --> 00:42:25,006 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 813 00:42:25,495 --> 00:42:28,445 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, 814 00:42:28,475 --> 00:42:35,505 being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." 815 00:42:35,905 --> 00:42:39,455 Look back at verse 56, "This blessing has fallen to me that 816 00:42:39,555 --> 00:42:41,575 I have kept your precepts." 817 00:42:41,936 --> 00:42:42,765 I've done your word. 818 00:42:43,745 --> 00:42:46,665 And so to be a companion of the Word of God is to take the Word of God and to 819 00:42:46,665 --> 00:42:51,295 live it out, to apply it, and that's gonna happen as the Spirit of God w- within 820 00:42:51,295 --> 00:42:52,765 us works to make us more like Christ. 821 00:42:53,995 --> 00:42:56,556 And so the Word of God is, is, is useful for us. 822 00:42:56,576 --> 00:42:57,615 It's good for us. 823 00:42:57,615 --> 00:43:00,826 It's a good companion for us to help navigate this life, and that 824 00:43:00,826 --> 00:43:03,536 companionship means it's gonna stay with me throughout my day. 825 00:43:03,676 --> 00:43:06,615 It's gonna be something that I am intentional to store up in my 826 00:43:06,615 --> 00:43:10,075 life, in my heart, and it's gonna show up in how I live my life. 827 00:43:10,076 --> 00:43:11,485 It's gonna change my life. 828 00:43:12,905 --> 00:43:14,905 God's Word is far better than my iPhone is. 829 00:43:15,745 --> 00:43:19,955 I have God's Word on my iPhone, but God's Word is, is so good. 830 00:43:20,595 --> 00:43:21,255 Think about it this way. 831 00:43:21,466 --> 00:43:24,685 Talk to a Christian and, and ask them, "If you were on a, a desert 832 00:43:24,685 --> 00:43:27,125 island, what are three things that you would want on that island?" 833 00:43:28,005 --> 00:43:29,685 I have never heard somebody say, "My iPhone." 834 00:43:31,065 --> 00:43:32,386 I've heard a lot of people say, "My Bible." 835 00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:39,100 I want my Bible because there's that companionship between us and God that 836 00:43:39,100 --> 00:43:40,290 comes through our time in the Word. 837 00:43:41,580 --> 00:43:43,290 The Word is good and good for us. 838 00:43:44,359 --> 00:43:45,450 It's good and good for us. 839 00:43:45,460 --> 00:43:49,140 So the call to read it and meditate and, and, and memorize it, as we've 840 00:43:49,140 --> 00:43:53,839 been pushing a lot this summer, and unapologetically, i- i- it's 841 00:43:53,850 --> 00:43:59,009 not just do it because it's your duty, but it's do it and find 842 00:43:59,010 --> 00:44:00,219 delight because there's good in it. 843 00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:02,100 It's useful for you. 844 00:44:03,420 --> 00:44:05,889 And just like I started, th- there may be some here this morning who 845 00:44:05,889 --> 00:44:09,450 would say, "Yeah, I, I've just been on the fence with the, the Word of God. 846 00:44:09,450 --> 00:44:11,870 I've been on the fence with Christianity, uh, because I just 847 00:44:11,870 --> 00:44:13,230 don't know what good does it do." 848 00:44:13,230 --> 00:44:16,049 And I, I just pray this morning you've been confronted with at least three things 849 00:44:16,050 --> 00:44:19,179 that have caused you to stop and say, "Oh, yeah, that, that sounds pretty useful." 850 00:44:20,289 --> 00:44:22,119 And there's way more that we could get into 851 00:44:24,714 --> 00:44:27,194 Or maybe you're here this morning and, and you've been in that rut. 852 00:44:28,324 --> 00:44:31,954 You've known conceptually, theologically, doctrinally what the Word of God does, 853 00:44:31,954 --> 00:44:34,754 but you just haven't been experiencing it much recently, and I just pray 854 00:44:34,754 --> 00:44:37,843 this morning that this would've been a good reminder for you that, oh yeah, 855 00:44:37,844 --> 00:44:39,134 the Word of God does these things. 856 00:44:41,103 --> 00:44:43,823 The Word of God is good and good for you 857 00:44:48,568 --> 00:44:48,968 Let's pray 858 00:44:52,386 --> 00:44:58,566 God, we are recipients of the blessing of your Word i- in more ways than any 859 00:44:58,606 --> 00:45:00,806 other generation that has come before us. 860 00:45:02,146 --> 00:45:05,366 We have your Word in a way that, that nobody else has had. 861 00:45:05,375 --> 00:45:10,176 We have it literally at our fingertips through an app that takes up less than 862 00:45:10,176 --> 00:45:11,916 a gig of information on our phone. 863 00:45:11,916 --> 00:45:15,955 The entire revealed Word of God shows up in a tiny app 864 00:45:17,526 --> 00:45:19,166 that's available for us 24/7. 865 00:45:21,186 --> 00:45:24,696 God, I, I pray that we would desire it, and that we would be in 866 00:45:24,696 --> 00:45:27,156 it, and that we would experience the good that comes from it. 867 00:45:28,665 --> 00:45:31,676 Lord God, indeed your Word is good and it is good for us. 868 00:45:32,116 --> 00:45:33,766 It fuels our endurance. 869 00:45:33,766 --> 00:45:36,485 It gives us a framework to think about this world around us, and it 870 00:45:36,485 --> 00:45:40,515 provides a companion that is so good for us as we navigate this life. 871 00:45:41,245 --> 00:45:43,116 We are so grateful and thankful for your Word. 872 00:45:43,116 --> 00:45:45,486 May we spend time in it and reap the blessings of it. 873 00:45:45,665 --> 00:45:46,955 We pray this in Jesus' name. 874 00:45:47,285 --> 00:45:47,445 Amen.