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Speaker: What we're gonna talk
about this morning together is

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something that can be elusive.

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Peace can be elusive.

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For some, peace is a quiet house,
while for others, peace is a house

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that's full, full of family, full
of laughter, full of the, the

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noise of relatives and loved ones.

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For some, peace is obtained
by staying out of conflict.

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For others, peace is
found by just brute force.

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For some, peace means emptying
the mind, while for others, like

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believers, peace means filling
the mind with the right things.

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For some, peace may have at one point
looked like changing a job, thinking,

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"Well, if I get a different job, then
things are gonna get better and I'll be

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at peace, and the problems that I have
now will be gone," only to find when you

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get the new job that the new job presents
its own challenges to you being at peace.

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Others have sought peace through
divorce, thinking to themselves, "Well,

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if this marriage is just over, then
both of us will be happier and we'll

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be okay," only to realize after the
fact that the relationship may have

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been dissolved, but the impact lingers
and infects and affects your family

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and your kids and your grandkids.

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For some, peace looks like looking
forward to retirement, but for others

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who are currently in retirement, you've
realized that the peace that you thought

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you might have has been replaced by
anxieties and worries and fears about now

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the brevity of life and asking questions
about what's next Peace can be elusive,

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and we live in the time and a context in
which the world is in turmoil and chaos.

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We've got wars going on
between Russia and Ukraine.

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You've got the United States and Iran.

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You've got rising costs here
that we're facing in America.

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You've got falling water levels.

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You've got all kinds of things that
cause us to say, "Is there really a

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foundation, a basis for my peace today?"

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I don't find a whole lot of peace
when I open up the news browser.

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I don't find a whole lot of peace
when I look around at my workplace,

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or sometimes we may even be thinking,
I, I don't find a lot of peace

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when I look around at my family.

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And so where is peace found?

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Can peace be found?

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Well, the good news this morning
is yes, peace can be found as long

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as we know where to look for peace.

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I wanna do something a little
bit different this morning.

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We're gonna be in verses 161 through
168 in Psalm 119, but jump right

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into the middle of the passage.

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Look at verse 165.

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Psalm 119 verse 165 says this, "Great
peace," there's our word, "great

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peace have those who love your law,
and nothing can make them stumble."

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Great peace have those who love your
law, and nothing can make them stumble.

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This great peace, it's a, it's a peace
that abounds, a peace that overflows.

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It, it, it's a peace that is unending.

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And the psalmist, who I believe is David,
says that that's available for those who

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love the law of God, the Word of God.

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Our whole series this summer has
been about being in God's Word, and

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we've looked at various benefits
of being in the Word of God.

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And this morning what we're gonna
find is that there's the benefit of

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peace that comes from the Word of God.

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Now, I read from Romans chapter five
that there is a static peace that we

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already have in Christ, that there is a
peace that you have with your Heavenly

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Father that doesn't ever change because
that peace was won for you by Jesus on

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the cross and through the empty tomb
But that said, there's a static peace

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and then there's a, a dynamic peace,
and, and that dynamic peace is the

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peace that we experience on a day-to-day
basis, saying, "Do I feel peace today?

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Do I feel close with the Lord today?

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Do I feel confident in where
I stand with Christ today?

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How do I think about wars, and rising
costs, and all of the things that

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the world wants me to be afraid of?

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How do I have peace in
the midst of all that?"

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Well, that peace is dynamic, and that
peace is a peace that we read about

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here in Psalm 119:165, which is a
peace that comes from the Word of God.

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And it's a peace that means that
nothing else that happens to us can

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make us stumble if we have the peace
that comes from the Word of God.

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And, and why is that?

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Well, it's because the peace that
we're gonna talk about this morning

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is a peace that's not circumstantial.

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A- a- and so this peace is not
yours if your life is going well.

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Th- this peace is not only available
to you if your marriage is good.

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This peace is not available
to you if there's no wars.

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This peace is not just available to you
if, you know, you're getting the promotion

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at work and finances are in order at home.

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No, this is a peace that
transcends circumstances.

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This peace is not circumstantial, and
because it's not circumstantial, this

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peace is also not temporal, meaning
this peace is not just peace that's

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gonna only be there for a season.

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Sometimes you enter into seasons
where you feel more at peace than

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others, and you can be thankful,
thankful and grateful for those times.

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But because so often peace as the
world defines it is circumstantial,

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that it's, it's temporal.

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It doesn't last.

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You'll go in and out of peace
throughout your life, at least

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from a world's standpoint.

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Instead, this is a peace that, while
not circumstantial or temporal,

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instead is a peace that never fades.

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It's a peace that never lessens, and
it's a peace that's always available

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because it's always going to be
available to you if you love the Word.

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Again, 119:165, "Great peace
have those who love your law."

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That's the thesis of our
whole passage this morning.

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You could put it this way: Those who
love the Word will find true peace.

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Those who love the Word
will find true peace.

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Where is true peace found?

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True peace is found in the Word of God.

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We're gonna begin in verses 161 through
162 as we jump back up from 165.

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Here it says this: "Princes," David says,
"Princes persecute me without cause, but

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my heart stands in awe of your words.

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I rejoice at your word like
one who finds great spoil."

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So David is, is, i- he's going
through it as he's writing this.

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David's not writing this
from the lap of luxury.

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He's not writing this during one of those
times that the world would look at David

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and say, "Well, that guy's at peace, so of
course he's writing about being at peace."

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No, no, no.

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David's writing this as he's
being persecuted, he says

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here, by the, the princes.

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The princes would've been the
rulers, the authorities, the powers.

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We don't know exactly the
circumstances facing him, but we

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know there were times in David's life
where he had to run for his life.

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We know there were times where
David was being chased by people

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who had the power to kill him,
to execute him, to take him out.

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A- and so David is saying,
"This is one of those seasons.

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Princes are coming after me.

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They're persecuting me.

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They are chasing me.

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They are following me.

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They are pursuing me."

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But notice he says, "Without cause."

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In other words, David is saying,
"It's not as though this is God's

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hand of discipline in my life."

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Rather, this would be like one of
those seasons that we've read about

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in the Psalms during our DBR where
David pleads his, his innocence, his

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integrity before the Lord, where he
would go before the Lord and say, "Lord,

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I'm asking you to deliver me according
to the innocence of, of my hands.

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I have not been guilty of what
people are saying I'm guilty of."

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And so David is, is there, and
people are coming after him.

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He's got all the reasons in
the world not to be at peace.

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In fact, he has all of the
reasons in the world to be fearing

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those that are coming after him.

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And yet he says, "But my heart
stands in awe of your words."

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My heart, the inner self, is in awe,
or actually in the Hebrew there, it's

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the word that means my heart fears,
not the princes who are persecuting me.

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I'm not i- in awe of or trembling
before my circumstances, God.

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I'm, I'm trembling
before you and your word.

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My heart stands in awe of your words.

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And then he says, "I rejoice at your
word like one who finds great spoil

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Again, peace.

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Peace is something everybody wants.

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You're never gonna find somebody
that's, and, and offer them peace

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and say, "Hey, uh, would you
like to have more peace in life?"

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Only for them to be like, "You
know, thanks, but no thanks.

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I kinda like anxiety.

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I, I, I like being afraid.

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I like worrying about whether or not
my job is gonna be there next week.

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Yeah, thanks for the offer
of peace, but no thanks."

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No, if, if peace is on the
table, usually people want peace.

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And what we find here is, is even though
David was in the midst of a, a turmoil

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and a trial, he's saying even in the
darkest hours of his life, there is

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peace that's available to him, and it
begins with a right perspective of the

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Word of God, which will frame a right
perspective of the God of the Word.

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Our first point this morning is this:
if you want more peace, the peace that

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comes from the Word, it's this: let the
awe of the Lord bring peace to your soul.

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Let the awe of the Lord
bring peace to your soul

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I love the, the picture of these
opening verses as David is saying,

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"The per- princes are persecuting
me, but I stand in awe of your word."

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I, for some reason, what came to my
mind is the movie scene where the

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main character is walking through the
midst of … in slow moti- motion.

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The explosions are going off all
around him, and the bullets are flying

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across the screen, and he's just
walking through unfazed by it all.

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'Cause why?

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Because his eyes are somewhere else.

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He's focused on something else,
and so he's able to endure.

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He's able to persevere.

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And, and the things that the world
is doing, the things that the enemies

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are doing, all the explosions,
they're not really rattling him.

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They're there.

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He's not gonna deny that they're there,
but he's walking through unfazed because

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he's got his eyes somewhere else.

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David says, "The princes are persecuting
me, but I stand in awe of you."

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My focus is you, Lord.

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My focus is on your words.

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Again, my heart stands in awe.

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It's, it's the concept of, of fearing
God, of, of trembling before his Word.

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I wonder this morning when's the last time
you were in awe of something like that?

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That, that you had something
that just took your breath away.

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Maybe it was a, a sunrise or an athletic
feat that you witnessed or a work of art

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or maybe your, your child being born.

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I remember back in California being
a college pastor, we took our,

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our college ministry up to, uh,
go see Yosemite, um, on a retreat.

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And I remember when we were there
or, or going there, they were telling

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me, because I'd never been there
before, I had just seen pictures.

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They said, "When you go to Yosemite,
you drive through a tunnel."

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And some of y'all have been there, and you
know the tunnel that I'm talking about.

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And so you drive through this
tunnel, and before you get to

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this tunnel, I, I mean, it's

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Whatever.

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It's pretty.

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It's nice, but it's nothing
that's awe-inspiring.

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But then you hit this tunnel,
and I remember the students that

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had been there ahead of me, they,
they said, "Pastor PJ, just wait.

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When you come out of this tunnel, it's
the most amazing sight you've ever seen."

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And so sure enough, you come out of
the tunnel, and you just see spread out

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before you Yosemite Valley, and you see
El Cap and you see Half Dome, and you

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just see the beauty of God's creation
on display, and it seems like it comes

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out of nowhere, and it is awe-inspiring.

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You're left there just feeling
small and just feeling just

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wonder at God's creation.

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Maybe you've had a, a moment like that
where you've thought about, you've

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been in awe of something in life.

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But when was the last time you
were in awe of the Word of God?

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When was the last time you, you trembled
in amazement at what God has revealed

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about himself in the scriptures?

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You might think, "Well, why would
I be in awe over words on a page?"

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Because of whose words they are.

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Look at what David says again.

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He says, "My heart stands in awe of…"

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What are the next two words?

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Your words.

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My heart stands in awe of your words.

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Now, for King David, that
would've been the Torah.

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That would've been the, the first
five books of the Old Testament, which

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we believe were written by Moses.

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But David doesn't say that my heart
stands in awe of Moses' words, and

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he doesn't say my heart stands in
awe of the Word, or my heart stands

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in awe of the, the Scriptures.

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No, David personalizes this.

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Because of the, the one
behind the Word of God.

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That's what makes the Word of God
something that we should be in awe of.

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He says, "My heart stands
in awe of your words."

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And this is, again, something that I keep
coming back to when I think about this,

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and this has been something that God has
been challenging me about in this whole

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series this summer on Summer in the Word,
is that this Word, this Bible, is God's

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written revelation of Himself to us.

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The God of creation, the Lord of
the universe, the highest of all

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00:11:44,366 --> 00:11:45,435
conceivable beings, condescended

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to tell us about Himself
in the form of this book.

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I want you to think about
your backyard for a second.

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We live in Texas, so you have
fire ants in your backyard.

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Unless, we got lawn
carpet in our backyard.

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We have turf in our backyard, so they
don't like that, so they're not there.

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00:12:00,995 --> 00:12:04,515
But I want you to think about a fire
ant hill, and I want you to imagine

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00:12:04,515 --> 00:12:07,055
going to the fire ant hill and, and
then stirring up the fire ant hill

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00:12:07,055 --> 00:12:10,095
really quick with a stick because
it's fun, and they just start sc-

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00:12:10,095 --> 00:12:11,705
s- you know, scurrying all around.

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00:12:12,116 --> 00:12:14,075
And then I want you to imagine
looking down at the fire ant hill

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00:12:14,076 --> 00:12:16,625
and saying, "Um, hey, ants, can
I have your attention please?

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00:12:17,495 --> 00:12:20,935
I've written a, a book for you and,
and I want you to have it, and it's

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00:12:20,936 --> 00:12:23,365
gonna tell you, uh, all about who I am.

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00:12:24,465 --> 00:12:27,025
Um, because I have the
power to end your life.

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00:12:27,025 --> 00:12:28,165
I've got magnifying glasses.

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00:12:28,165 --> 00:12:29,015
Don't make me go get them."

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00:12:29,925 --> 00:12:30,275
Right?

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You think that's absurd.

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00:12:32,775 --> 00:12:33,495
That's absurd.

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00:12:33,535 --> 00:12:38,945
Why would I, as a human being,
stoop to make myself known in

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00:12:38,945 --> 00:12:40,976
that way to an, an ant hill?

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00:12:43,384 --> 00:12:48,694
Y'all, that is nothing compared
to what it took God to condescend

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00:12:49,554 --> 00:12:51,384
to make himself known to us

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00:12:53,518 --> 00:12:54,418
To His creation.

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00:12:55,638 --> 00:12:59,238
W-w-we didn't, we didn't deserve it,
we didn't earn it, we didn't merit it.

253
00:12:59,238 --> 00:13:00,398
In fact, we rebelled against Him.

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00:13:01,678 --> 00:13:02,998
We rejected Him from the outright.

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00:13:03,518 --> 00:13:07,067
Yeah, God, that's nice and all, but
yeah, I think the serpent has some wisdom

256
00:13:07,067 --> 00:13:08,217
that I might wanna listen to instead.

257
00:13:09,388 --> 00:13:10,448
And still, what did God do?

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00:13:10,448 --> 00:13:13,457
He gave us, right here, His Word.

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00:13:13,608 --> 00:13:17,468
"This is who I am," is what the Lord
is saying, "and this is who you are,

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00:13:17,608 --> 00:13:18,877
and this is what I've done about it."

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00:13:19,487 --> 00:13:21,757
And so why should I be in
awe of the Word of God?

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00:13:21,758 --> 00:13:26,947
W-why should I let my soul feel
awe as I read the Word of God?

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00:13:26,977 --> 00:13:28,727
Because it is the Word of God.

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00:13:28,727 --> 00:13:31,928
It's not about the word, it's about
the God of the Word, and the Word

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00:13:31,928 --> 00:13:35,568
of God tells us about Him, and
the Word of God gets us to Him.

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00:13:35,977 --> 00:13:38,508
Some might think, "Well, what does that
actually look like for me practically?"

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00:13:38,508 --> 00:13:41,587
Well, this morning, if you're doing
our daily Bible reading with us, we're

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00:13:41,588 --> 00:13:43,757
in the Book of Acts, Acts Chapter 26.

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00:13:44,218 --> 00:13:47,657
So in Acts Chapter 26, the Apostle Paul
is found there, and he's on trial, and

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00:13:47,657 --> 00:13:51,488
he's standing there, and he's giving
his testimony and, and that's exactly

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00:13:51,488 --> 00:13:55,217
what we find in Chapter 26, where
Paul says, "This is who I was," okay?

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00:13:55,698 --> 00:13:56,537
"But God…

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00:13:56,737 --> 00:14:01,048
And, and then now I'm here bearing witness
before you, calling for you to believe."

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00:14:01,357 --> 00:14:04,268
And so we read this, and, and we
read Acts 26, and we might even

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00:14:04,268 --> 00:14:05,227
think to ourselves, "You know what?

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00:14:05,427 --> 00:14:06,488
I've read this before.

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00:14:06,797 --> 00:14:07,797
All right, what's next?

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00:14:07,797 --> 00:14:08,978
What else do you have for me, God?"

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00:14:09,997 --> 00:14:13,537
But what if we stopped and we thought a
little bit more intentionally as we were

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00:14:13,537 --> 00:14:15,367
reading, and we thought, "You know what?

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00:14:16,207 --> 00:14:17,387
This is Paul's testimony.

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00:14:17,887 --> 00:14:20,777
This is the story about God, h-how
God took somebody who was spiritually

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00:14:20,777 --> 00:14:24,567
dead and made them alive, and used him
to do amazing things for the kingdom

284
00:14:26,603 --> 00:14:29,814
God's not only done that in Paul's
life, man, God did that in my life too.

285
00:14:30,774 --> 00:14:33,574
And so now all of a sudden Acts
26 becomes an occasion for us

286
00:14:33,574 --> 00:14:35,894
to reflect on how God saved us.

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00:14:36,904 --> 00:14:39,753
The story that God is, is telling
in our life and writing in our

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00:14:39,753 --> 00:14:43,574
life, how He's transforming us
from death to life and using us,

289
00:14:44,174 --> 00:14:47,213
maybe not to write the scriptures
obviously, but to serve Him still.

290
00:14:48,283 --> 00:14:52,263
And so we can read Acts 26, and we can
be intentional in how we think and how

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00:14:52,263 --> 00:14:56,144
we reflect, and all of a sudden find
ourselves in awe of the God of the Word

292
00:14:56,144 --> 00:14:58,103
as we spend our time in the Word of God.

293
00:14:59,583 --> 00:15:01,194
Remember the story of
Jesus calming the storm?

294
00:15:02,513 --> 00:15:03,843
I think there's a, a parallel here.

295
00:15:05,074 --> 00:15:08,913
Uh, uh, Jesus' disciples had seen Him do
some pretty amazing things, hadn't they?

296
00:15:09,203 --> 00:15:11,943
I mean, even the first miracle right out
of the gate, He's turning water to wine.

297
00:15:11,943 --> 00:15:12,714
That's pretty powerful.

298
00:15:12,714 --> 00:15:13,274
That's amazing.

299
00:15:13,743 --> 00:15:16,603
They had seen Him do all of these other
things and these wonders and, and yet

300
00:15:16,603 --> 00:15:21,083
I believe one of the reasons why God
brought them onto the sea and into

301
00:15:21,083 --> 00:15:23,753
the storm on the sea is because they
were probably getting a little bit

302
00:15:23,753 --> 00:15:27,964
too comfortable with Jesus, a little
bit too familiar with their rabbi.

303
00:15:28,993 --> 00:15:32,064
And so all of a sudden they're on the
sea, Jesus is with them, but Jesus

304
00:15:32,064 --> 00:15:35,353
is sleeping, and here comes this
massive storm that had these seasoned

305
00:15:35,353 --> 00:15:36,984
fishermen thinking this was the end.

306
00:15:37,864 --> 00:15:39,684
And so the, the waves are
lapping over the boat.

307
00:15:39,693 --> 00:15:42,543
The boat is filling up and, and
they're so terrified, they go and

308
00:15:42,544 --> 00:15:43,963
they, they, they wake Jesus up.

309
00:15:43,963 --> 00:15:45,453
"U- u- um, hello?

310
00:15:45,864 --> 00:15:47,543
Don't you care that w- that we're dying?

311
00:15:47,544 --> 00:15:48,663
We're going down here."

312
00:15:50,213 --> 00:15:52,463
And Jesus gets up, and He goes to the
front of the boat, and He looks out

313
00:15:52,463 --> 00:15:53,643
at the storm, and He says, "Be still."

314
00:15:55,243 --> 00:15:58,163
And not only does the wind cease
and the storm cease, but the waves

315
00:15:58,163 --> 00:15:59,713
become immediately placid and calm

316
00:16:02,606 --> 00:16:06,106
And the response of the disciples,
we read in Matthew 8:27, was this.

317
00:16:06,356 --> 00:16:11,696
It says, "The men marveled, saying,
'What sort of man is this that even

318
00:16:11,696 --> 00:16:12,855
the winds and the sea obey him?'"

319
00:16:14,115 --> 00:16:14,886
The men marveled.

320
00:16:16,716 --> 00:16:21,346
They'd been with Jesus for so long,
and yet God brought them again to this

321
00:16:21,346 --> 00:16:27,085
moment of marveling and remembering who
He is and going, "God, wow, who is this?"

322
00:16:27,096 --> 00:16:32,605
Y- you may have been walking with
Jesus for the last four or five

323
00:16:32,606 --> 00:16:36,546
decades, or maybe for four or five
years, or maybe for four or five

324
00:16:36,546 --> 00:16:38,235
weeks, or maybe for four or five days.

325
00:16:40,086 --> 00:16:42,706
Wherever you are, there are gonna
be moments where you are gonna

326
00:16:42,716 --> 00:16:45,576
have occasion throughout your walk
with Christ to be in awe of God.

327
00:16:47,086 --> 00:16:50,135
And I'm just saying if you want
peace, y- y- the, the world's

328
00:16:50,135 --> 00:16:52,316
gonna try to, to terrify you with
everything that was going on.

329
00:16:52,475 --> 00:16:55,755
Instead, come and sit humbly before
the Lord and be in awe of Him.

330
00:16:56,155 --> 00:16:56,986
But here's the thing, y'all.

331
00:16:56,995 --> 00:16:59,085
That's gonna take a
concentrated reflection.

332
00:17:00,275 --> 00:17:01,576
It's gonna take work.

333
00:17:01,825 --> 00:17:04,125
It's gonna take you sitting there
s- saying, "Okay, God, what are you

334
00:17:04,126 --> 00:17:05,444
teaching me about yourself right now?

335
00:17:05,665 --> 00:17:08,125
What am I learning about your
sovereignty and your goodness and your

336
00:17:08,125 --> 00:17:09,906
compassion and your love and your mercy?

337
00:17:10,565 --> 00:17:11,425
What do I see here?"

338
00:17:11,425 --> 00:17:13,855
And, and, and, and sit with that stuff.

339
00:17:14,146 --> 00:17:15,555
Sit with those meditations.

340
00:17:15,565 --> 00:17:20,494
Sit with those observations, and
let them drive you to wonder at God

341
00:17:23,598 --> 00:17:26,186
But it's not just a- an awe
that is a, a fearful awe.

342
00:17:26,186 --> 00:17:28,048
It's an awe that's also a, a joyful awe.

343
00:17:28,058 --> 00:17:29,178
Look at verse 62.

344
00:17:30,457 --> 00:17:30,717
162, sorry.

345
00:17:31,588 --> 00:17:35,258
In 162, he says, "I rejoice at your
word like one who finds great spoil."

346
00:17:35,668 --> 00:17:37,667
And so he says, "The
princes are persecuting me.

347
00:17:38,258 --> 00:17:39,058
I'm on the run.

348
00:17:39,707 --> 00:17:42,598
But I stand in awe of
your word, and I rejoice.

349
00:17:42,897 --> 00:17:46,767
I rejoice at your word, like
one who finds great spoil."

350
00:17:47,428 --> 00:17:48,658
Jesus told a- another parable.

351
00:17:48,658 --> 00:17:52,857
He told a story in, in Matthew, uh,
chapter 13 about a man who found a field.

352
00:17:53,477 --> 00:17:54,407
Maybe you remember this story.

353
00:17:54,407 --> 00:17:55,038
He found a field.

354
00:17:55,038 --> 00:17:57,378
In the middle, middle of the
field, he discovered a treasure.

355
00:17:58,377 --> 00:18:00,437
And it says there in the text that he
took the treasure, he buried it, and

356
00:18:00,437 --> 00:18:03,177
he went and he sold all that he had,
and in great joy, he bought the field

357
00:18:03,778 --> 00:18:04,768
so that he could get the treasure.

358
00:18:06,557 --> 00:18:08,907
I want you to picture
going to look for a house.

359
00:18:09,717 --> 00:18:12,608
Um, I've told you before, I've, I've
readily admitted this and, and I'm

360
00:18:12,618 --> 00:18:14,457
n- not ashamed to admit it again.

361
00:18:14,458 --> 00:18:16,667
I still watch House Hunters, uh,
from time to time with my wife.

362
00:18:17,458 --> 00:18:19,707
But imagine i- in House Hunters,
there's always the one house that

363
00:18:19,708 --> 00:18:21,037
you're going, "Why did you go there?

364
00:18:21,897 --> 00:18:24,817
That's, that's not even, that's not even
anywhere in what they're looking for."

365
00:18:24,977 --> 00:18:27,227
And you go, "There's no way
they're gonna buy that house.

366
00:18:27,287 --> 00:18:28,618
There's nothing appealing
about that house."

367
00:18:28,848 --> 00:18:30,708
So I want you to imagine you're
looking for a new house, and

368
00:18:30,708 --> 00:18:31,837
that's the house that you come to.

369
00:18:32,537 --> 00:18:34,198
You're sitting there, and you're
wondering to yourself, "Why

370
00:18:34,198 --> 00:18:35,317
did our realtor bring us here?

371
00:18:35,877 --> 00:18:37,827
This is n- none of the things
that we're looking for.

372
00:18:37,837 --> 00:18:38,617
It's not what we want.

373
00:18:38,617 --> 00:18:39,257
It's not what we need.

374
00:18:39,267 --> 00:18:40,217
It's not in the area that we need.

375
00:18:40,217 --> 00:18:40,787
It's not new.

376
00:18:40,797 --> 00:18:41,528
It doesn't look nice.

377
00:18:41,577 --> 00:18:43,018
I-- Why are we here?"

378
00:18:44,377 --> 00:18:46,577
But then all of a sudden, as you're
looking through the house, you wander

379
00:18:46,577 --> 00:18:49,087
off and, and you find the attic, and, and
being adventurous, you're like, "Well,

380
00:18:49,087 --> 00:18:50,597
I'll just check what's up in the attic.

381
00:18:50,598 --> 00:18:51,447
Let's just see what's up there."

382
00:18:51,928 --> 00:18:54,327
So you go up in the attic, and you
find a, a suitcase, and it's clear

383
00:18:54,327 --> 00:18:58,418
that this suitcase has been h- up
there and forgotten about for decades.

384
00:18:58,458 --> 00:19:00,738
It's got layers of dust
on top of this thing.

385
00:19:01,867 --> 00:19:03,737
And so out of morbid curiosity,
you go, "Yeah, sure, I'm

386
00:19:03,737 --> 00:19:04,717
gonna unzip the suitcase."

387
00:19:05,507 --> 00:19:09,467
So you unzip the suitcase, and you
open it up, and to your great shock

388
00:19:09,497 --> 00:19:13,817
and awe, what you find in there is
that the suitcase is filled with

389
00:19:13,827 --> 00:19:15,378
stacks of hundred dollar bills.

390
00:19:17,287 --> 00:19:20,277
And so you pull out AI, like I had
to do this week to find out how much

391
00:19:20,297 --> 00:19:22,687
money fits in a suitcase, and you
quickly do some numbers, and you

392
00:19:22,687 --> 00:19:25,437
realize you're looking at about six
million dollars in this suitcase.

393
00:19:26,967 --> 00:19:29,877
All of a sudden, this three hundred
thousand dollar house that you're looking

394
00:19:29,877 --> 00:19:31,667
at, going, "Why did they bring me here?"

395
00:19:34,062 --> 00:19:34,962
Takes on a new form.

396
00:19:35,331 --> 00:19:37,942
So you zip up the suitcase, you
go back down the attic, you find

397
00:19:37,942 --> 00:19:39,022
the realtor, and what do you say?

398
00:19:40,272 --> 00:19:40,722
Sold.

399
00:19:42,042 --> 00:19:42,492
Sold.

400
00:19:42,671 --> 00:19:43,992
Full asking price, right now.

401
00:19:44,292 --> 00:19:45,141
Let's do this.

402
00:19:45,222 --> 00:19:46,022
Get him on the phone.

403
00:19:46,351 --> 00:19:47,581
No inspection necessary.

404
00:19:48,052 --> 00:19:49,111
We'll take it as is.

405
00:19:49,891 --> 00:19:50,681
What changed?

406
00:19:52,141 --> 00:19:55,691
You realized something that caused
you great awe and gave you great joy,

407
00:19:55,722 --> 00:19:56,841
and then you said, "I have to have it.

408
00:19:58,251 --> 00:19:58,791
I have to have it

409
00:20:02,072 --> 00:20:05,802
Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like,
like a treasure hidden in a field that

410
00:20:05,802 --> 00:20:08,681
a man found and co- covered up, and then
in all of his joy, he goes and sells what

411
00:20:08,681 --> 00:20:10,351
he has, and he buys this, this field.

412
00:20:12,022 --> 00:20:13,631
He's talking about the kingdom
of heaven, but the kingdom of

413
00:20:13,631 --> 00:20:15,861
heaven is only understandable
as we come to the Word of God.

414
00:20:16,812 --> 00:20:19,841
And so in the Word of God, we find the
treasures that God wants us to have.

415
00:20:19,841 --> 00:20:22,942
We find treasures along the way as we
read it that can bring us this great joy.

416
00:20:22,951 --> 00:20:26,752
Treasures like God's sovereign love in
Romans or treasures like the, the grace,

417
00:20:26,752 --> 00:20:30,901
saving grace of God in Ephesians or
Christ's sufficiency in Colossians or

418
00:20:31,121 --> 00:20:33,381
joy in Christ in the Book of Philippians.

419
00:20:33,391 --> 00:20:37,592
Or we find in Psalms the, the treasure
of what it looks like to lament our

420
00:20:37,592 --> 00:20:39,621
circumstances, but to find comfort in God.

421
00:20:39,881 --> 00:20:42,242
Or we go to the Book of Proverbs,
and we find in Proverbs what it

422
00:20:42,242 --> 00:20:44,081
looks like to seek the wisdom of God.

423
00:20:44,081 --> 00:20:47,851
And these are all the, the treasures that
are ours if we will give ourselves over

424
00:20:47,851 --> 00:20:52,391
to pursuing the Word of God and studying
it and mining it and reflecting on it.

425
00:20:53,922 --> 00:20:55,172
These are things that will bring us awe.

426
00:20:55,172 --> 00:20:58,631
And all of a sudden, everything
else going on in our lives won't

427
00:20:58,641 --> 00:21:03,581
seem, seem nearly as impressive or
frightening when we realize the God

428
00:21:03,581 --> 00:21:05,241
that we serve revealed in His Word.

429
00:21:07,091 --> 00:21:10,551
But y'all, this is gonna take
time, and it's gonna take work.

430
00:21:10,562 --> 00:21:14,181
I want you to think about an appointment.

431
00:21:14,621 --> 00:21:17,461
I'm sure you've been in a circumstance
or a situation where somebody, either a

432
00:21:17,462 --> 00:21:21,621
leader, a boss, a team lead, a manager,
somebody has requested a meeting with you

433
00:21:23,822 --> 00:21:26,381
And you probably
responded by saying, "Okay

434
00:21:28,470 --> 00:21:31,270
And then maybe they said, "Okay, I,
I'm gonna need 30 minutes from you."

435
00:21:32,570 --> 00:21:36,640
And my guess is that your response
wasn't an eye roll like, "Oh, 30 minutes?

436
00:21:38,180 --> 00:21:39,180
Can't we do it in five?

437
00:21:40,819 --> 00:21:42,000
Can we just make this like a…

438
00:21:42,439 --> 00:21:44,780
Can you just record a podcast for me
about what this meeting's about and

439
00:21:44,809 --> 00:21:45,850
send it to me and I'll listen to it?"

440
00:21:49,304 --> 00:21:50,864
My guess is that you're
probably like, "Okay, you need

441
00:21:50,884 --> 00:21:51,884
30 minute, minutes with me.

442
00:21:51,884 --> 00:21:54,254
You have the right to request
that because you are my boss and,

443
00:21:54,254 --> 00:21:57,094
and you're the one that I'm, I
report to, and so let's do this.

444
00:21:57,094 --> 00:21:59,424
I'm, I, I want a meeting
with you, 30 minutes

445
00:22:01,782 --> 00:22:02,552
Or let me change it.

446
00:22:04,091 --> 00:22:05,722
Let me change the, the scenario for you.

447
00:22:06,992 --> 00:22:08,722
Let's take it away from being your boss.

448
00:22:08,742 --> 00:22:09,752
That's one example.

449
00:22:09,762 --> 00:22:11,111
Let's make it somebody that you love

450
00:22:13,494 --> 00:22:16,404
Let's say somebody that you
love said, "Hey, can we go out

451
00:22:16,404 --> 00:22:18,504
to dinner together tonight?"

452
00:22:20,114 --> 00:22:21,684
You're like, "Yeah, let's, let's go."

453
00:22:23,093 --> 00:22:23,614
"Okay, great.

454
00:22:23,654 --> 00:22:26,954
I was thinking that we should go to
this restaurant and, uh, and eat there."

455
00:22:26,984 --> 00:22:29,914
And you're thinking in your mind, "Oh
man, the wait is gonna be so long there,

456
00:22:29,914 --> 00:22:31,573
and then it, it's a sit-down place.

457
00:22:32,003 --> 00:22:34,613
The Rangers game starts at 7:00.

458
00:22:35,003 --> 00:22:36,563
Can we, can we just go to McDonald's?

459
00:22:37,143 --> 00:22:37,914
Can we do something quick?

460
00:22:37,954 --> 00:22:38,914
Can we do something faster?"

461
00:22:42,245 --> 00:22:46,616
Y- you realize in both of those scenarios
that it's absurd to respond to the

462
00:22:46,616 --> 00:22:51,606
person who's requesting time with you to
say, "How little time can I give you?"

463
00:22:54,518 --> 00:22:56,938
And yet that's our approach to God's word

464
00:22:59,214 --> 00:23:02,204
You have the creator of the
universe who said to you, "I want

465
00:23:02,204 --> 00:23:03,313
a daily appointment with you.

466
00:23:04,303 --> 00:23:05,234
I want time with you."

467
00:23:06,264 --> 00:23:08,803
And we look at him and we're like,
"Well, can't we just do it in five?"

468
00:23:11,890 --> 00:23:13,660
Can't, can't you just be
happy with two minutes?

469
00:23:14,530 --> 00:23:17,370
I give you two that I know some
people that don't even give you any

470
00:23:21,294 --> 00:23:25,064
If y'all want the peace that the Word
of God holds out to you, I'm not here

471
00:23:25,064 --> 00:23:28,174
to tell you that it's a- as easy as
just sitting down and opening it up

472
00:23:28,174 --> 00:23:29,533
and, and reading it and walking away

473
00:23:32,078 --> 00:23:35,058
The peace that comes from God's word
isn't just found by being around

474
00:23:35,058 --> 00:23:37,978
God's word or in God's word, but
it's about being under God's word.

475
00:23:39,197 --> 00:23:40,958
It's about sitting with the word of God.

476
00:23:40,958 --> 00:23:42,078
It's about meditating on it.

477
00:23:42,078 --> 00:23:42,978
It's about reflecting.

478
00:23:42,978 --> 00:23:46,187
It's about asking yourselves the question,
"God, who are you revealing yourself

479
00:23:46,187 --> 00:23:48,987
to me right now in this passage?"

480
00:23:51,758 --> 00:23:52,778
And so spend the time.

481
00:23:53,128 --> 00:23:53,848
Feel the awe.

482
00:23:53,878 --> 00:23:55,988
Awe doesn't come in a brevity.

483
00:23:56,068 --> 00:23:59,288
Awe doesn't come in, in just a quick,
"Let me just pop this in on my commute

484
00:23:59,308 --> 00:24:02,138
to work," and get out and just be able
to say, "Okay, great, at least I got

485
00:24:02,138 --> 00:24:03,318
some word of God in my life today."

486
00:24:04,458 --> 00:24:07,958
Awe comes through concentrated time
and concentrated effort, and it

487
00:24:07,958 --> 00:24:10,498
will produce a peace along the way.

488
00:24:11,278 --> 00:24:14,058
Well, the peace that comes from the word
of God has its origin in the God of the

489
00:24:14,058 --> 00:24:18,237
word, so it makes sense as David moves
on that he's gonna move from being in awe

490
00:24:18,238 --> 00:24:19,858
of the Lord to, to worshiping the Lord.

491
00:24:20,067 --> 00:24:22,607
So look where he goes next
in verses 163 and 164.

492
00:24:23,057 --> 00:24:26,198
He says, "I hate and abhor
falsehood, but I love your law.

493
00:24:26,497 --> 00:24:30,308
Seven times a day I praise
you for your righteous rules.

494
00:24:31,467 --> 00:24:33,667
I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love your law.

495
00:24:33,677 --> 00:24:36,247
Seven times a day I praise
you for your righteous rules."

496
00:24:36,758 --> 00:24:39,377
The, the peace of God that comes from
the word of God is meant to lead us

497
00:24:39,397 --> 00:24:41,338
to the worship of God, in other words.

498
00:24:41,338 --> 00:24:43,968
And so our second point this
morning is this: Lift your soul to

499
00:24:43,968 --> 00:24:45,838
the Lord in worshipful adoration.

500
00:24:46,868 --> 00:24:49,277
Lift your soul to the Lord
in worshipful adoration.

501
00:24:50,747 --> 00:24:54,447
As you come to the word of God,
seek to worship and adore Him

502
00:24:56,394 --> 00:24:57,584
What are the things that you love?

503
00:24:57,954 --> 00:24:59,364
What are the things
that you're devoted to?

504
00:25:00,344 --> 00:25:02,494
What are the things that,
that have your loyalty?

505
00:25:02,494 --> 00:25:04,104
What, in other words,
are, are you worshiping?

506
00:25:05,224 --> 00:25:07,784
Went to the Rangers game with,
with my three youngest sons, uh,

507
00:25:07,794 --> 00:25:11,114
while their older siblings were
at, uh, revival this last week.

508
00:25:11,604 --> 00:25:13,994
And, uh, it was the game that
the good guys won 10 to nothing.

509
00:25:14,004 --> 00:25:14,534
It was awesome.

510
00:25:14,534 --> 00:25:15,954
It was, it was a great game to be at.

511
00:25:16,514 --> 00:25:18,913
Uh, but while we were there, towards
the later innings, all of a sudden

512
00:25:18,914 --> 00:25:21,364
there was this great commotion going
on up in the stands up to, to the

513
00:25:21,364 --> 00:25:22,513
right from where we were sitting.

514
00:25:22,893 --> 00:25:25,164
And I looked up there, and there were
a bunch of dudes with their shirts

515
00:25:25,164 --> 00:25:26,813
off, whipping them around their heads.

516
00:25:27,254 --> 00:25:28,743
This is known as the tarps off crew.

517
00:25:29,104 --> 00:25:29,994
It's, it's something…

518
00:25:29,994 --> 00:25:31,023
I don't even remember where it started.

519
00:25:31,023 --> 00:25:32,694
I think Miami or somewhere
like that, or St.

520
00:25:32,694 --> 00:25:32,984
Louis.

521
00:25:32,984 --> 00:25:33,473
Maybe it was St.

522
00:25:33,473 --> 00:25:33,803
Louis.

523
00:25:34,154 --> 00:25:37,523
Uh, and this has kinda swept
all the, the Major League parks.

524
00:25:37,523 --> 00:25:40,013
And, and people that are younger
and in better shape than I

525
00:25:40,014 --> 00:25:41,674
am, they like doing this now.

526
00:25:42,194 --> 00:25:45,313
But what was interesting, I was
watching it the, for part of the game,

527
00:25:45,314 --> 00:25:48,044
because every time somebody else came
and joined them, they would go crazy

528
00:25:48,044 --> 00:25:49,223
like somebody just hit a grand slam.

529
00:25:49,873 --> 00:25:53,053
And, and so the- there were probab-
it started out with, like, 30 guys.

530
00:25:53,053 --> 00:25:57,453
By the end, there were probably 75,
80 men, uh, that were just whipping

531
00:25:57,453 --> 00:25:58,193
their shirts around their heads.

532
00:25:58,463 --> 00:26:01,953
Even the Rangers mascot, Captain the
Horse, went up there, took off his shirt,

533
00:26:01,984 --> 00:26:03,554
and was whirling it around his head.

534
00:26:03,883 --> 00:26:05,914
Which if you don't know baseball
or anything else and you're

535
00:26:05,914 --> 00:26:09,123
thinking there was a horse with no
shirt twirling around, it's okay.

536
00:26:09,484 --> 00:26:10,764
It's not really part of my point.

537
00:26:10,773 --> 00:26:13,663
My point is I looked at that and
I was like, "That's fanaticism.

538
00:26:14,473 --> 00:26:15,384
That's devotion.

539
00:26:15,743 --> 00:26:19,173
That's worshiping what's
happening on the field."

540
00:26:19,603 --> 00:26:20,613
They were going crazy.

541
00:26:20,613 --> 00:26:21,504
They had chants.

542
00:26:21,523 --> 00:26:24,073
They had things that they
all knew, and they had these

543
00:26:24,073 --> 00:26:24,954
rhythms and everything else.

544
00:26:24,954 --> 00:26:28,594
A- and, and, and that's the
worship that they were offering

545
00:26:28,594 --> 00:26:30,094
to this team on the field.

546
00:26:31,554 --> 00:26:32,453
What do you worship?

547
00:26:33,923 --> 00:26:35,504
How does the word of
God inform your worship?

548
00:26:35,504 --> 00:26:41,643
W- when we are in awe of the God of
the Word, it will lead us to worship

549
00:26:41,643 --> 00:26:44,633
Him, and that's part of this process
of finding peace on a daily basis.

550
00:26:46,173 --> 00:26:47,973
Because there's two things that
the worship of God is gonna

551
00:26:47,973 --> 00:26:50,234
change about us, or the peace
of God is gonna change about us.

552
00:26:50,234 --> 00:26:53,973
The first is this: the, the peace that,
of God that transforms our lives is gonna

553
00:26:53,973 --> 00:26:59,196
transform our affections God's peace is
gonna begin to transform our affections.

554
00:26:59,196 --> 00:27:01,755
When we come to the Word of God and
when we encounter the God of the Word

555
00:27:01,765 --> 00:27:04,015
there, it's gonna change what we love.

556
00:27:04,025 --> 00:27:05,025
Look at what David says here.

557
00:27:05,025 --> 00:27:06,326
He says, "I hate and abhor."

558
00:27:06,326 --> 00:27:07,096
Notice the language.

559
00:27:07,106 --> 00:27:09,055
The language is, is that of affection.

560
00:27:10,015 --> 00:27:14,155
"I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love your law."

561
00:27:15,596 --> 00:27:20,846
And so David is saying, y-
y- I, I detest deception, but

562
00:27:20,846 --> 00:27:22,906
I've come to love the Torah.

563
00:27:22,906 --> 00:27:24,816
I've come to love the truth of God's Word.

564
00:27:26,205 --> 00:27:29,176
And so David is contrasting here, and,
and like we mentioned last week, the

565
00:27:29,176 --> 00:27:32,575
more we follow God, the more we will
find ourselves at odds with the world.

566
00:27:32,815 --> 00:27:35,956
And one of the other reasons why we will
find ourselves at odds with the world

567
00:27:36,175 --> 00:27:39,505
is because the world is governed by the
prince of the power of the air, who Jesus

568
00:27:39,505 --> 00:27:44,005
in John 8:44 called the father of what?

569
00:27:44,555 --> 00:27:45,625
Lies.

570
00:27:46,545 --> 00:27:49,975
And so the father of lies rules
over the system of deception and

571
00:27:49,975 --> 00:27:51,855
the system of lies in this world.

572
00:27:51,855 --> 00:27:55,775
And so as we follow the God of
truth, then we will find ourselves

573
00:27:55,785 --> 00:27:57,485
again at odds with the world.

574
00:27:57,495 --> 00:28:00,505
And as we come to the Word of God, what
we will find is God's Word is gonna

575
00:28:00,505 --> 00:28:02,605
begin to transform our affections.

576
00:28:02,875 --> 00:28:06,455
We will be less and less in love with
the lies and the deception in the world,

577
00:28:06,575 --> 00:28:11,326
and more and more in love with the God
of the Word, with the, the God of truth.

578
00:28:12,895 --> 00:28:16,706
You cannot be at peace with the world
and the Lord because you cannot be at

579
00:28:16,706 --> 00:28:18,426
peace with both truth and deception.

580
00:28:20,185 --> 00:28:21,015
It's impossible.

581
00:28:21,305 --> 00:28:24,315
The law of non-contradiction
says I cannot be- believe a lie

582
00:28:24,325 --> 00:28:25,595
and the truth at the same time.

583
00:28:27,526 --> 00:28:29,956
And so Jesus, for example,
says to us, "You know what?

584
00:28:29,965 --> 00:28:32,385
You need to take up your
cross daily and follow me."

585
00:28:33,346 --> 00:28:34,545
Talking about self-denial.

586
00:28:35,975 --> 00:28:39,545
The, the world says you should do
what makes you happy and eliminate

587
00:28:39,555 --> 00:28:41,395
all toxic people from your life.

588
00:28:42,886 --> 00:28:43,716
Okay, well, which one is it?

589
00:28:45,235 --> 00:28:48,176
Is it self-denial or
is it self-exaltation?

590
00:28:49,315 --> 00:28:50,306
I can't have both.

591
00:28:51,995 --> 00:28:54,725
And God said, "This is the will of
God for your life," 1 Thessalonians

592
00:28:54,745 --> 00:28:57,085
Chapter 4, "that you would
abstain from sexual immorality."

593
00:28:58,445 --> 00:28:58,875
Okay?

594
00:28:59,425 --> 00:29:00,905
The world says, "You know what?

595
00:29:00,905 --> 00:29:04,826
We're gonna take lust and leverage it as
our greatest weapon against people today.

596
00:29:05,535 --> 00:29:08,715
We're gonna flood your entertainment
venues and your social media timelines

597
00:29:08,716 --> 00:29:11,145
and everything else with all kinds
of sensuality and immorality."

598
00:29:12,655 --> 00:29:13,915
And so God says, "Be pure."

599
00:29:13,916 --> 00:29:15,065
The world says, "Don't worry about it.

600
00:29:15,076 --> 00:29:15,985
It doesn't hurt anybody."

601
00:29:18,966 --> 00:29:21,386
God said, "Look to the
interest of others."

602
00:29:22,985 --> 00:29:27,336
The world, based on the very
base naturalistic evolutionary

603
00:29:27,336 --> 00:29:30,166
theory, says it's all about
the survival of the fittest.

604
00:29:31,255 --> 00:29:33,675
You know what the survival of the
fittest doesn't have on its agenda?

605
00:29:34,565 --> 00:29:35,515
The interest of others.

606
00:29:37,015 --> 00:29:40,606
So in other words, y- y- you can't
be one foot in and one foot out.

607
00:29:41,606 --> 00:29:44,355
A- and the world is gonna wanna pull
you towards its deception and its

608
00:29:44,356 --> 00:29:46,905
lies, and, and this is where I wanna
bring it back to your pursuit of peace.

609
00:29:47,225 --> 00:29:50,215
Because if you give in to what the
world is offering you, what you're

610
00:29:50,245 --> 00:29:52,035
gonna find is it is deception.

611
00:29:52,845 --> 00:29:53,605
It is empty.

612
00:29:54,575 --> 00:29:55,645
It doesn't fulfill.

613
00:29:57,295 --> 00:30:02,726
A- a- and that's the hideous nature
of sin, is the lure is there that

614
00:30:02,726 --> 00:30:04,285
says this is gonna give you peace

615
00:30:06,424 --> 00:30:10,264
Whether that's alcohol or drugs
or just the peace of saying, "I

616
00:30:10,264 --> 00:30:13,954
wanna be comfortable in life," or,
"If I make enough money, then I'll

617
00:30:13,964 --> 00:30:17,674
be at peace," or, "If I have this
type of family, then you know what?

618
00:30:17,684 --> 00:30:19,214
Then I'll be at peace."

619
00:30:23,552 --> 00:30:26,232
A-and yet y-you get those things
and you realize that peace

620
00:30:26,232 --> 00:30:27,252
that was promised isn't there

621
00:30:31,398 --> 00:30:37,778
Again, I don't know why other than
God just has, has not let me forget,

622
00:30:37,808 --> 00:30:40,858
but the, the death of, of Robin
Williams, I always go back to this

623
00:30:43,286 --> 00:30:46,596
He was a multimillionaire many times over.

624
00:30:47,886 --> 00:30:50,476
He made people laugh for a
living, and he was good at it.

625
00:30:51,986 --> 00:30:56,116
He was married and had kids, and by
all reports, had a, had a good family.

626
00:30:57,055 --> 00:30:58,725
You know what Robin Williams didn't have?

627
00:31:00,146 --> 00:31:01,116
He didn't have peace.

628
00:31:02,916 --> 00:31:04,395
That led to the tragic end of his life.

629
00:31:04,395 --> 00:31:07,865
A- a- and so the world says,
"Come chase these things because

630
00:31:07,865 --> 00:31:08,726
these are gonna give you peace."

631
00:31:08,875 --> 00:31:12,206
And, and I think what David is saying
here is, "I hate and abher- abhor the

632
00:31:12,436 --> 00:31:16,375
falsehood that are the offers of trying
to, to find peace anywhere else but God.

633
00:31:17,845 --> 00:31:18,805
God, I, I hate that.

634
00:31:18,816 --> 00:31:18,956
I…

635
00:31:19,005 --> 00:31:21,845
Instead, I, I love your law."

636
00:31:22,996 --> 00:31:25,055
And so what the peace of God
does in our lives is it begins

637
00:31:25,055 --> 00:31:26,156
to transform our affections.

638
00:31:26,375 --> 00:31:29,345
The second thing the peace of God does in
our lives is it transforms our worship.

639
00:31:29,345 --> 00:31:31,616
It transforms our worship.

640
00:31:32,406 --> 00:31:33,865
We are worshipers by nature.

641
00:31:34,705 --> 00:31:36,015
In fact, we are never not worshiping.

642
00:31:37,365 --> 00:31:38,655
The only question is what
or who are you worshiping?

643
00:31:40,435 --> 00:31:44,185
Part of our hardwired design by God
is that we were created to worship.

644
00:31:44,185 --> 00:31:44,585
In fact, he…

645
00:31:44,615 --> 00:31:46,546
We were created, the
chief end of man is what?

646
00:31:47,295 --> 00:31:49,366
To glorify God and to,
to enjoy him forever.

647
00:31:49,496 --> 00:31:51,905
To glorify God is another
way of saying to worship God.

648
00:31:51,905 --> 00:31:53,805
We were designed and created
by God to worship him.

649
00:31:53,805 --> 00:31:56,455
Well, enter the fall of
mankind, and what's the problem?

650
00:31:56,615 --> 00:31:59,065
The problem is that we have taken
God off the throne and replaced

651
00:31:59,066 --> 00:32:02,395
him with all of our other idols,
chief among them ourselves.

652
00:32:03,216 --> 00:32:05,445
And so we are by nature
a people that worship.

653
00:32:05,445 --> 00:32:07,985
The problem is that we
worship the wrong thing.

654
00:32:08,945 --> 00:32:10,366
Paul put it this way in Romans chapter 1.

655
00:32:11,236 --> 00:32:14,475
He said, "Therefore, God gave them
up in the lusts of their hearts to

656
00:32:14,485 --> 00:32:17,895
impurity, to the dishonoring of their
bodies among themselves, because,"

657
00:32:17,896 --> 00:32:18,995
and notice, here's the indictment.

658
00:32:19,005 --> 00:32:23,025
This is the main indictment of all of
mankind in Romans chapter 1, "because

659
00:32:23,036 --> 00:32:27,516
they exchanged the truth about God for
a lie," notice the truth and deception

660
00:32:27,516 --> 00:32:31,035
component there, "and worshiped and
served the creature rather than the

661
00:32:31,036 --> 00:32:32,516
Creator, who is blessed forever."

662
00:32:33,335 --> 00:32:36,365
And so mankind's chief
problem is a worship problem

663
00:32:36,365 --> 00:32:37,605
before it is anything else.

664
00:32:38,345 --> 00:32:40,686
We have taken God off the throne, and
we've put ourselves on the throne.

665
00:32:41,255 --> 00:32:43,305
We've worsh- worshiped and served
the creature rather than the

666
00:32:43,305 --> 00:32:44,265
Creator, who is blessed forever.

667
00:32:44,265 --> 00:32:48,535
When we come to faith in Christ, when
we get into the Word of God, one of the

668
00:32:48,536 --> 00:32:52,125
effects of the Spirit of God using the
Word of God in our life is to get us off

669
00:32:52,125 --> 00:32:54,215
the throne and put God back on the throne.

670
00:32:55,535 --> 00:32:59,326
It's to begin to go after the
idols in our lives and to transform

671
00:32:59,326 --> 00:33:00,565
the things that we worship.

672
00:33:00,576 --> 00:33:04,025
That's why David says in verse
164, "Seven times a day I

673
00:33:04,025 --> 00:33:05,905
praise your righteous rules."

674
00:33:06,255 --> 00:33:09,356
He, he wasn't saying, "Okay, one,
two, three, four, five, six, seven."

675
00:33:09,936 --> 00:33:11,625
He meant to completion.

676
00:33:11,625 --> 00:33:13,625
That's what the word seven
re- represents there.

677
00:33:14,785 --> 00:33:16,286
"I, I keep praising you, Lord.

678
00:33:16,315 --> 00:33:20,555
I am perpetually worshiping God,"
because his encounter with God

679
00:33:20,555 --> 00:33:23,005
and because the Word of God is
producing that worship in his life.

680
00:33:24,595 --> 00:33:27,405
Charles Spurgeon convictingly
said this about this verse.

681
00:33:27,406 --> 00:33:30,485
He said, "Do we praise God
seven times a day, or do we

682
00:33:30,485 --> 00:33:31,745
praise Him once in seven days?"

683
00:33:35,630 --> 00:33:39,140
The Word of God is intended to lead
us, y'all, to the worship of God.

684
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,290
Again, we, we wanna be in awe of the
Word of God because the awe of the Word

685
00:33:44,290 --> 00:33:45,710
of God comes from the God of the Word.

686
00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:48,600
And, and when we get there,
then we are moved into this

687
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:50,490
posture of worshiping the Lord.

688
00:33:51,189 --> 00:33:53,689
And worshiping the Lord that
way is gonna bring us peace.

689
00:33:53,939 --> 00:33:55,149
You say, "How is it gonna bring us peace?"

690
00:33:55,870 --> 00:33:57,059
Let me give you an example or a few.

691
00:33:57,739 --> 00:34:00,100
Maybe you do have uncertainty about
what's going on in the world right now.

692
00:34:00,909 --> 00:34:02,560
The geopolitical scene
keeps you up at night.

693
00:34:03,089 --> 00:34:04,990
You're checking headlines every
morning, and you're just more and more

694
00:34:04,990 --> 00:34:06,260
discouraged, you're more and more anxious.

695
00:34:06,530 --> 00:34:09,789
What the Word of God does is the Word
of God lifts your eyes to the Sovereign

696
00:34:09,790 --> 00:34:12,719
One who installs kings and removes
kings, and reminds you that He's the

697
00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:13,969
one that's ultimately on the throne.

698
00:34:14,130 --> 00:34:17,369
He's the one that's declared the beginning
from the end, and it leaves you saying,

699
00:34:17,369 --> 00:34:18,719
"God, I'm gonna praise you for that

700
00:34:20,812 --> 00:34:25,292
And what was once a heart-gripping
fear becomes now a, a

701
00:34:25,302 --> 00:34:26,752
heart-possessing trust in Him.

702
00:34:28,242 --> 00:34:29,032
You're worshiping Him

703
00:34:31,411 --> 00:34:32,382
Or maybe it's your kids.

704
00:34:32,851 --> 00:34:33,952
You worry about your children.

705
00:34:33,952 --> 00:34:35,592
You, you worry about what
their future's gonna be like.

706
00:34:35,601 --> 00:34:38,842
You worry about what the, the world that
they're gonna grow up in is gonna be like,

707
00:34:38,842 --> 00:34:41,712
or you worry about whether or not they're
gonna come to faith in Christ someday, and

708
00:34:41,712 --> 00:34:43,322
it keeps you up at night for those things.

709
00:34:43,322 --> 00:34:45,710
And then you go to the Word of God, and
you read in the Word of God that God

710
00:34:45,712 --> 00:34:49,792
has knit them together in their mother's
womb, that God has written down every

711
00:34:49,792 --> 00:34:53,282
one of the days of their life before
even one of them came to pass, and you

712
00:34:53,282 --> 00:34:57,171
praise God for the fact that He loves
your kids more than you even love your

713
00:34:57,172 --> 00:35:00,181
kids, and you worship Him for that.

714
00:35:01,461 --> 00:35:04,511
And what was heart-gripping fear
becomes heart-gripping trust in Him

715
00:35:07,148 --> 00:35:10,998
Or maybe you're angry over injustice at
work because things aren't going well

716
00:35:11,008 --> 00:35:13,618
in your job, and things are happening
and they, and you don't deserve to

717
00:35:13,628 --> 00:35:14,828
be in the position that you're in.

718
00:35:15,107 --> 00:35:18,048
And then you go to the Word of God,
and your eyes are lifted to the one who

719
00:35:18,048 --> 00:35:22,607
knows all and sees all, and the God who
is the God of justice like our students

720
00:35:22,607 --> 00:35:25,887
learned last week at revival, and the
God who will right every wrong and

721
00:35:25,888 --> 00:35:30,437
reward every act of faithfulness, and
you are able to worship him for the fact

722
00:35:30,438 --> 00:35:36,177
that this life is not all there is, and
that eternity will see all rights made,

723
00:35:36,257 --> 00:35:39,598
made evident and all wrongs dealt with.

724
00:35:41,098 --> 00:35:44,487
And what was the heart-gripping
fear or anger becomes the

725
00:35:44,487 --> 00:35:46,557
heart-gripping trust in the Lord

726
00:35:48,878 --> 00:35:50,568
You find yourself wanting
more of the peace of God this

727
00:35:50,568 --> 00:35:51,388
morning, go to the Word of God

728
00:35:53,814 --> 00:35:55,924
Ask yourself as you go to the Word
of God, not only what do I have to

729
00:35:55,924 --> 00:35:59,004
be in awe of, but what do I have
to worship God for this morning?

730
00:36:01,902 --> 00:36:03,272
But peace is found in joyful awe.

731
00:36:03,272 --> 00:36:05,562
It's found in worship of the Lord, but
it's also found somewhere else, and that

732
00:36:05,562 --> 00:36:07,912
is how we respond to the Word of God.

733
00:36:08,932 --> 00:36:10,032
Look at our last three verses here.

734
00:36:10,032 --> 00:36:12,002
He says this, "I hope for
your salvation, O Lord.

735
00:36:12,442 --> 00:36:13,722
I do your commandments.

736
00:36:13,911 --> 00:36:15,292
My soul keeps your testimonies.

737
00:36:15,292 --> 00:36:16,722
I love them exceedingly.

738
00:36:16,951 --> 00:36:20,681
I keep your precepts and testimonies,
for all my ways are before you."

739
00:36:22,766 --> 00:36:25,086
It's not just knowing the word
of God that gives us peace.

740
00:36:25,126 --> 00:36:28,286
Obeying it is key to our experiencing
the peace of, of God as well.

741
00:36:29,876 --> 00:36:35,246
Think of Peter sleeping when
he's in prison, or think of Paul

742
00:36:35,256 --> 00:36:36,725
singing hymns when he's in prison

743
00:36:38,837 --> 00:36:43,048
Their peace and their confidence in
those situations where their life

744
00:36:43,158 --> 00:36:46,868
literally hung in the balance came
from a, a confi- confidence that was

745
00:36:46,868 --> 00:36:49,997
produced by their knowledge that they
had nothing to be ashamed of because

746
00:36:49,997 --> 00:36:53,098
they were taking the word of God and
living it out in faithful obedience.

747
00:36:53,977 --> 00:36:55,747
Our third and final point this
morning is this: focus your

748
00:36:55,747 --> 00:36:56,947
soul on devoted obedience.

749
00:36:57,837 --> 00:37:00,427
Focus your soul on devoted obedience.

750
00:37:02,267 --> 00:37:04,607
Have you ever been really anxious about
something and then found yourself so

751
00:37:04,607 --> 00:37:07,828
busy with even sometimes the thing
that you were anxious about that

752
00:37:07,828 --> 00:37:08,987
you're no longer worried about it?

753
00:37:10,127 --> 00:37:12,527
That you find that you're so busy
that you don't really have time to

754
00:37:12,528 --> 00:37:14,928
think about that thing anymore that
was once giving you so much pause?

755
00:37:16,178 --> 00:37:18,607
My family and I went to, to Colorado
on vacation this summer, and we

756
00:37:18,607 --> 00:37:21,237
did something called the Manitou
Incline in Colorado Springs.

757
00:37:22,048 --> 00:37:24,107
2,768 steps.

758
00:37:24,118 --> 00:37:26,648
I know because we counted them, and
there's plaques on them along the way.

759
00:37:26,648 --> 00:37:30,577
2,768 steps, and when I say
steps, I mean railroad ties.

760
00:37:30,587 --> 00:37:33,597
Sometimes they were three inches
apart, sometimes they were a foot,

761
00:37:34,017 --> 00:37:35,837
and it's 2,000 feet up in elevation.

762
00:37:36,987 --> 00:37:39,138
So we had planned this.

763
00:37:39,177 --> 00:37:41,807
My wife had, had seen it, and she
was like, "We need to go do this."

764
00:37:42,337 --> 00:37:46,528
And, uh, and, and some of you also
decided to try to discourage us,

765
00:37:46,558 --> 00:37:48,118
and we know who you are, by the way.

766
00:37:48,787 --> 00:37:49,697
"Oh, this is really hard.

767
00:37:49,698 --> 00:37:51,237
We tried it, and it's, it's really hard."

768
00:37:51,268 --> 00:37:53,877
We were able to do it, but there
was almost that, like, you didn't

769
00:37:53,878 --> 00:37:55,787
say, "I don't think you guys
are gonna be able to do it."

770
00:37:56,257 --> 00:37:56,837
We did.

771
00:37:57,287 --> 00:37:58,527
All of us, we all made it.

772
00:37:58,698 --> 00:38:00,587
Even the, the wee ones,
they made it up too.

773
00:38:01,597 --> 00:38:04,907
But it was so, so intense and,
and we, we were even hearing

774
00:38:04,908 --> 00:38:07,427
rumors that people trained for,
like, months to do this thing.

775
00:38:07,637 --> 00:38:08,687
We trained not at all.

776
00:38:09,187 --> 00:38:11,597
We just showed up from Texas in Colorado.

777
00:38:11,737 --> 00:38:12,748
We were like, "Sure.

778
00:38:13,027 --> 00:38:13,387
Hill.

779
00:38:13,417 --> 00:38:13,867
It's a hill.

780
00:38:13,868 --> 00:38:14,337
It's steps.

781
00:38:14,338 --> 00:38:14,977
We can do steps.

782
00:38:14,977 --> 00:38:15,657
We know how to do steps.

783
00:38:15,658 --> 00:38:16,467
We got them in our house.

784
00:38:16,487 --> 00:38:17,168
We'll be able to do them."

785
00:38:18,338 --> 00:38:20,417
And, uh, we drank water and,
like, Gatorade packets, so

786
00:38:20,417 --> 00:38:21,307
we were, we were good to go.

787
00:38:21,507 --> 00:38:22,287
We covered our bases.

788
00:38:23,118 --> 00:38:25,077
But coming up to it, we, we…

789
00:38:25,077 --> 00:38:28,408
All week long before we got there, we
saw it in the distance, and seeing it on

790
00:38:28,408 --> 00:38:31,207
the mountain, this, this, like, line that
goes up this mountain that just is…

791
00:38:31,387 --> 00:38:34,427
It's a scar carved into the side of
the mountain, and you begin to wonder.

792
00:38:34,927 --> 00:38:35,607
You begin to fear.

793
00:38:35,607 --> 00:38:36,447
You begin to question.

794
00:38:36,847 --> 00:38:38,497
You begin to get anxious about it.

795
00:38:39,177 --> 00:38:42,377
And even after we, we got there and we
parked and we rode the shuttle to the, the

796
00:38:42,417 --> 00:38:46,477
place where you start this climb, and, and
we were, we were nervous about that too.

797
00:38:46,497 --> 00:38:46,777
And the…

798
00:38:46,827 --> 00:38:50,217
Then it didn't help because we,
right at the bottom of the steps, we

799
00:38:50,247 --> 00:38:52,757
encountered this nice lady, and we were
like, "Can you take a picture for us?"

800
00:38:52,977 --> 00:38:55,808
She was like, "Sure," and she took a
picture of our family before we started,

801
00:38:55,808 --> 00:38:56,968
and we were like, "Are you not going?"

802
00:38:56,968 --> 00:38:58,867
She was like, "Oh, no, I would
never do anything like that."

803
00:38:59,477 --> 00:38:59,887
Okay.

804
00:39:00,708 --> 00:39:01,098
Great

805
00:39:03,416 --> 00:39:07,556
We had all of the, the, the questions and
the nerves until we took the first step.

806
00:39:09,156 --> 00:39:12,996
And then we took the second one, and
then the third, and we kept going.

807
00:39:13,005 --> 00:39:18,926
A- and once we started the walk, once
we started the climb, then what we were

808
00:39:18,926 --> 00:39:20,636
thinking about wasn't all of the fears.

809
00:39:20,645 --> 00:39:21,585
Are we gonna make it?

810
00:39:21,586 --> 00:39:22,506
Will we get there?

811
00:39:22,506 --> 00:39:23,355
Where's the next bail?

812
00:39:23,365 --> 00:39:24,835
We weren't thinking about any of that.

813
00:39:25,105 --> 00:39:26,005
You know what we were thinking about?

814
00:39:26,006 --> 00:39:27,776
We were thinking about the next step.

815
00:39:28,785 --> 00:39:29,865
What do I have to do now?

816
00:39:30,675 --> 00:39:31,465
What's next?

817
00:39:31,505 --> 00:39:32,196
What's in front of me?

818
00:39:35,214 --> 00:39:38,864
For the, the anxious Christian,
it's so good for us to go to the

819
00:39:38,864 --> 00:39:41,394
Word of God and simply say, "God,
what do you have for me next?"

820
00:39:42,974 --> 00:39:45,734
Idleness is never good
for the anxious soul.

821
00:39:47,154 --> 00:39:51,964
When we're idle and left to our
thoughts and left to our, our, our

822
00:39:51,964 --> 00:39:57,564
fears, the enemy is a, a master artisan
at painting the worst picture in our

823
00:39:57,564 --> 00:39:58,973
minds that you could ever imagine.

824
00:40:00,573 --> 00:40:05,063
But instead, when we're active, when we
busy ourselves with what the Lord has

825
00:40:05,063 --> 00:40:11,004
for us to do, the enemy doesn't have
time to rob us of the joy and the peace

826
00:40:11,004 --> 00:40:12,174
that we've been talking about already.

827
00:40:14,054 --> 00:40:15,984
Look at verse 66, 166 again.

828
00:40:17,124 --> 00:40:21,053
David says, "O Lord, I hope for your
salvation, and I do your commandments."

829
00:40:21,763 --> 00:40:23,163
I hope for your salvation.

830
00:40:23,394 --> 00:40:25,294
Uh, the word hope is I, I wait for it.

831
00:40:26,093 --> 00:40:28,543
But while he's waiting,
he's actively waiting.

832
00:40:28,804 --> 00:40:32,103
I'm waiting for your salvation, and
I'm doing what you have for me to do.

833
00:40:32,503 --> 00:40:33,893
I'm taking the next step.

834
00:40:34,194 --> 00:40:34,933
I'm climbing.

835
00:40:35,383 --> 00:40:36,383
I'm gonna keep going.

836
00:40:36,543 --> 00:40:38,833
Christianity, y'all, is not passive.

837
00:40:39,684 --> 00:40:42,653
Following Christ means following Christ

838
00:40:44,718 --> 00:40:46,377
And so there's three things that
I want you to think about, about

839
00:40:46,377 --> 00:40:47,998
the nature of this obedience.

840
00:40:48,627 --> 00:40:52,018
The first is this, we, we want to
pursue a devoted obedience by keeping

841
00:40:52,018 --> 00:40:53,837
a clean conscience before the Lord.

842
00:40:55,258 --> 00:40:57,567
Having a clean conscience before
the Lord, and this is what David

843
00:40:57,567 --> 00:40:59,727
is saying, "I'm waiting for your
salvation, oh Lord, and in the

844
00:40:59,727 --> 00:41:01,408
meantime, I'm doing your commandments.

845
00:41:01,948 --> 00:41:04,167
I'm gonna make sure that I'm
living a life of integrity.

846
00:41:04,497 --> 00:41:06,857
I'm gonna make sure that when I lay
my head down to sleep at the end of

847
00:41:06,857 --> 00:41:09,998
the night, I can say, 'Lord, I've,
to my knowledge, faithfully served

848
00:41:09,998 --> 00:41:11,177
you today as best that I could.

849
00:41:11,687 --> 00:41:12,947
I did what you had for me to do.'"

850
00:41:13,837 --> 00:41:16,187
That clean conscience is
going to give us a peace.

851
00:41:16,407 --> 00:41:19,847
Uh, back in Acts chapter 23, I was
talking about Paul in Acts 26 earlier.

852
00:41:19,848 --> 00:41:23,538
Well, before that, in 23, he
appears before the Sanhedrin, the

853
00:41:23,538 --> 00:41:27,218
Jews, the, the Pharisees, and the
Sadducees, and they want to kill him.

854
00:41:28,047 --> 00:41:29,947
And yet Paul begins his
address before them.

855
00:41:29,948 --> 00:41:32,787
He says, "Looking intently at the
council, Paul said: 'Brothers, I

856
00:41:32,788 --> 00:41:38,408
have lived my life before God in all
good conscience up to this day.'"

857
00:41:39,747 --> 00:41:42,157
And so the peace that Paul had
in the face of his accusers who

858
00:41:42,157 --> 00:41:45,167
wanted him dead was to say, "I
know I've got nothing on my record.

859
00:41:46,327 --> 00:41:47,967
I've got a clean conscience
before the Lord."

860
00:41:49,328 --> 00:41:52,017
And so for us, as we come to the
Word of God, one of the ways, one of

861
00:41:52,017 --> 00:41:54,537
the reasons why we wanna focus our
soul on a devoted obedies- obedience

862
00:41:55,177 --> 00:41:59,158
and be active i- is because we
want to have this clean conscience.

863
00:41:59,158 --> 00:42:00,857
We want to follow Him in obedience.

864
00:42:01,118 --> 00:42:04,828
And it could be for some of you that
you've been, uh, asking yourself the

865
00:42:04,828 --> 00:42:07,117
question, "Okay, look, I've, I've
been coming to church, I've been

866
00:42:07,118 --> 00:42:11,057
reading the Bible even, a- and I've
been praying and asking God for peace,

867
00:42:11,057 --> 00:42:12,598
but none of it seems to be working."

868
00:42:12,938 --> 00:42:15,757
Could it be that your
conscience isn't clean?

869
00:42:17,008 --> 00:42:20,677
Could it be that you've got sin harbored
in your life, and you're hoping that

870
00:42:20,677 --> 00:42:24,087
going through the motions in, in, in
all of these other items is gonna make

871
00:42:24,087 --> 00:42:28,177
up for the fact that you're not ceding
this area of, of sin in your life to

872
00:42:28,177 --> 00:42:32,924
the lordship of Christ, repenting and
confessing and being rid of it Maybe the

873
00:42:32,924 --> 00:42:35,834
peace is being withheld because you've
got sin that needs to be eradicated.

874
00:42:37,054 --> 00:42:40,774
Again, it's not just to be around the Word
of God, and even to just be in the Word

875
00:42:40,774 --> 00:42:42,284
of God, it's to be under the Word of God.

876
00:42:42,284 --> 00:42:46,014
And to be under the Word of God is to
hear it, to read it, to study it, and

877
00:42:46,014 --> 00:42:48,774
then to take it and to do it, to apply it.

878
00:42:50,293 --> 00:42:52,564
Again, we can't be at peace with
the world and peace with God.

879
00:42:53,293 --> 00:42:55,043
We want a clean conscience
before the Lord.

880
00:42:55,703 --> 00:42:56,394
So that's the first thing.

881
00:42:56,394 --> 00:43:00,413
The second thing is I, I want you to think
about obeying out of a love for the Lord.

882
00:43:01,234 --> 00:43:05,034
Having a devoted obedience is a devoted
obedience that's fueled by a love for God.

883
00:43:05,383 --> 00:43:06,893
Look at verse si- 167.

884
00:43:07,413 --> 00:43:10,823
David says, "My soul keeps your
testimonies; I love them exceedingly."

885
00:43:11,383 --> 00:43:12,594
Notice what he doesn't say.

886
00:43:12,724 --> 00:43:15,994
He doesn't say, "My soul keeps your
testimonies because I have to do this."

887
00:43:16,913 --> 00:43:19,153
He doesn't say, "My soul keeps
your testimonies, and what a

888
00:43:19,163 --> 00:43:20,963
burden it is to me to do that."

889
00:43:21,933 --> 00:43:25,393
He says, "My soul keeps your
testimonies; I love them exceedingly."

890
00:43:26,553 --> 00:43:29,033
When you are walking in faithful
obedience to the Lord, devoted

891
00:43:29,033 --> 00:43:33,104
obedience to the Lord, your
obedience is not duty but delight.

892
00:43:34,533 --> 00:43:37,834
Now, there are going to be times in
your life where for self-control, you're

893
00:43:37,834 --> 00:43:41,703
gonna have to say no to something your
flesh really wants, to say yes to God,

894
00:43:41,903 --> 00:43:45,824
and that may, in seasons, feel like
that's more duty than it is delight

895
00:43:45,824 --> 00:43:48,423
because you're saying no to the thing
that you feel like you would delight in.

896
00:43:48,674 --> 00:43:51,913
But the more you do that and the more
you go to the Word of God, the less

897
00:43:51,933 --> 00:43:56,063
appealing that thing's gonna be and the
more appealing Christ is gonna be to you.

898
00:43:56,064 --> 00:43:59,413
It's like the old hymn that we
sing, "All the things of earth will

899
00:43:59,413 --> 00:44:03,603
grow strangely dim in the light of
His glory and, glory and grace."

900
00:44:04,753 --> 00:44:08,563
The, the way that the things that have
your heart right now, the sins that

901
00:44:08,564 --> 00:44:11,983
you battle, the, the hope that you
have to overcome those, is by getting

902
00:44:11,983 --> 00:44:15,343
more of the Word of God in your life
and learning to have your affection

903
00:44:15,343 --> 00:44:20,393
stirred for Christ more and less for
the world so that your devoted obedience

904
00:44:20,393 --> 00:44:24,913
becomes more an act of your love
for Him than it does anything else.

905
00:44:25,903 --> 00:44:28,714
But then finally, your devoted
obedience is not only born out of

906
00:44:28,714 --> 00:44:32,653
love for the Lord, it's also born
out of a fear of God, and those two

907
00:44:32,653 --> 00:44:34,973
things don't contradict each other.

908
00:44:36,233 --> 00:44:38,744
You can love the Lord and
fear Him at the same time.

909
00:44:40,073 --> 00:44:41,863
Notice what David says
finally in the last verse.

910
00:44:41,863 --> 00:44:44,243
He says, "I keep your precepts
and testimonies, for all

911
00:44:44,264 --> 00:44:45,533
my ways are before you."

912
00:44:46,623 --> 00:44:49,453
I keep them, for all
my ways are before you.

913
00:44:50,663 --> 00:44:53,864
Proverbs 15:3 says, "The eyes of
the Lord are in every place, keeping

914
00:44:53,864 --> 00:44:55,124
watch on the evil and the good."

915
00:44:56,383 --> 00:44:59,233
Proverbs 5:21, "For a man's ways
are before the eyes of the Lord,

916
00:44:59,233 --> 00:45:00,784
and he ponders all his paths."

917
00:45:02,958 --> 00:45:04,758
This is related to our
clean conscience, right?

918
00:45:05,148 --> 00:45:06,928
If we wanna look back at the end of
the day and say, "Lord, I've lived

919
00:45:06,928 --> 00:45:09,478
faithfully before you," we need to
know and understand and acknowledge

920
00:45:09,478 --> 00:45:10,638
that He's watched us all day long

921
00:45:13,070 --> 00:45:16,890
And so because we know that the Lord
watches us, out of a fear of God,

922
00:45:17,710 --> 00:45:20,050
we wanna live a life of faithful
and devoted obedience to Him.

923
00:45:21,060 --> 00:45:24,590
We wanna say, "Lord, I want to, to
pursue a, a life of obedience to you."

924
00:45:24,870 --> 00:45:27,290
And, and there's peace therein
because then at the end of the

925
00:45:27,290 --> 00:45:28,510
day, you truly can lay down.

926
00:45:28,510 --> 00:45:32,320
And maybe you didn't live a perfect
day because we all are still sinful,

927
00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:35,269
but maybe at the end of the day you can
say, "Lord, to the best of my knowledge,

928
00:45:35,509 --> 00:45:36,949
I lived faithful before you today.

929
00:45:37,629 --> 00:45:40,539
Your eyes were on me, and
I lived in light of that

930
00:45:44,110 --> 00:45:47,140
There's your static relationship
with the peace of, of, of God, right?

931
00:45:47,930 --> 00:45:49,660
And that, that's what I
read about in Romans 5:1.

932
00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:52,840
We've been justified by faith,
and now we have peace with God.

933
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:55,430
That peace is immovable, it's
permanent, it's never going anywhere.

934
00:45:56,530 --> 00:46:00,290
But there's a dynamic peace that
is the day-to-day peace that is

935
00:46:00,290 --> 00:46:02,429
available to us with our Savior.

936
00:46:03,319 --> 00:46:06,609
That peace is related to our
relationship with the Word of God.

937
00:46:08,340 --> 00:46:11,360
Great peace of those who love
your lo- love your Word, and

938
00:46:11,370 --> 00:46:12,700
nothing can make them stumble.

939
00:46:14,110 --> 00:46:15,409
Again, this is gonna take work.

940
00:46:16,450 --> 00:46:17,390
This is not easy.

941
00:46:18,130 --> 00:46:23,270
It's gonna involve sacrifice,
vulnerability, accountability at times.

942
00:46:24,430 --> 00:46:25,770
But in the end, the payoff is great.

943
00:46:25,799 --> 00:46:29,659
It's the great peace that's available
for those who love the Lord.

944
00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:33,219
As we close, I wanna just suggest
three things for you this week.

945
00:46:33,319 --> 00:46:34,370
I wanna challenge you to do something.

946
00:46:34,370 --> 00:46:37,660
When you come to the Word of God this
week, three things I want you to do.

947
00:46:38,149 --> 00:46:40,039
Take a piece of paper and
write down these three things.

948
00:46:40,540 --> 00:46:43,720
Number one, I want you to write down,
what is something that I'm in awe of about

949
00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:45,430
God after reading His Word this, today?

950
00:46:46,700 --> 00:46:49,829
Number two, I want you to write down, what
is something that I wanna worship God for

951
00:46:49,919 --> 00:46:51,390
as a result of my time in the Word today?

952
00:46:52,849 --> 00:46:55,499
And then number three, I want you to write
down, what is something that I need to do

953
00:46:56,549 --> 00:46:57,929
as a result of my time in the Word today?

954
00:47:01,390 --> 00:47:05,230
That we would begin to train ourselves
to come to the Word of God, to find

955
00:47:05,270 --> 00:47:10,580
awe in the Word of God, to find o-
occasions for worship in the Word

956
00:47:10,580 --> 00:47:15,690
of God, and to find the guidance for
faithful obedience in the Word of God,

957
00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:20,549
trusting that His Word tells us, "Great
peace of those who love your law."

958
00:47:21,650 --> 00:47:21,930
Let's pray

959
00:47:25,464 --> 00:47:28,534
Lord, your Word is, is a gift to us,
and we do live in the midst of a, a

960
00:47:28,534 --> 00:47:30,644
chaotic and, and topsy-turvy world.

961
00:47:31,564 --> 00:47:36,884
Lord, we live in a world that is far
from soothing at times, especially now

962
00:47:36,884 --> 00:47:39,814
when news is available 24/7 for us.

963
00:47:39,814 --> 00:47:43,724
At the open of an app on our phone, we
can see all of everyone else's problems

964
00:47:43,724 --> 00:47:45,273
splashed right there on our screens.

965
00:47:46,464 --> 00:47:49,823
And yet, God, we know the God who
is sovereign over it all, and we

966
00:47:49,823 --> 00:47:51,994
know that you've given us your
Word to remind us of what's true.

967
00:47:51,994 --> 00:47:55,094
We know that you've given us your
Word to guide us in this life.

968
00:47:55,094 --> 00:47:57,954
And so, God, I, I pray that
you would enable us to give

969
00:47:57,954 --> 00:47:59,533
ourselves over to the study of it.

970
00:47:59,573 --> 00:48:03,654
Lord, that we would learn to, to love
your Word and experience the great peace

971
00:48:03,654 --> 00:48:05,363
that you promise there in verse 165.

972
00:48:05,373 --> 00:48:09,564
God, that we would have your Word
be our guiding light, that it

973
00:48:09,564 --> 00:48:13,404
would control our thoughts and how
we perceive the world around us.

974
00:48:14,033 --> 00:48:16,134
Lord, and that we would
experience as a result the peace

975
00:48:16,154 --> 00:48:17,273
that surpasses understanding.

976
00:48:17,314 --> 00:48:20,754
Lord, a peace that transcends our
circumstances, a peace that will

977
00:48:20,754 --> 00:48:23,843
give us the ability to continue to
press on in faithfulness to you.

978
00:48:24,533 --> 00:48:27,264
And so we thank you for the gift of your
Word, and we thank you that ultimately

979
00:48:27,264 --> 00:48:29,923
we will one day be at full peace with
you when we step into your presence,

980
00:48:29,924 --> 00:48:31,483
and we pray this all in Jesus' name.

981
00:48:31,623 --> 00:48:32,093
Amen.