1 00:00:05,340 --> 00:00:09,070 Speaker: All right, well this summer we are gonna be diving into Psalm 2 00:00:09,070 --> 00:00:11,030 119 together, Summer in the Word. 3 00:00:11,450 --> 00:00:14,420 Uh, Psalm 119, if you're not familiar with it, is the longest chapter in 4 00:00:14,420 --> 00:00:17,580 the entirety of the Bible, and you're saying, "What did I sign up for?" 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:19,339 I'm not preaching the whole thing this morning. 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,780 Uh, Psalm 119 is 176 verses. 7 00:00:22,780 --> 00:00:25,560 It's broken down into 22 different sections, and it's 8 00:00:25,620 --> 00:00:28,040 actually a massive acrostic. 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,140 Now, you may have to reach back to growing up, elementary school days, 10 00:00:31,140 --> 00:00:35,269 to remember what an acrostic is, but an acrostic is a poem where each 11 00:00:35,269 --> 00:00:36,950 line begins with the same letter. 12 00:00:37,110 --> 00:00:39,940 And now you may be looking at your English Bible saying, "Okay, I've got a B, I've 13 00:00:39,940 --> 00:00:41,249 got a W, I've got a W, I've got a B. 14 00:00:41,610 --> 00:00:43,260 Uh, this doesn't look like an acrostic." 15 00:00:43,670 --> 00:00:45,670 Uh, and that's because it's not in the English. 16 00:00:45,670 --> 00:00:46,420 It is in the Hebrew. 17 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,839 In the Hebrew, there's 22 characters in the Hebrew alphabet, and so Psalm 18 00:00:49,839 --> 00:00:55,499 119 in 176 verses is broken down into 22 sections and each section begins, 19 00:00:55,549 --> 00:00:59,690 each line of that section begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. 20 00:01:00,290 --> 00:01:04,349 And so this is a, a Psalm that was organized and put together in, in 21 00:01:04,349 --> 00:01:06,220 such a way to make it memorable. 22 00:01:06,470 --> 00:01:06,990 Memorable. 23 00:01:07,409 --> 00:01:08,720 Uh, it's memorable for other reasons, too. 24 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,470 In fact, legend holds that there was a man condemned to die in Scotland, and he 25 00:01:12,470 --> 00:01:17,199 was brought up to the, the gallows and the noose was put around his neck, and it was 26 00:01:17,199 --> 00:01:22,739 tradition that the condemned could request a Psalm to be sung before their execution. 27 00:01:23,190 --> 00:01:27,749 And so this man was shrewd, and he said, "I'm gonna request Psalm 119. 28 00:01:28,199 --> 00:01:29,510 Give me the longest Psalm you got." 29 00:01:30,020 --> 00:01:30,789 And so they did. 30 00:01:30,789 --> 00:01:34,878 They began to sing Psalm 119, and before they got two-thirds of the way 31 00:01:34,878 --> 00:01:38,400 even through the Psalm, his pardon came and he was released from the 32 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:44,080 hangsman, hangman's noose, and he was freed to go about the rest of his life. 33 00:01:45,020 --> 00:01:45,830 Psalm 119. 34 00:01:46,419 --> 00:01:48,470 Uh, the greatest impact of Psalm 119, though, is not 35 00:01:48,470 --> 00:01:50,009 its length, it's its content. 36 00:01:50,610 --> 00:01:56,400 Psalm 119 really is, uh, the magnum opus on the Word of God, on the scriptures. 37 00:01:57,509 --> 00:02:01,169 One commentator said this, "This giant among the Psalms shows the 38 00:02:01,169 --> 00:02:06,209 full flowering of that delight in the law of the Lord, which is described 39 00:02:06,249 --> 00:02:10,610 in Psalm 1, and gives its personal witness to the many-sided qualities 40 00:02:10,610 --> 00:02:13,130 of scripture praised in Psalm 19." 41 00:02:14,279 --> 00:02:19,910 Or another said this, "Here we have set forth in inexhaustible fullness what the 42 00:02:19,910 --> 00:02:25,190 Word of God is to a man and how a man is to behave himself in relation to it." 43 00:02:25,559 --> 00:02:26,249 Psalm 119. 44 00:02:26,529 --> 00:02:28,478 It, it is the magnum opus on the scripture. 45 00:02:29,059 --> 00:02:30,690 It praises the Word of God. 46 00:02:30,728 --> 00:02:36,660 In fact, 171 out of 176 verses, at least, there's debate, at least 47 00:02:36,660 --> 00:02:41,539 171 out of 176 verses of this Psalm refer directly to the scriptures. 48 00:02:42,675 --> 00:02:45,905 Psalm 119 is all about the scriptures. 49 00:02:46,353 --> 00:02:50,134 In fact, Psalm 119 uses eight different words to refer to the 50 00:02:50,134 --> 00:02:52,625 scriptures that you'll see show up time and time again in the book. 51 00:02:53,004 --> 00:02:57,144 You've got word, you've got law, testimonies, statutes, commandments, 52 00:02:57,144 --> 00:03:01,374 precepts, rules, ways, and there's even a, a few others that show 53 00:03:01,374 --> 00:03:03,315 up less often than these do. 54 00:03:03,544 --> 00:03:06,274 But any time you read any of these words in Psalm 119, it's 55 00:03:06,274 --> 00:03:08,464 referring to the scriptures. 56 00:03:09,894 --> 00:03:12,105 There was a man whose name was John Ruskin, whose mother made 57 00:03:12,105 --> 00:03:14,974 him memorize large portions of the Bible, and one of the things that 58 00:03:14,974 --> 00:03:16,895 she had him memorize was Psalm 119. 59 00:03:17,474 --> 00:03:19,794 Again, Psalm 119 is set up to be memorized. 60 00:03:19,794 --> 00:03:21,465 That's why it's in an, the acrostic form. 61 00:03:21,465 --> 00:03:25,294 That's why in the Hebrew each one was beginning with the same Hebrew letter. 62 00:03:25,294 --> 00:03:26,085 22 sections. 63 00:03:26,085 --> 00:03:28,055 It was memorable, as large as it was. 64 00:03:28,684 --> 00:03:30,004 And this man, John Ruskin, said this. 65 00:03:30,004 --> 00:03:33,745 He says, "It's strange that of all the pieces of the Bible which my mother taught 66 00:03:33,745 --> 00:03:39,285 me, that which cost me most to learn, and which was to my childish mind chiefly 67 00:03:39,285 --> 00:03:45,944 repulsive, that is, the 119th Psalm, has now become of all the most precious 68 00:03:46,024 --> 00:03:51,395 to me, in its overflowing and glorious passion of the love for the law of God." 69 00:03:52,745 --> 00:03:56,344 I hope that that's gonna be the impact that this psalm and this summer has on us. 70 00:03:56,874 --> 00:03:59,425 I hope that this psalm is going to cause us to love God's Word more. 71 00:03:59,944 --> 00:04:02,995 I hope that it's gonna cause us to desire the Word of God more, to be hungry for 72 00:04:02,995 --> 00:04:06,935 the Word of God more, to want to dive into, to immerse ourselves in God's 73 00:04:06,935 --> 00:04:11,804 Word, to memorize it, to store it up, to treasure it, and to realize the positive 74 00:04:11,804 --> 00:04:13,245 impact that it will have on our lives. 75 00:04:13,774 --> 00:04:17,505 That's why we're gonna spend the next 12 weeks in Psalm 119 together. 76 00:04:18,295 --> 00:04:20,914 It's not gonna be the typical verse by verse approach that we normally do in a 77 00:04:20,914 --> 00:04:23,925 book, just like we finished up 1 Peter, although we, this morning, are gonna go 78 00:04:23,925 --> 00:04:25,454 through the first eight verses that way. 79 00:04:26,204 --> 00:04:29,395 But some of these, as we gather together, will be focused on the theme that the 80 00:04:29,395 --> 00:04:32,425 psalm brings out, and then we w- might use that and springboard to another 81 00:04:32,425 --> 00:04:34,764 passage that develops that theme for us. 82 00:04:34,764 --> 00:04:38,164 But we are gonna start in Psalm 119 together every single Sunday. 83 00:04:39,005 --> 00:04:41,664 And I want us to see the impact that this psalm is gonna have on our life. 84 00:04:42,454 --> 00:04:46,134 Again, this morning, we're gonna be in the first eight verses of the psalm, and the 85 00:04:46,134 --> 00:04:51,454 first eight verses focus in on the concept of the blessed life, the blessed life. 86 00:04:52,335 --> 00:04:55,335 And so as we get into this, it's, it's yearbook season. 87 00:04:55,335 --> 00:04:58,145 I know my kids just brought theirs back, and maybe you can think back 88 00:04:58,145 --> 00:05:01,135 to when you got your yearbooks and everybody signed the yearbooks. 89 00:05:01,135 --> 00:05:02,885 And you can see up at the top of your notes page there, the 90 00:05:02,885 --> 00:05:04,785 title of the sermon, HAGS, right? 91 00:05:05,255 --> 00:05:07,374 HAGS, Have A Great Summer. 92 00:05:07,404 --> 00:05:09,294 I hope I'm not the only one that knows what that is. 93 00:05:09,555 --> 00:05:12,374 I'm not trying to call anyone any names in the church here. 94 00:05:12,885 --> 00:05:14,954 Have A Great Summer, HAGS. 95 00:05:15,124 --> 00:05:19,484 Well, what I think we're gonna find this morning in Psalm 119:1-8 is that 96 00:05:19,484 --> 00:05:22,645 the key to a great summer, and in fact, the key to a great life, is making sure 97 00:05:22,645 --> 00:05:26,975 that we have ourselves immersed in the Word of God, that we've dived into the 98 00:05:26,975 --> 00:05:29,615 Word of God with everything that we are. 99 00:05:29,615 --> 00:05:31,704 What does that look like? 100 00:05:32,014 --> 00:05:32,555 What does that look like? 101 00:05:33,315 --> 00:05:35,264 Well, grab your Bibles and open up to Psalm 119 with me. 102 00:05:36,594 --> 00:05:38,154 Not only do we wanna see what it looks like, but why? 103 00:05:39,175 --> 00:05:39,784 Why is that the key? 104 00:05:40,929 --> 00:05:45,419 W- why is more Bible gonna make me have the best summer I've ever had? 105 00:05:45,879 --> 00:05:47,819 And why is more Bible gonna improve my life? 106 00:05:48,349 --> 00:05:51,599 Well, if you're a Christian, the answers are contained here in Psalm 119. 107 00:05:52,580 --> 00:05:54,179 Let's just read the first eight verses together. 108 00:05:54,179 --> 00:05:57,100 In verse one it says this: "Blessed are those whose way is blameless, 109 00:05:57,100 --> 00:05:58,440 who walk in the law of the Lord. 110 00:05:58,869 --> 00:06:01,840 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with 111 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:05,490 their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways. 112 00:06:05,930 --> 00:06:08,410 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. 113 00:06:08,910 --> 00:06:12,240 Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes. 114 00:06:12,609 --> 00:06:17,449 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. 115 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,499 I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous rules. 116 00:06:21,570 --> 00:06:23,039 I will keep your statutes. 117 00:06:23,519 --> 00:06:25,399 Do not utterly forsake me." 118 00:06:25,859 --> 00:06:27,999 Let's look at the first three v- verses here. 119 00:06:27,999 --> 00:06:31,600 The first ver- word of, of verse one and the first word of verse two, same 120 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:32,999 word there, it is the word blessed. 121 00:06:32,999 --> 00:06:34,330 Remember, this is about the blessed life. 122 00:06:34,330 --> 00:06:37,359 How to have the blessed life here in verses one through eight. 123 00:06:37,629 --> 00:06:40,350 The word blessed is from a Hebrew word that's the word Asher. 124 00:06:40,379 --> 00:06:42,629 In fact, that's one of the tribes of Israel, isn't it? 125 00:06:42,629 --> 00:06:47,119 It's also my youngest son's middle name, and it's a word that means 126 00:06:47,119 --> 00:06:49,070 happiness or blessed or fortunate. 127 00:06:49,570 --> 00:06:53,040 And so the author is saying, "If you want to be the, the one that has a, a happy 128 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,530 life, a blessed life, a fortunate life, it's going to involve these things." 129 00:06:57,570 --> 00:07:02,150 Psalm 1:1-2 that Pastor Rod referenced during our worship time says, "Blessed," 130 00:07:02,180 --> 00:07:05,269 same word there, "Blessed," happy, fortunate, "is the man who walks 131 00:07:05,269 --> 00:07:07,820 not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, 132 00:07:08,070 --> 00:07:09,509 nor sits in the seat of scoffers. 133 00:07:09,509 --> 00:07:12,790 But his delight is in the law of the Lord." 134 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:14,430 Again, the scriptures. 135 00:07:14,570 --> 00:07:17,180 "In on his law he meditates day and night." 136 00:07:17,909 --> 00:07:18,409 Blessed. 137 00:07:18,990 --> 00:07:21,879 Having a, a blessed life, a happy life. 138 00:07:22,729 --> 00:07:25,640 Now, before we move further here, it's probably helpful to 139 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:26,829 define what we mean by that. 140 00:07:27,180 --> 00:07:28,490 What do I mean by a happy life? 141 00:07:28,490 --> 00:07:31,879 Am I promising you that if you get more into the Word of God that your 142 00:07:31,879 --> 00:07:35,030 summer is not gonna have any sorrow, there's not gonna be any tears, that 143 00:07:35,030 --> 00:07:38,070 you're just gonna be, like, walking on sunshine for your whole life? 144 00:07:38,430 --> 00:07:38,670 No. 145 00:07:39,119 --> 00:07:43,100 No, that, that's not what we are referring to when we say a happy life. 146 00:07:43,549 --> 00:07:46,799 I- in fact, some have pressed the distinction between something known as 147 00:07:46,799 --> 00:07:48,600 happiness and something else known as joy. 148 00:07:49,350 --> 00:07:52,010 Some have, have argued that, that joy is the heart posture. 149 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,540 Joy is, is the, the attitude, and happiness is the emotion that can flow. 150 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,960 Now, if we are Christians, I believe that even in the, the, the deepest valleys 151 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:07,070 of sorrow and heartache, there is a joy that abides that can even produce some of 152 00:08:07,070 --> 00:08:11,400 the happiness in us, even though we may at the same time be wrestling with the 153 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:15,669 tears and the sorrow and the heartache and the pain, frustration, even anger. 154 00:08:16,790 --> 00:08:19,499 And so when we're talking about having a blessed life, we're not talking about 155 00:08:19,749 --> 00:08:22,400 you're gonna walk out of here and, and it's gonna be cloud nine for the 156 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:25,290 rest of your life, and you're gonna be able to say, "As long as I read my 157 00:08:25,290 --> 00:08:27,919 Bible, everything's gonna go perfect," because you're gonna come back to me 158 00:08:28,109 --> 00:08:31,600 with your receipt and say, "I want my, I want my money back," 'cause 159 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:32,809 that's not the life that I'm living. 160 00:08:34,029 --> 00:08:36,828 The blessed life is, is different than that, but the best, blessed life is, is 161 00:08:36,828 --> 00:08:41,100 better than that Because the blessed, blessed life is gonna help you tap into 162 00:08:41,100 --> 00:08:45,560 that abiding joy, that, that posture that approaches whatever comes your way in 163 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:50,919 this life with a confidence that says, "I know that the Lord is on the throne and 164 00:08:50,919 --> 00:08:52,240 that I have a hope that's secure in Him." 165 00:08:52,930 --> 00:08:54,730 God's Word plays such a key role in that. 166 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,799 Many have said Psalm 119 is the most thorough exposition of Psalm 1. 167 00:09:01,510 --> 00:09:06,150 Psalm 119 takes the idea of joy and delight in the law of God and 168 00:09:06,150 --> 00:09:08,379 expounds that into 176 verses. 169 00:09:09,010 --> 00:09:12,260 And joy is really the dominant theme, as we'll see as we study this book together. 170 00:09:12,260 --> 00:09:14,319 And it's not that David or whoever the psalmist was 171 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,229 Some think it was David, others have, have questioned this. 172 00:09:17,229 --> 00:09:18,499 It's not attributed in the book here. 173 00:09:18,819 --> 00:09:22,699 But whoever the author is, as we're gonna read this, we're gonna see it's not as 174 00:09:22,699 --> 00:09:24,039 though he was living a perfect life. 175 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,819 He was up against difficult situations in, in difficult seasons. 176 00:09:27,819 --> 00:09:29,159 He was even fearing at times. 177 00:09:29,789 --> 00:09:32,670 And yet the dominant theme throughout the book or throughout the chapter 178 00:09:32,670 --> 00:09:35,050 here is the theme of joyfulness. 179 00:09:35,970 --> 00:09:38,170 And so he says, "Blessed," or happy, fortunate, "are the 180 00:09:38,170 --> 00:09:40,999 ones whose way is blameless." 181 00:09:41,470 --> 00:09:42,160 Blameless. 182 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:46,660 It, it, it's the word in Psalm 18:30, same Hebrew word back in Psalm 18:30, 183 00:09:46,940 --> 00:09:49,859 when it says, "God's way is perfect." 184 00:09:50,249 --> 00:09:50,440 Okay. 185 00:09:50,900 --> 00:09:55,539 So how in the world ... We're starting out, uh, with a, we're, we're playing 186 00:09:55,539 --> 00:09:57,029 without a full deck right now, right? 187 00:09:57,029 --> 00:10:01,020 Because if, if the key to blessing is to be blameless, well, then 188 00:10:01,020 --> 00:10:02,359 who among us can tap into that? 189 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:05,220 Who among us can be perfect? 190 00:10:06,980 --> 00:10:10,489 Well, if perfection is the definition of blamelessness here, then the 191 00:10:10,489 --> 00:10:12,080 answer is none of us can, right? 192 00:10:12,300 --> 00:10:13,599 All of us fall short of that standard. 193 00:10:13,660 --> 00:10:14,889 All of us have sin in our lives. 194 00:10:15,639 --> 00:10:17,919 So how, how can I be blameless? 195 00:10:17,919 --> 00:10:22,630 Well, let me just remind you, back in the, the Old Testament, we find out that 196 00:10:22,630 --> 00:10:25,529 there were men who were called blameless. 197 00:10:26,020 --> 00:10:30,630 In fact, Noah was said to be a blameless man in Genesis 6. 198 00:10:31,260 --> 00:10:35,039 David, in portions of his life, 2 Samuel 22, was said 199 00:10:35,039 --> 00:10:37,010 to be a man who was blameless. 200 00:10:38,260 --> 00:10:42,249 Job was a man, even though the word blameless is not necessarily used, 201 00:10:42,249 --> 00:10:45,759 when God attributes to him what he does as he's saying to Satan, 202 00:10:45,759 --> 00:10:46,940 "Have you considered my servant Job? 203 00:10:46,940 --> 00:10:49,889 There's none like him in all the earth," we could look at 204 00:10:49,889 --> 00:10:53,259 Job and say Job would meet the standards of being a blameless man. 205 00:10:53,970 --> 00:10:57,339 And then in the Psalms we find time and time again it speaks of God's 206 00:10:57,339 --> 00:10:59,490 interactions with the blameless. 207 00:10:59,490 --> 00:11:01,669 For example, Psalm 18, Psalm 37. 208 00:11:02,309 --> 00:11:06,080 So there must be a category in which blamelessness, even though absolute 209 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,970 perfection is not achievable, that there can be some sort of 210 00:11:08,970 --> 00:11:11,660 blamelessness for you and for me. 211 00:11:12,830 --> 00:11:14,830 I've said it before from the pulpit, and you've probably heard it before, 212 00:11:14,830 --> 00:11:19,559 that God wants m- you to be holy more than He wants you to be happy, right? 213 00:11:20,770 --> 00:11:24,749 But that's only true if we're talking about happiness when it refers to what 214 00:11:24,749 --> 00:11:26,279 the world defines as, as happiness. 215 00:11:26,729 --> 00:11:31,160 I- if we're seeking the happiness that God is holding out, then we would say that 216 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:32,889 God does want you to be holy and happy. 217 00:11:32,889 --> 00:11:36,705 In fact, l- let me just say it this way, God wants a holy happiness in your life 218 00:11:37,385 --> 00:11:40,994 He wants a blamelessness in your life that comes from you studying the Word of God, 219 00:11:41,194 --> 00:11:45,114 learning the Word of God, applying the Word of God, living out the Word of God. 220 00:11:46,484 --> 00:11:50,715 We read from Deuteronomy six during our scripture reading time that as the 221 00:11:50,715 --> 00:11:54,715 parents of these Israelite children, and then even out beyond that time and 222 00:11:54,715 --> 00:11:58,084 even for us today, we want to teach our children to obey the Lord because 223 00:11:58,084 --> 00:12:00,174 to obey the Lord is, is good for us. 224 00:12:00,655 --> 00:12:01,344 It's right. 225 00:12:01,854 --> 00:12:02,555 It's helpful. 226 00:12:02,645 --> 00:12:04,235 It's a blessing for us. 227 00:12:04,795 --> 00:12:09,405 Whatever situation or season that you're in, to walk blameless before the Lord, 228 00:12:09,405 --> 00:12:14,335 that is to set yourself to obey Him, to, to examine your life for any root of sin 229 00:12:14,335 --> 00:12:20,234 and to rid it of your life as much as you possibly can, to do that is gonna 230 00:12:20,234 --> 00:12:25,635 put you in a place of blessing, a place of joy, a place of God-given happiness. 231 00:12:26,524 --> 00:12:28,675 Because again, the happiness that we're talking about is not circumstantial. 232 00:12:29,504 --> 00:12:32,304 It, it's not based on what's going on in your life. 233 00:12:32,304 --> 00:12:34,475 It's based on how your life is going with the Lord. 234 00:12:36,485 --> 00:12:38,914 Sometimes it's gonna be realized in abiding joy and confidence 235 00:12:38,914 --> 00:12:39,825 that God is on the throne. 236 00:12:41,215 --> 00:12:44,764 Something happens, your life takes a left turn that you weren't expecting, and 237 00:12:44,764 --> 00:12:48,344 you're left feeling out of control, but trusting in the one who is in control. 238 00:12:49,155 --> 00:12:51,504 And so you have an abiding joy and abiding happiness, and 239 00:12:51,504 --> 00:12:52,304 you're able to trust in Him. 240 00:12:52,304 --> 00:12:52,474 Why? 241 00:12:52,474 --> 00:12:54,634 Because you've gone to the Word of God, and you know who He's revealed 242 00:12:54,634 --> 00:12:55,745 Himself to be in the scriptures. 243 00:12:57,134 --> 00:13:00,245 Sometimes that joy is felt in, in a peace that surpasses understanding, like Paul 244 00:13:00,245 --> 00:13:01,444 talks about in Philippians chapter four. 245 00:13:01,444 --> 00:13:02,374 You've got anxieties. 246 00:13:03,034 --> 00:13:04,515 You've got things weighing you down. 247 00:13:05,165 --> 00:13:09,555 The s- the future is uncertain, and you go to the, the Lord in prayer, 248 00:13:09,555 --> 00:13:12,925 and you cast your anxieties on Him because He cares for you, and what you 249 00:13:12,925 --> 00:13:16,015 receive in return is the peace that surpasses understanding that guards 250 00:13:16,015 --> 00:13:17,875 your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 251 00:13:18,164 --> 00:13:20,315 That sometimes is what that joy looks like. 252 00:13:22,125 --> 00:13:24,175 But all this induces the question, okay, so then what does 253 00:13:24,175 --> 00:13:25,004 it look like to be blameless? 254 00:13:25,004 --> 00:13:25,995 How can I be blameless? 255 00:13:26,425 --> 00:13:26,914 How do I do this? 256 00:13:26,914 --> 00:13:27,734 How do I tap into this? 257 00:13:27,734 --> 00:13:28,664 What does that mean? 258 00:13:28,715 --> 00:13:29,585 What does that look like? 259 00:13:29,984 --> 00:13:32,724 Well, that's the rest here of verses one through three. 260 00:13:33,035 --> 00:13:35,695 There's three words that show up here in these verses that I want us 261 00:13:35,695 --> 00:13:40,594 to, to hone in on here, and those are the words walk, keep, and seek. 262 00:13:40,925 --> 00:13:42,365 Walk, keep, and seek. 263 00:13:42,395 --> 00:13:46,755 These three words are the key to our finding this access to the blessed life, 264 00:13:46,755 --> 00:13:51,115 to this blameless life, and it begins with a serious devotion to the Word of God. 265 00:13:51,115 --> 00:13:53,634 Point number one is this: Get happy by getting serious. 266 00:13:54,575 --> 00:13:56,484 Get happy by getting serious. 267 00:14:00,104 --> 00:14:03,815 I saw this week something o- about the Blue Angels, w- which, uh, I remember 268 00:14:03,815 --> 00:14:07,234 once we were, we were driving, uh, on one of our trips back from, from 269 00:14:07,234 --> 00:14:09,104 California to Texas or, or vice versa. 270 00:14:09,104 --> 00:14:12,194 We were driving through, um, El Centro, California. 271 00:14:12,194 --> 00:14:13,585 Anybody know where El Centro is? 272 00:14:13,585 --> 00:14:14,494 It's, it's the middle of nowhere. 273 00:14:14,494 --> 00:14:16,484 There's not a lot of good that happens in El Centro, except 274 00:14:16,484 --> 00:14:17,265 for the people that live there. 275 00:14:17,265 --> 00:14:18,544 I'm sure it's delightful for them. 276 00:14:19,255 --> 00:14:21,845 Uh, but the Blue Angels train in that area, and we didn't know 277 00:14:21,845 --> 00:14:23,904 that until all of a sudden we're driving along and our kids... 278 00:14:23,904 --> 00:14:27,915 And we got a free Blue Angels show on, uh, on the eight as we were driving out 279 00:14:27,915 --> 00:14:29,935 there, uh, to, uh, to leave California. 280 00:14:30,615 --> 00:14:32,144 B- but the Blue Angels are fascinating. 281 00:14:32,144 --> 00:14:35,595 Did you know that they do something before every flight called chair flying? 282 00:14:36,290 --> 00:14:37,459 Some of you may know what this is. 283 00:14:37,939 --> 00:14:40,789 It, they get folding chairs, and they sit together in the room, and I saw 284 00:14:40,789 --> 00:14:46,039 a video of it this week, and they go through with utmost meticulous attention 285 00:14:46,550 --> 00:14:47,800 every single part of their flight. 286 00:14:48,369 --> 00:14:52,840 They get there in their full flight suits, they sit in the chairs, and they begin 287 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,809 to rehearse their program in their minds. 288 00:14:55,809 --> 00:14:59,100 They close their eyes, all of them do, and they close their eyes, and they 289 00:14:59,100 --> 00:15:02,620 go through the whole thing, including their radio calls and all of the minor 290 00:15:02,620 --> 00:15:05,680 adjustments that they're gonna make while they're up in the air, everything else. 291 00:15:05,870 --> 00:15:08,980 And it's not just here that they're doing it, it's their bodies too. 292 00:15:09,329 --> 00:15:11,710 They're sitting in the chairs, and they're, they've got their hand on 293 00:15:11,710 --> 00:15:14,239 the joystick and they're, they're making all of the d- I'm acting like 294 00:15:14,239 --> 00:15:15,449 I know what to do in a p- cockpit. 295 00:15:15,449 --> 00:15:16,609 You don't want me flying a plane. 296 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,379 And they're making all of these different adjustments as they're, they're sitting 297 00:15:20,379 --> 00:15:22,679 in the chair, and they're doing all this, and they're going through all of 298 00:15:22,679 --> 00:15:25,449 it, and their feet are on the pedals a- and, and they're, they're even 299 00:15:25,449 --> 00:15:28,289 moving their heads with the G-forces that they know they're gonna expect 300 00:15:28,289 --> 00:15:30,289 when they're flying th- their program. 301 00:15:31,589 --> 00:15:32,390 Why do they do that? 302 00:15:33,780 --> 00:15:35,250 Because they take what they do seriously. 303 00:15:36,559 --> 00:15:37,649 They take what they do seriously. 304 00:15:38,489 --> 00:15:41,739 They know what's at stake when they get behind the throttle of 305 00:15:41,739 --> 00:15:45,780 this fighter jet that's worth m- millions and millions of dollars. 306 00:15:46,650 --> 00:15:48,979 And they know that they have to be serious about their approach to 307 00:15:48,979 --> 00:15:51,470 it, because if they're not serious about their approach to it, what's 308 00:15:51,470 --> 00:15:53,610 at stake is, is, is far too much. 309 00:15:53,670 --> 00:15:54,559 It's far too great. 310 00:15:57,290 --> 00:16:01,449 Church, y- you may be checking the box on your daily Bible 311 00:16:01,449 --> 00:16:02,670 reading each and every day. 312 00:16:04,079 --> 00:16:06,889 You may be crossing it off like I do on my, my cards here. 313 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:10,129 Um, if you don't have a card like this, this is our daily Bible reading card. 314 00:16:10,270 --> 00:16:11,379 Let me just introduce that to you. 315 00:16:11,379 --> 00:16:12,560 You can grab one on your way out. 316 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:13,799 We'd love for you to jump in with us. 317 00:16:13,799 --> 00:16:16,260 We've got a podcast to help kind of explain what's going on. 318 00:16:16,580 --> 00:16:20,100 But, but if we're not careful, if we're not serious about our approach 319 00:16:20,100 --> 00:16:24,109 to the Word, our time with the Lord each and every morning can become 320 00:16:24,109 --> 00:16:27,719 about crossing off a number instead of engaging in a relationship. 321 00:16:29,829 --> 00:16:34,310 I want us to be serious about what we do as we approach the Word of God. 322 00:16:35,659 --> 00:16:38,200 The Blue Angels are serious because of what's at stake, and, and we need to 323 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,990 be serious because what's at stake for us is not a multimillion-dollar machine 324 00:16:41,990 --> 00:16:44,780 or, or our physical well-being, but what's at stake is our relationship 325 00:16:44,780 --> 00:16:46,390 with God and the well-being of our soul. 326 00:16:48,420 --> 00:16:51,289 When you are fed by the Word of God, it should nourish you. 327 00:16:51,289 --> 00:16:53,209 There's a, a seriousness about the approach. 328 00:16:53,209 --> 00:16:55,529 We should be intentional about that, and we're gonna develop that 329 00:16:55,529 --> 00:16:56,969 more as we move along this morning. 330 00:16:57,410 --> 00:17:00,210 But I think we see the seriousness in these first three verbs here 331 00:17:00,469 --> 00:17:03,010 that we find in verses one through three, the first one being walk. 332 00:17:03,889 --> 00:17:05,270 Walk in the law of the Lord. 333 00:17:05,270 --> 00:17:09,180 The one who's blameless is one who walks in the law w- of the Lord. 334 00:17:09,559 --> 00:17:12,359 To walk in the law of the Lord is to pursue a, a path of life. 335 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:13,398 It's a pattern of behavior. 336 00:17:13,398 --> 00:17:14,170 It's a way of life. 337 00:17:14,170 --> 00:17:15,638 It's a course of action. 338 00:17:16,990 --> 00:17:20,269 This path, notice, is laid out for us by the law. 339 00:17:20,858 --> 00:17:22,559 The word law there is the word for Torah. 340 00:17:23,039 --> 00:17:24,940 It's the instructions of God. 341 00:17:25,659 --> 00:17:28,369 And for the psalmist, this probably was referring to the actual law, 342 00:17:28,369 --> 00:17:29,600 the first five books of the Bible. 343 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:31,730 For you and I, this expands, doesn't it? 344 00:17:32,174 --> 00:17:37,155 Second Timothy 3:16 and through 17 says, "All scripture is God-breathed," 345 00:17:37,765 --> 00:17:42,244 and notice its usefulness, "and it's profitable for teaching and 346 00:17:42,244 --> 00:17:46,284 reproof and correction and for training in righteousness that 347 00:17:46,284 --> 00:17:49,515 the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work." 348 00:17:50,175 --> 00:17:54,425 And so the instruction of God's Word is for us to set the path 349 00:17:54,474 --> 00:17:57,244 upon which we should walk, and we need to be serious about that 350 00:17:57,644 --> 00:17:59,105 when we approach the Word of God. 351 00:17:59,105 --> 00:17:59,654 What does that mean? 352 00:17:59,654 --> 00:18:02,175 That means my posture needs to be one of submission when I 353 00:18:02,175 --> 00:18:03,265 pick up the Bible every morning. 354 00:18:04,124 --> 00:18:06,245 I'm coming f- to Him to say, "Lord, what... 355 00:18:06,315 --> 00:18:07,574 How do you want me to walk? 356 00:18:08,635 --> 00:18:10,255 What do you want my life to look like? 357 00:18:11,335 --> 00:18:13,505 How do you want my, my, my behavior to look?" 358 00:18:14,624 --> 00:18:17,484 And so I'm submitting myself to the scriptures when I come to 359 00:18:17,484 --> 00:18:19,135 read the Bible every single day. 360 00:18:19,655 --> 00:18:22,835 And so when you pick up the Word of God, are, are you coming with that 361 00:18:22,835 --> 00:18:25,734 same posture to obey the scriptures? 362 00:18:25,955 --> 00:18:28,804 Are you coming teachable to the Spirit, to the Word? 363 00:18:29,495 --> 00:18:32,674 Are you coming even to passages that you've read 100 times still saying, "Lord, 364 00:18:32,674 --> 00:18:34,054 teach me something new this morning. 365 00:18:34,874 --> 00:18:36,625 Help me to see something that I haven't seen before. 366 00:18:37,335 --> 00:18:41,305 Show me in my life where I need to get off the wrong path and on the right path." 367 00:18:42,534 --> 00:18:45,755 We need to walk if we're gonna be blameless, to walk on the 368 00:18:45,755 --> 00:18:47,195 way of the law of the Lord. 369 00:18:47,195 --> 00:18:50,924 But the second thing he says is we need to keep His testimonies. 370 00:18:51,494 --> 00:18:53,924 Blessed is the one who keeps His testimonies. 371 00:18:54,854 --> 00:18:58,634 Again, testimonies is a, a word there for the scriptures, the things that God has 372 00:18:58,634 --> 00:19:04,274 set forth as true, what He has testified to be His Word, and we want to keep them. 373 00:19:05,045 --> 00:19:07,144 We keep His testimonies really in two ways. 374 00:19:07,144 --> 00:19:11,615 We preserve them, we guard them, the idea of even kind of treasuring them up. 375 00:19:11,615 --> 00:19:13,074 We're memorizing the Word of God. 376 00:19:13,074 --> 00:19:14,375 We're storing it up in our hearts there. 377 00:19:14,375 --> 00:19:16,064 We're keeping the Word of God in that sense. 378 00:19:16,615 --> 00:19:19,125 B- but that leads to the second way that we keep the Word of God, 379 00:19:19,125 --> 00:19:20,824 which is we apply the Word of God. 380 00:19:21,615 --> 00:19:23,064 In other words, we obey it. 381 00:19:23,585 --> 00:19:26,835 We not only come with a heart that is submissive to it, but we come 382 00:19:26,835 --> 00:19:29,714 with a spirit of obedience to the Word of God every time we pick it up. 383 00:19:30,604 --> 00:19:33,045 So when I come seriously to the Word of God, I want to come with 384 00:19:33,045 --> 00:19:36,255 the right posture of submission and also the posture of obedience. 385 00:19:36,255 --> 00:19:39,394 I'm coming to the Word saying, "Lord, teach me and show me, and 386 00:19:39,394 --> 00:19:41,025 then I wanna, I wanna keep this. 387 00:19:41,344 --> 00:19:42,335 I wanna do this. 388 00:19:42,404 --> 00:19:43,154 I wanna walk it out. 389 00:19:43,275 --> 00:19:43,915 I wanna live it out. 390 00:19:44,115 --> 00:19:44,704 I wanna obey it." 391 00:19:45,885 --> 00:19:47,915 And then the final verb he says here is we want to seek the Lord. 392 00:19:48,674 --> 00:19:49,484 We want to seek the Lord. 393 00:19:50,734 --> 00:19:53,204 Seek Him with their whole heart. 394 00:19:54,615 --> 00:19:55,915 This is about devotion. 395 00:19:56,894 --> 00:19:57,684 This is about devotion. 396 00:19:59,184 --> 00:20:03,245 When we come to the Word of God, we come to encounter Him, and when we do that, we 397 00:20:03,245 --> 00:20:05,355 come fully surrendered to that pursuit. 398 00:20:06,704 --> 00:20:09,195 Second Chronicles, or, uh, rather First Chronicles 29. 399 00:20:09,734 --> 00:20:13,654 First Chronicles 29 verse 19 says, "Grant to Solomon my son," David is praying for 400 00:20:13,654 --> 00:20:19,505 his son, "grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, 401 00:20:19,505 --> 00:20:23,764 your testimonies, your statutes, preserv- performing all, and that he may build the 402 00:20:23,764 --> 00:20:25,424 palace for which I have made provision." 403 00:20:25,674 --> 00:20:29,165 Notice what David asks for before he even asks for the obedience of his son is the 404 00:20:29,165 --> 00:20:33,470 devotion of his son And so as we come to the word of God with a serious posture, 405 00:20:33,470 --> 00:20:37,419 we wanna come with that s- posture, that heart of devotion before the Lord. 406 00:20:39,510 --> 00:20:42,779 We're climbing onto the operating table every time we pick up God's word, 407 00:20:42,779 --> 00:20:45,830 and we're giving the scalpel to the Spirit of God, and we're saying to the 408 00:20:45,830 --> 00:20:47,979 Spirit, "Lay us bare before the word." 409 00:20:50,370 --> 00:20:52,910 This is what it looks like to get serious with the Word of God. 410 00:20:54,270 --> 00:20:55,380 This is what it looks like. 411 00:20:56,070 --> 00:20:59,900 He wants your, your full devotion, to surrender your whole life to Him. 412 00:21:00,700 --> 00:21:03,660 When you come, you're seeking Him in every arena of your life when you 413 00:21:03,660 --> 00:21:04,820 pick up the Word of God to read it. 414 00:21:05,230 --> 00:21:07,239 There's not an area of your life that's off-limits. 415 00:21:07,239 --> 00:21:10,300 When you come and you take up the Word each day, it's not like you're 416 00:21:10,300 --> 00:21:13,030 taking up the Word going, "Okay, God, I'm, I'm giving you permission to get 417 00:21:13,030 --> 00:21:16,270 after me in these areas of my life, but don't touch this one over here." 418 00:21:17,659 --> 00:21:20,239 No, we wanna seek Him in the entirety of it. 419 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:23,100 We wanna come before the Lord and say, "Lord, I'm yours. 420 00:21:23,189 --> 00:21:24,089 Do with me what you will. 421 00:21:24,999 --> 00:21:27,139 Take the Word, apply it to my life. 422 00:21:27,229 --> 00:21:30,490 Use it to make me more like Christ." 423 00:21:32,699 --> 00:21:35,859 You know, if, if this were just me up here pontificating about, "Hey, 424 00:21:35,859 --> 00:21:37,169 you need to read the Word of God. 425 00:21:37,500 --> 00:21:39,700 You need to, to, to be submissive to it. 426 00:21:39,700 --> 00:21:41,040 You need to be obedient to it. 427 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,779 You need to be devoted to the Word," and, and it was just me up here 428 00:21:43,779 --> 00:21:46,750 just saying that, you might walk out kinda discouraged this morning. 429 00:21:46,750 --> 00:21:49,649 Maybe you're gonna even walk out skeptical or cynical, being like, 430 00:21:49,649 --> 00:21:52,479 "Yeah, here's just another to-do list from these Christian pastors. 431 00:21:52,479 --> 00:21:53,420 Read my Bible more." 432 00:21:53,959 --> 00:21:56,889 A- and, and that's why I'm so thankful that this psalm 433 00:21:56,889 --> 00:21:58,240 begins the way that it does. 434 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:00,590 What's the first word again? 435 00:22:00,590 --> 00:22:01,479 It's the word blessed. 436 00:22:02,869 --> 00:22:05,010 Blessed, verse one, verse two, blessed. 437 00:22:06,089 --> 00:22:10,649 And so this is God telling us, this is God telling you this morning, if you 438 00:22:10,649 --> 00:22:15,530 wanna live the blessed life, it looks like coming after Him ev- every single day to 439 00:22:15,530 --> 00:22:18,909 say, "Lord, I wanna walk in your ways, I wanna keep your testimonies, a- a- and 440 00:22:18,909 --> 00:22:20,780 I wanna seek you with my whole heart. 441 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:26,480 I wanna do that because I want to be in the path of blessing that comes from you." 442 00:22:27,890 --> 00:22:30,140 And so if you will do that, if you'll get serious about that, that's why 443 00:22:30,140 --> 00:22:31,890 I say get happy by getting serious. 444 00:22:32,510 --> 00:22:34,070 Because God is giving you the blueprints. 445 00:22:34,070 --> 00:22:37,430 God is giving you the way forward to, to experience more of the blessed 446 00:22:37,430 --> 00:22:40,100 joy that can abide no matter what else is happening in your life, and 447 00:22:40,100 --> 00:22:42,960 it begins with you coming with a serious posture before the Lord every 448 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,629 single day to say, "God, I'm ready. 449 00:22:45,229 --> 00:22:45,549 I'm ready. 450 00:22:45,549 --> 00:22:49,879 I'm gonna submit, I'm gonna obey, I'm gonna be devoted to you." 451 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:55,820 But it's not just the, the getting serious. 452 00:22:55,820 --> 00:22:56,630 That's, that's the start. 453 00:22:56,630 --> 00:22:57,599 That's the heart posture. 454 00:22:58,130 --> 00:23:01,180 After we get serious, then we gotta begin to diagnose our life and to say, "Okay, 455 00:23:02,029 --> 00:23:03,340 how, how am I doing in these areas? 456 00:23:04,279 --> 00:23:07,449 Am I ready to take the Word and do what needs to be done here?" 457 00:23:08,949 --> 00:23:09,740 Pick up again in verse four. 458 00:23:09,740 --> 00:23:12,670 He says this: "You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. 459 00:23:13,500 --> 00:23:16,750 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes. 460 00:23:16,750 --> 00:23:21,420 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments." 461 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,440 See, once we're serious about the Word of God, then we need to get after 462 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:30,514 examining our life To see are there any areas of my life that are competing? 463 00:23:30,564 --> 00:23:33,115 Are there any areas that are distracting me from my pursuit of the word? 464 00:23:33,115 --> 00:23:37,064 Are there any areas that are obstructing me, keeping me from obeying the 465 00:23:37,064 --> 00:23:38,665 word of God the way that I need to? 466 00:23:39,745 --> 00:23:41,764 Uh, in other words, once you get serious about the word of 467 00:23:41,764 --> 00:23:44,724 God, it's time to get focused in your pursuit of the word of God. 468 00:23:44,724 --> 00:23:46,675 Second point is this, get happy by getting focused. 469 00:23:47,845 --> 00:23:49,034 Get happy by getting focused. 470 00:23:52,624 --> 00:23:55,714 Once we get the right posture, that posture that says I, I want to submit, I 471 00:23:55,714 --> 00:23:59,794 want to obey, I wanna be fully devoted, then it's about moving to this idea 472 00:23:59,794 --> 00:24:01,404 of saying, "Okay, now I wanna focus. 473 00:24:01,404 --> 00:24:02,574 I wanna pay attention. 474 00:24:02,794 --> 00:24:04,635 Lord, what does it look like now to pursue you?" 475 00:24:05,895 --> 00:24:08,675 Uh, notice the word there in verse four. 476 00:24:08,994 --> 00:24:13,404 He says, "You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently." 477 00:24:14,254 --> 00:24:14,785 Diligently. 478 00:24:15,035 --> 00:24:16,724 In this middle section, we're gonna see three things. 479 00:24:16,724 --> 00:24:18,904 We're gonna see the requirement, we're gonna see the reality, 480 00:24:18,904 --> 00:24:19,875 and we're gonna see the resolve. 481 00:24:20,744 --> 00:24:24,285 A- a- and so right away in verse four, we see the requirement, God's requirement. 482 00:24:24,375 --> 00:24:28,145 You, God, Father, Yahweh, you have commanded your precepts 483 00:24:28,145 --> 00:24:29,785 to be kept diligently. 484 00:24:32,035 --> 00:24:37,235 Uh, the word diligently I, I think is an important word for us because maybe 485 00:24:37,235 --> 00:24:41,985 you're out there saying, "D- uh, you, uh, in the ... Read the Bible every day? 486 00:24:42,825 --> 00:24:43,535 Every day? 487 00:24:44,224 --> 00:24:44,665 Come on." 488 00:24:45,714 --> 00:24:48,245 There's Bible reading plans out there that are, like, five days a week, right? 489 00:24:49,255 --> 00:24:56,564 Okay, God's word says, "You have commanded that I keep your word diligently." 490 00:24:59,384 --> 00:25:02,594 It's hard to, to do something diligently and take a day off from it. 491 00:25:05,385 --> 00:25:08,424 I- if, if I'm gonna say, "Man, Lord, I wanna keep your word diligently. 492 00:25:09,265 --> 00:25:10,825 I wanna submit myself to your word. 493 00:25:10,825 --> 00:25:13,105 I want to, to be ready to obey your word. 494 00:25:13,105 --> 00:25:16,464 I wanna be fully devoted to you except on days when my life is just busy, 495 00:25:18,534 --> 00:25:19,805 or except on Saturdays. 496 00:25:19,805 --> 00:25:21,334 Lord, that's my day I sleep in. 497 00:25:22,535 --> 00:25:25,355 Or except on, on Sundays, 'cause after all, I'm at church. 498 00:25:25,355 --> 00:25:27,194 I already got enough Bible on Sundays. 499 00:25:27,845 --> 00:25:30,814 Or when I'm on vacation, God, they ... I, I get a grace period, right? 500 00:25:30,814 --> 00:25:33,385 I don't have to read my Bible every day when I'm on vacation, do I?" 501 00:25:35,695 --> 00:25:40,525 You have commanded that your precepts should be kept diligently. 502 00:25:41,865 --> 00:25:42,554 Diligently. 503 00:25:42,595 --> 00:25:44,824 Man, we need to ha- to feel the weight of that word and say, "Man, that, 504 00:25:44,824 --> 00:25:48,265 that, that's ... I, I, I need to be in the word of God every single day. 505 00:25:49,024 --> 00:25:52,834 If I'm gonna be diligent about God's word, I need to be in, in it every single day." 506 00:25:52,875 --> 00:25:56,064 And, and before we chafe o- at that, before we grate 507 00:25:56,064 --> 00:25:57,234 against that, and before we 508 00:25:57,654 --> 00:25:59,115 We're like, "Okay, whatever, Pastor. 509 00:25:59,115 --> 00:25:59,974 Read my Bible every day. 510 00:25:59,974 --> 00:26:02,675 Here's another one of those sermons," a- again, remember, 511 00:26:02,894 --> 00:26:04,474 God has commanded this why? 512 00:26:04,525 --> 00:26:05,865 Why has He ultimately commanded this? 513 00:26:05,865 --> 00:26:07,314 For your what? 514 00:26:08,114 --> 00:26:08,425 Come on. 515 00:26:08,665 --> 00:26:09,785 C- for your what? 516 00:26:10,665 --> 00:26:12,765 Rhymes with mud but starts with a G. 517 00:26:13,504 --> 00:26:13,665 Good. 518 00:26:13,794 --> 00:26:14,684 For your good. 519 00:26:15,344 --> 00:26:15,945 For your good. 520 00:26:15,945 --> 00:26:17,814 I wanna make sure we're all tracking with this. 521 00:26:18,314 --> 00:26:21,015 God wants you in the word every single day keeping His precepts 522 00:26:21,015 --> 00:26:23,934 diligently because it's for your good. 523 00:26:24,965 --> 00:26:28,805 It's good for you It's good for you to be in the Bible every single day. 524 00:26:28,924 --> 00:26:31,855 It's good for you to come to God's Word submissive, obedient, 525 00:26:31,855 --> 00:26:33,574 and devoted every single day. 526 00:26:33,764 --> 00:26:34,495 It's good for you. 527 00:26:34,495 --> 00:26:36,955 This has been clear from the beginning, from the giving of the law. 528 00:26:36,955 --> 00:26:38,504 We read about it in Deuteronomy 6. 529 00:26:38,834 --> 00:26:40,094 But earlier in, uh... 530 00:26:40,235 --> 00:26:40,474 Wait a minute. 531 00:26:40,785 --> 00:26:42,665 Genesis, Exodus, Levit- Yep, earlier. 532 00:26:42,895 --> 00:26:45,474 Uh, Leviticus 26:3-6. 533 00:26:45,704 --> 00:26:47,085 Here's what it says here. 534 00:26:47,454 --> 00:26:51,345 He says, "If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them." 535 00:26:51,964 --> 00:26:53,444 Notice walk, observe, do. 536 00:26:53,614 --> 00:26:55,995 That sounds a lot like those verbs that we were just looking 537 00:26:55,995 --> 00:26:57,165 at in the, the last section here. 538 00:26:57,614 --> 00:27:01,385 If you'll do that, if you'll walk, observe, and, and do them, then I will 539 00:27:01,385 --> 00:27:05,054 give you rains in season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees 540 00:27:05,054 --> 00:27:06,374 of the field shall yield their fruit. 541 00:27:06,645 --> 00:27:10,494 Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest 542 00:27:10,494 --> 00:27:12,735 shall last to the time for sowing. 543 00:27:13,104 --> 00:27:16,654 And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. 544 00:27:16,895 --> 00:27:18,525 I will give you peace in the land. 545 00:27:18,694 --> 00:27:20,985 You will lie down, and none shall make you afraid. 546 00:27:21,145 --> 00:27:23,795 And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword 547 00:27:23,795 --> 00:27:24,904 shall not go through your land. 548 00:27:25,944 --> 00:27:28,385 In other words, as God is bringing Israel into the Promised Land, he's saying, 549 00:27:28,385 --> 00:27:29,755 "I want you to keep the word of God. 550 00:27:29,755 --> 00:27:30,994 I want you to keep my commandments. 551 00:27:30,994 --> 00:27:34,104 I want you to obey my laws because it's good for you. 552 00:27:35,055 --> 00:27:35,854 Because it's good for you. 553 00:27:36,835 --> 00:27:39,765 That it may go well with you in the land to which you are entering." 554 00:27:39,835 --> 00:27:40,134 Right? 555 00:27:41,244 --> 00:27:42,155 Psalm 19. 556 00:27:42,435 --> 00:27:43,484 We're in Psalm 119. 557 00:27:43,484 --> 00:27:48,234 Psalm 19 is another passage that, that extrapolates upon the wonders 558 00:27:48,234 --> 00:27:51,524 of God's Word a- and specifically on the good that it does for us. 559 00:27:52,034 --> 00:27:54,015 Listen to Psalm 119 or, or Psalm 19. 560 00:27:54,015 --> 00:27:56,155 In fact, if you wanna turn back 100 chapters, you can. 561 00:27:56,464 --> 00:27:57,234 Psalm 19. 562 00:27:57,564 --> 00:27:59,755 Psalm 19:7. 563 00:28:00,075 --> 00:28:02,255 I'll give you just a second there to get there if, if, uh, 564 00:28:02,255 --> 00:28:03,435 if you wanna turn back with us. 565 00:28:04,075 --> 00:28:06,905 Psalm 19, the first part of Psalm 19 praises the creation of 566 00:28:06,905 --> 00:28:08,445 God, praises general revelation. 567 00:28:08,445 --> 00:28:08,984 We'll put it that way. 568 00:28:09,615 --> 00:28:12,365 I- in Psalm 19, "The, the heavens declare the glory of God," which I don't know if 569 00:28:12,365 --> 00:28:14,835 you got up early enough to get outside this morning and see the clouds in the 570 00:28:14,835 --> 00:28:16,104 sky and the sun bouncing off of them. 571 00:28:16,134 --> 00:28:18,045 It was, it was, it was Psalm 19. 572 00:28:18,045 --> 00:28:19,015 It was that kind of a morning. 573 00:28:19,015 --> 00:28:20,234 It was like, "Okay, God, I see you." 574 00:28:21,545 --> 00:28:23,454 So the, the general revelation, the first six verses. 575 00:28:23,704 --> 00:28:26,884 Then he s- turns to the way that God has specifically revealed himself to, 576 00:28:27,204 --> 00:28:28,625 to us and the, the benefit of that. 577 00:28:28,625 --> 00:28:29,284 Look at verse 7. 578 00:28:29,365 --> 00:28:33,335 He says, "Man, the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. 579 00:28:33,545 --> 00:28:37,074 The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 580 00:28:37,245 --> 00:28:40,915 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. 581 00:28:41,115 --> 00:28:45,064 The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 582 00:28:45,284 --> 00:28:47,695 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. 583 00:28:47,695 --> 00:28:50,945 The rules of the Lord are true, righteous altogether. 584 00:28:51,704 --> 00:28:57,154 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than 585 00:28:57,154 --> 00:28:59,094 honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 586 00:28:59,404 --> 00:29:03,725 Moreover, by them your servant is warned, and in keeping 587 00:29:03,725 --> 00:29:07,044 them there is great reward." 588 00:29:08,924 --> 00:29:13,324 Y'all, you being in God's word every single day, coming with a heart 589 00:29:13,324 --> 00:29:16,965 that's ready to, to be submissive, to be obedient, and to be devoted 590 00:29:16,965 --> 00:29:20,665 to him, to pick up the Word of God that way is, is good for you. 591 00:29:20,665 --> 00:29:24,975 You're not gonna find anything else that does what Psalm 19 says the Word 592 00:29:24,975 --> 00:29:30,265 of God does for us There's good riches in it, but that's the requirement. 593 00:29:30,504 --> 00:29:33,984 You should keep them diligently because, again, they're for your good. 594 00:29:34,165 --> 00:29:35,704 Okay, but what's the reality? 595 00:29:35,924 --> 00:29:37,395 That's the requirement, what's the reality? 596 00:29:37,544 --> 00:29:38,555 Look at verse five. 597 00:29:38,824 --> 00:29:43,735 He says, "Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes." 598 00:29:44,675 --> 00:29:47,495 Uh, this is a moment of honest reflection from the psalmist here. 599 00:29:48,475 --> 00:29:51,114 He's saying, "Oh, that, uh, that my ways were, uh, that were..." 600 00:29:51,155 --> 00:29:52,264 Oh, there, it's in the Hebrew. 601 00:29:52,264 --> 00:29:54,075 It's an emotional interjection here. 602 00:29:54,165 --> 00:29:58,855 He's saying, "If only, if only my ways were steadfast. 603 00:29:58,905 --> 00:30:06,265 If only I was stable, consistent, secure in keeping your wa- 604 00:30:06,344 --> 00:30:07,774 your ways, your statutes." 605 00:30:09,515 --> 00:30:11,794 See, what the psalmist is doing here, I think, is he's, he's 606 00:30:11,794 --> 00:30:13,335 bemoaning what he's missing. 607 00:30:14,875 --> 00:30:16,885 He's saying, "Lord, you've commanded them for my good and, and I 608 00:30:16,885 --> 00:30:20,234 just, I w- I, I wish I was more steadfast in keeping your ways." 609 00:30:21,035 --> 00:30:21,774 Not because... 610 00:30:21,774 --> 00:30:25,644 Notice, i- I don't think this is the psalmist saying, "Because I, I, I'm 611 00:30:25,644 --> 00:30:29,054 just ashamed, and woe is me, and I, I'm not, I'm a miserable failure because I'm 612 00:30:29,054 --> 00:30:30,385 not keeping your commandments enough." 613 00:30:30,804 --> 00:30:32,874 I think he's saying, "Man, I, I want more of your blessing. 614 00:30:34,045 --> 00:30:36,315 I wanna experience more of this blessedness that, that 615 00:30:36,315 --> 00:30:37,204 you're talking about here. 616 00:30:37,664 --> 00:30:38,914 I wish I was more consistent. 617 00:30:38,914 --> 00:30:40,545 I wish I was more steadfast." 618 00:30:40,825 --> 00:30:43,215 I wonder if you've ever been able to relate to the psalmist here. 619 00:30:44,274 --> 00:30:44,984 I know I have. 620 00:30:47,434 --> 00:30:51,975 This longing to be more consistent in your walk with Christ, this 621 00:30:51,975 --> 00:30:54,835 longing to be, to have a greater hunger for the Word and a greater 622 00:30:55,224 --> 00:30:57,274 faithfulness to apply it in your life. 623 00:30:58,784 --> 00:31:01,915 A- a- and yet I, I would say if you're like me, more often than not, 624 00:31:01,915 --> 00:31:04,984 that's born out of guilt and shame more than it is born out of a desire 625 00:31:04,984 --> 00:31:06,134 to say, "Lord, I'm, I'm forfeit. 626 00:31:06,134 --> 00:31:08,954 I'm missing so many blessings that otherwise I'd be experiencing right 627 00:31:08,954 --> 00:31:14,175 now if I just was more faithful to pursuing your Word and you through it." 628 00:31:16,304 --> 00:31:18,025 So the reality is the, the requirement's there. 629 00:31:18,025 --> 00:31:21,434 The reality is, man, we could all grow in this. 630 00:31:22,434 --> 00:31:23,945 None of us are, are, are nailing it. 631 00:31:23,945 --> 00:31:26,195 None of us are, are, are acing this course. 632 00:31:26,605 --> 00:31:29,415 All of us have room to say, "Man, how can I get more Word in my life? 633 00:31:30,245 --> 00:31:34,285 How can I be more submissive, obedient, and devoted to the Lord 634 00:31:34,285 --> 00:31:35,234 when I come to the scriptures? 635 00:31:36,205 --> 00:31:37,004 How can I do this? 636 00:31:37,004 --> 00:31:40,375 If, if that's your requirement that they be kept diligently, I can keep 637 00:31:40,375 --> 00:31:43,834 them more diligently than I'm keeping them right now, and, God, I desire that. 638 00:31:45,205 --> 00:31:46,164 I desire that." 639 00:31:47,094 --> 00:31:48,674 And so that leads to his resolve. 640 00:31:49,165 --> 00:31:50,904 He says, "Then I shall not be put to shame. 641 00:31:51,465 --> 00:31:55,244 If, if I could be more steadfast, then I would not be put to shame, having my 642 00:31:55,305 --> 00:31:58,974 eyes fixed on all your commandments." 643 00:32:00,255 --> 00:32:05,325 Then when, when we are steadfast in keeping his precepts, that, that aim that 644 00:32:05,325 --> 00:32:08,055 we have, th- then I won't be put to shame. 645 00:32:08,055 --> 00:32:09,355 I'll be living a life of blessing. 646 00:32:09,355 --> 00:32:10,715 I'll be living a life of confidence. 647 00:32:10,715 --> 00:32:11,774 We'll talk about that in just a minute here. 648 00:32:12,114 --> 00:32:15,945 I'll be living a life that is that 1 John 2:28 kinda life that, that 649 00:32:15,945 --> 00:32:19,874 says, "Hey, uh, now, little children, abide in him so that when he appears 650 00:32:19,874 --> 00:32:22,844 we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming." 651 00:32:23,474 --> 00:32:25,575 I- if we're diligent about keeping the precepts of the 652 00:32:25,575 --> 00:32:27,524 Lord, w- Lord, come quickly. 653 00:32:27,524 --> 00:32:29,555 Whenever you wanna come, I'm gonna be ready for you. 654 00:32:30,645 --> 00:32:33,185 That's the resolve that we should have, and to fix our 655 00:32:33,185 --> 00:32:36,615 eyes on all your commandments. 656 00:32:37,714 --> 00:32:40,035 Which, which commandments do we need to fix our eyes on, church? 657 00:32:40,775 --> 00:32:41,215 All of them. 658 00:32:42,635 --> 00:32:43,054 All of them. 659 00:32:44,064 --> 00:32:48,234 I may be acing it in one area of my life and, and yet I may have two or 660 00:32:48,234 --> 00:32:50,904 three areas in my life that I'm like, "Okay, I know I got, I know I got sin 661 00:32:50,904 --> 00:32:53,275 over here that I need to deal with, but you know what I wanna focus on? 662 00:32:53,275 --> 00:32:55,225 I wanna focus on the commandments that I'm doing really well. 663 00:32:55,984 --> 00:32:56,865 Let me focus on these." 664 00:32:58,214 --> 00:32:59,225 Psalm is saying, "Man, I, I... 665 00:32:59,225 --> 00:33:02,545 To, to keep them diligently, I need to focus on all of them." 666 00:33:04,034 --> 00:33:05,914 The requirements, the reality, the resolve. 667 00:33:06,405 --> 00:33:10,845 Uh, we would, uh, take my kids occasionally to, to Disneyland and, and 668 00:33:10,845 --> 00:33:13,784 I remember bringing them to California Adventure, and there was a rollercoaster 669 00:33:13,784 --> 00:33:14,975 there called the Incredicoaster. 670 00:33:15,595 --> 00:33:18,644 And, and my oldest, Josh, was able to ride it when we went for the 671 00:33:18,644 --> 00:33:23,135 first time, but my daughter, Annie, fell just short of the requirement. 672 00:33:23,975 --> 00:33:25,155 The requirement, what is that thing? 673 00:33:25,155 --> 00:33:30,465 It's that wooden arm that sticks out here, and it's objective as objective can be. 674 00:33:30,635 --> 00:33:32,215 There's no way that you can get around it. 675 00:33:32,215 --> 00:33:33,315 That's what the standard is. 676 00:33:33,785 --> 00:33:37,395 The reality is for my daughter, she fell just a little bit short of that standard. 677 00:33:38,385 --> 00:33:39,334 And so what did she do? 678 00:33:39,525 --> 00:33:43,374 She resolved in her heart to grow that extra inch or two so that next time 679 00:33:43,374 --> 00:33:46,505 we went to California Adventure, she'd be able to ride the Incredicoaster. 680 00:33:47,084 --> 00:33:48,864 Now, how much control did she have over that? 681 00:33:49,434 --> 00:33:50,154 None. 682 00:33:52,105 --> 00:33:55,885 Y'all, sometimes God's Word in our lives is like that height requirement for us. 683 00:33:56,495 --> 00:33:58,804 We read it and we're like, "Oh, man, I don't measure up. 684 00:33:59,514 --> 00:34:00,724 I don't measure up to the word." 685 00:34:02,484 --> 00:34:05,624 And yet what it should do with us, because of the good news of the grace and mercy 686 00:34:05,624 --> 00:34:08,904 that's ours in the gospel, is give us a resolve to say, "Okay, but I'm going to. 687 00:34:10,434 --> 00:34:11,005 I'm going to." 688 00:34:11,955 --> 00:34:14,745 God's Word is, is like the surgeon's scalpel like I was talking about earlier. 689 00:34:14,745 --> 00:34:17,114 It's opening me up and showing me, man, I got some areas of my life that 690 00:34:17,114 --> 00:34:19,745 I need to bring into submission to the Lord that aren't, aren't there yet. 691 00:34:21,385 --> 00:34:23,833 And the good news is, is you've got the Spirit dwelling within you if 692 00:34:23,833 --> 00:34:26,764 you're a Christian, and you've got the ability to have this resolve 693 00:34:26,764 --> 00:34:27,944 to say, "Okay, I'm gonna do it. 694 00:34:27,974 --> 00:34:29,083 I'm gonna get focused. 695 00:34:29,395 --> 00:34:31,844 I'm gonna set my gaze on all His commandments. 696 00:34:32,094 --> 00:34:34,425 I'm gonna get focused on the things that matter, the things that count. 697 00:34:34,425 --> 00:34:36,445 I'm gonna get my focus off the things that the world has thrown 698 00:34:36,445 --> 00:34:39,925 at me and onto the Word of God and say, 'How can I grow in this area?'" 699 00:34:40,154 --> 00:34:44,085 Next time I come to this passage that I'm reading that's just kicking me in 700 00:34:44,085 --> 00:34:47,373 the, the, the face, I wanna make sure the next time I come to it, I'm not 701 00:34:47,373 --> 00:34:48,675 gonna be kicked in the face again. 702 00:34:48,675 --> 00:34:51,264 I'm gonna be like, "God, praise God for the way that You're working on my life 703 00:34:51,264 --> 00:34:52,744 and producing more Christ-likeness in me." 704 00:34:53,645 --> 00:34:56,904 And so I'm gonna get refocused when I feel that. 705 00:35:00,175 --> 00:35:04,704 It's a seriousness that produces a focus that ultimately should 706 00:35:04,704 --> 00:35:06,404 result in a determination. 707 00:35:07,245 --> 00:35:08,035 A determination. 708 00:35:09,435 --> 00:35:11,775 Look at verse seven and eight with me. 709 00:35:13,054 --> 00:35:17,014 Verse seven and eight says this: "I will praise you with an upright heart 710 00:35:17,185 --> 00:35:18,615 when I learn your righteous rules. 711 00:35:18,924 --> 00:35:20,605 I will keep your statutes. 712 00:35:20,844 --> 00:35:22,574 Do not utterly forsake me." 713 00:35:23,954 --> 00:35:26,955 One of the, the clear benefits in keeping the word is the impact that 714 00:35:26,955 --> 00:35:31,215 it has on our souls, on our souls. 715 00:35:31,764 --> 00:35:35,934 We go from shame, notice in this verse, to praise, from guilt to worship. 716 00:35:36,974 --> 00:35:40,255 And so in these final two verses, the psalmist moves from a, a serious focus 717 00:35:40,255 --> 00:35:44,665 to a de- a thoughtful determination to learn the word and to keep the word. 718 00:35:45,925 --> 00:35:48,775 And so in our pursuit of that blessed life, in our pursuit of the best 719 00:35:48,775 --> 00:35:51,404 summer that we're ever gonna have, i- in our pursuit of ha- having a great 720 00:35:51,404 --> 00:35:54,495 life, as we approach the scriptures, we not o- only approach with a 721 00:35:54,495 --> 00:35:57,764 seriousness and a focus, but finally we approach with a determination. 722 00:35:57,764 --> 00:35:59,155 Get happy by getting determined. 723 00:36:00,464 --> 00:36:01,615 Get happy by getting determined. 724 00:36:01,615 --> 00:36:03,815 This is where we plan the application of it. 725 00:36:04,475 --> 00:36:07,005 We dealt with our heart po- heart posture in point number one, then 726 00:36:07,005 --> 00:36:10,565 we dealt with, with diagnosing our life, figuring out where do I need to 727 00:36:10,565 --> 00:36:12,334 refocus my life in point number two. 728 00:36:12,665 --> 00:36:14,295 Uh, point number three here is talking about how do I 729 00:36:14,295 --> 00:36:15,894 then move towards application. 730 00:36:16,804 --> 00:36:20,635 I wanna now live this out, and there's two practical goals the psalmist has here 731 00:36:20,635 --> 00:36:22,025 in these verses, verses seven and eight. 732 00:36:22,345 --> 00:36:25,214 The first is he says, "I will praise you with an upright heart 733 00:36:25,214 --> 00:36:26,405 when I learn your righteous rules." 734 00:36:26,405 --> 00:36:29,924 So the first goal of our time in the word is to produce more worship in our 735 00:36:29,924 --> 00:36:33,985 lives, that we should be determined as we grow in the, our knowledge and 736 00:36:33,985 --> 00:36:37,134 understanding of the scriptures to live a life that is gonna be more worshipful, 737 00:36:37,375 --> 00:36:41,295 an upright life, an upright heart. 738 00:36:41,964 --> 00:36:47,125 It was a, a word that meant perfectly vertical or horizontal, either way. 739 00:36:47,854 --> 00:36:50,115 Straight, honest, in conformity. 740 00:36:50,144 --> 00:36:53,695 An upright heart is a heart of integrity, and that's something that the psalmist 741 00:36:53,695 --> 00:36:57,735 is going to have and experience as he continues to, to come to the word of God. 742 00:36:57,985 --> 00:37:01,954 I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous rules. 743 00:37:01,954 --> 00:37:03,644 The word when could be as. 744 00:37:04,204 --> 00:37:07,445 So as I'm learning your rules, Lord, as I'm coming to the scriptures, 745 00:37:07,445 --> 00:37:10,164 what's the effect it's gonna cause me to live an upright life, a 746 00:37:10,164 --> 00:37:11,634 life of integrity as I apply it? 747 00:37:11,634 --> 00:37:12,445 What, what's that gonna do? 748 00:37:12,795 --> 00:37:14,174 That's gonna make me worship you more. 749 00:37:14,985 --> 00:37:16,435 It's gonna increase my praise of you. 750 00:37:17,935 --> 00:37:19,935 And so I'm determined, Lord, towards that end. 751 00:37:20,924 --> 00:37:23,975 The more we grow in godliness, the more we grow in worship. 752 00:37:24,664 --> 00:37:25,695 A- and what do I mean by that? 753 00:37:25,695 --> 00:37:27,545 That you'll all of a sudden get in the car and be like, "I only 754 00:37:27,545 --> 00:37:28,545 wanna listen to Chris Tomlin. 755 00:37:28,585 --> 00:37:29,814 I don't wanna listen to anything else." 756 00:37:31,815 --> 00:37:33,095 Or whoever your, your person is. 757 00:37:34,815 --> 00:37:36,724 M- m- maybe, but not necessarily. 758 00:37:38,885 --> 00:37:42,794 Uh, one person has said, "We are always worshiping something." 759 00:37:44,405 --> 00:37:45,535 We're always worshiping something. 760 00:37:45,535 --> 00:37:47,775 You, you are, are never not worshiping. 761 00:37:48,924 --> 00:37:50,715 You have been created to worship. 762 00:37:51,844 --> 00:37:58,785 It's a natural outflow of us as human beings, created by our creator to worship. 763 00:37:59,475 --> 00:38:00,904 So we are always worshiping. 764 00:38:00,904 --> 00:38:02,205 The question is what or whom? 765 00:38:03,389 --> 00:38:06,489 And the more we give ourselves over to the Word of God, the more we say, "Lord, 766 00:38:06,489 --> 00:38:10,250 I want to have a submissive, obedient, devoted heart about the scriptures. 767 00:38:10,250 --> 00:38:12,090 I wanna focus on all your commandments. 768 00:38:12,090 --> 00:38:17,779 I wanna resolve to, to set myself to grow in my steadfastness in keeping them." 769 00:38:18,090 --> 00:38:20,969 The more we do that, the more we will find out who we are worshiping 770 00:38:20,969 --> 00:38:23,549 is God, even in the moments it might not look like we're worshiping God. 771 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:26,659 Case in point, Colossians chapter 2. 772 00:38:27,569 --> 00:38:29,739 Colossians chapter 3, not chapter 2. 773 00:38:30,049 --> 00:38:33,790 Probably also chapter 2, but chapter 3 specifically, verses 23 through 24: 774 00:38:34,290 --> 00:38:40,130 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing 775 00:38:40,130 --> 00:38:42,930 that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 776 00:38:43,159 --> 00:38:45,159 You are serving the Lord Christ." 777 00:38:45,439 --> 00:38:49,709 So when I read that, "Work heartily, as to the Lord and not for men," and I come 778 00:38:49,709 --> 00:38:54,349 to that with that submissive, obedient, devoted heart, then I'm going to work all 779 00:38:54,349 --> 00:38:57,650 of a sudden, and my job becomes worship. 780 00:38:59,340 --> 00:39:03,279 Doing the reports that I have to do at my job that normally I hate to do 781 00:39:03,889 --> 00:39:06,809 all of a sudden takes on a greater significance because I'm gonna do those 782 00:39:06,809 --> 00:39:10,669 reports as an act of worship to God because I'm serving Him and not men. 783 00:39:12,010 --> 00:39:14,879 And so the more we are in the Word of God, it begins to transform 784 00:39:14,879 --> 00:39:15,879 these arenas of our life. 785 00:39:15,879 --> 00:39:16,739 Or how about this one? 786 00:39:16,739 --> 00:39:17,569 James chapter 4. 787 00:39:17,569 --> 00:39:21,400 We're gonna be studying James next in the, the fall, but James chapter 4, 788 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:25,269 verses 13 through 15: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we'll go into 789 00:39:25,269 --> 00:39:28,790 such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit,' yet 790 00:39:28,790 --> 00:39:30,150 you don't know what tomorrow will bring. 791 00:39:30,430 --> 00:39:31,360 What is your life? 792 00:39:31,470 --> 00:39:35,239 For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 793 00:39:35,529 --> 00:39:40,589 Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'" 794 00:39:40,589 --> 00:39:45,309 Okay, as I read that in my daily Bible time, and I come to that with that heart 795 00:39:45,309 --> 00:39:50,360 of submissive, obedient devotion to the Lord, all of a sudden now as I sit down 796 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:52,839 to plan my week, it's an act of worship. 797 00:39:54,169 --> 00:39:56,430 Because I'm putting down my appointments, I'm putting down my 798 00:39:56,430 --> 00:39:59,050 doctor's appointments, I'm putting down the meetings that I have at work. 799 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:01,510 I'm putting down what I'm gonna do in the evenings. 800 00:40:01,510 --> 00:40:05,769 I'm planning my meals for my family with an open hand before the Lord saying, 801 00:40:05,769 --> 00:40:07,470 "Lord, if you will, this is the plan." 802 00:40:08,459 --> 00:40:12,190 A- and so in that submissive, in, in holding your week, your schedule, 803 00:40:12,190 --> 00:40:15,550 your calendar out before the Lord that way, you're, you're worshiping Him. 804 00:40:16,750 --> 00:40:19,460 The more we are in the Word of God, the more our whole life 805 00:40:19,460 --> 00:40:20,649 becomes an act of worship to Him. 806 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:25,050 It produces that, it transforms that, it creates that, and that's the, the joy 807 00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:28,669 that comes to us by that, the happiness. 808 00:40:29,419 --> 00:40:31,610 But then he also says this: "I will keep your statutes. 809 00:40:31,869 --> 00:40:33,139 Do not utterly forsake me. 810 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:34,759 I'm determined to keep your statutes. 811 00:40:35,100 --> 00:40:36,720 Do not utterly forsake me." 812 00:40:38,149 --> 00:40:41,050 The psalmist knew that if he was going to be faithful in keeping the statutes of the 813 00:40:41,050 --> 00:40:42,350 Lord, the Lord would never forsake him. 814 00:40:43,919 --> 00:40:46,779 A- a- and so this is really a, a point that's making the opposite 815 00:40:46,779 --> 00:40:48,009 by making the, the negative here. 816 00:40:49,130 --> 00:40:52,020 A- and so this is the second component that, that happens when we come to the 817 00:40:52,020 --> 00:40:55,500 Word of God, is you will have a greater and greater security and confidence in 818 00:40:55,500 --> 00:40:59,225 your walk with Christ The more that you are giving yourself over to the Word 819 00:40:59,225 --> 00:41:02,705 of God, the more that you are coming to it, again, with that submissive, 820 00:41:02,705 --> 00:41:05,675 obedient devotion, the more that you are focusing in on His precepts and 821 00:41:05,675 --> 00:41:09,304 commandments saying, "I'm resolving to set my mind on the Word so I might 822 00:41:09,304 --> 00:41:12,814 be more steadfast in obeying them," the more you will find that you feel a 823 00:41:12,814 --> 00:41:16,935 great security in your walk with Christ. 824 00:41:18,654 --> 00:41:22,615 John 10, I was reading it this morning, where Jesus talks about being the Good 825 00:41:22,615 --> 00:41:28,185 Shepherd, and He talks there about He, He goes before His sheep, and it says His 826 00:41:28,185 --> 00:41:31,475 sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. 827 00:41:32,584 --> 00:41:33,424 They know His voice. 828 00:41:34,725 --> 00:41:37,494 There's security in the sheep following the shepherd, and they 829 00:41:37,494 --> 00:41:41,234 follow the shepherd because they hear his voice, and there's safety there. 830 00:41:41,584 --> 00:41:45,955 Let me ask you this morning, church, where do we hear the voice of Jesus today? 831 00:41:47,924 --> 00:41:48,725 It's in the Word of God. 832 00:41:49,554 --> 00:41:50,304 It's in the scriptures. 833 00:41:51,264 --> 00:41:53,034 If you wanna follow Him, you have to hear His voice. 834 00:41:53,034 --> 00:41:53,834 You have to know His voice. 835 00:41:53,834 --> 00:41:55,084 If you're gonna know His voice and hear His voice, you 836 00:41:55,084 --> 00:41:55,865 gotta be in the Word of God. 837 00:41:56,764 --> 00:41:58,595 If you get in the Word of God, then what does that mean? 838 00:41:58,595 --> 00:42:01,524 That you're going to have that security, that confidence that you 839 00:42:01,564 --> 00:42:03,744 are following after the Savior. 840 00:42:07,515 --> 00:42:11,974 This book is, is so much more than that checklist. 841 00:42:13,975 --> 00:42:17,285 There, there's an email that I, I get in my inbox multiple times a week. 842 00:42:17,285 --> 00:42:18,305 It's called The Pour Over. 843 00:42:18,334 --> 00:42:20,515 I would commend it to you if, if you're interested in this. 844 00:42:20,874 --> 00:42:26,685 It's a, a compilation of news a- and it's, it's written by believers, so it's, 845 00:42:26,685 --> 00:42:30,494 it's the main headlines, and it's from Christians, from believers, and then they 846 00:42:30,494 --> 00:42:33,525 have Bible verses that are associated with each headline to help you think biblically 847 00:42:33,525 --> 00:42:34,595 about what's going on in the world. 848 00:42:34,634 --> 00:42:35,685 It's called The Pour Over. 849 00:42:35,685 --> 00:42:39,675 They even have a family component that tackles big topics, big headlines 850 00:42:39,675 --> 00:42:42,275 for you to be able to talk through that with your kids at home, and 851 00:42:42,275 --> 00:42:43,295 they help you with some prompts. 852 00:42:43,295 --> 00:42:46,324 They say, "Hey, this is how you can explain the war in Iran to your 853 00:42:46,324 --> 00:42:47,615 kids at the, the dinner table." 854 00:42:48,065 --> 00:42:48,795 And so The Pour Over. 855 00:42:49,155 --> 00:42:52,394 I, I read that, and it's helpful, a- and I appreciate it, and I open 856 00:42:52,394 --> 00:42:54,354 it up, and I'll read through it, and I, I come to it going, "Man, 857 00:42:54,354 --> 00:42:55,225 this is gonna be useful to me." 858 00:42:55,225 --> 00:42:55,854 But guess what, y'all? 859 00:42:55,885 --> 00:42:56,685 It's not the Bible. 860 00:42:58,724 --> 00:42:59,434 Doing the crossword. 861 00:42:59,605 --> 00:43:01,185 I, I, I'm, I'm at that age now. 862 00:43:01,185 --> 00:43:02,024 I do the crossword. 863 00:43:02,804 --> 00:43:02,904 I... 864 00:43:03,085 --> 00:43:04,094 It's an age, I think, you hit. 865 00:43:04,094 --> 00:43:04,835 I don't know when it is. 866 00:43:04,835 --> 00:43:07,455 It's different for everybody, but I remember my dad doing the crossword 867 00:43:07,455 --> 00:43:10,415 growing up every single day, and it was back in the newspaper 868 00:43:10,415 --> 00:43:11,404 back when we had those things. 869 00:43:11,684 --> 00:43:14,614 And I thought to myself, "How boring is that?" 870 00:43:14,994 --> 00:43:15,674 And here I am. 871 00:43:15,744 --> 00:43:17,084 I'm, like, not missing a day. 872 00:43:17,084 --> 00:43:19,645 New York Times crossword pu- puzzle, it's on my app. 873 00:43:19,645 --> 00:43:20,145 I just gotta. 874 00:43:20,145 --> 00:43:20,604 I do it. 875 00:43:21,825 --> 00:43:24,385 Man, there's enjoyment in the crossword, but it's not the scriptures. 876 00:43:26,915 --> 00:43:29,464 I'm reading a book right now on World War II that one of you lent to me, and 877 00:43:29,464 --> 00:43:31,314 I appreciate that, and it's fascinating. 878 00:43:31,984 --> 00:43:32,714 It's keeping me up. 879 00:43:32,714 --> 00:43:33,644 I'm, I'm reading it at night. 880 00:43:33,644 --> 00:43:34,864 I'm, I'm struggling to put it down. 881 00:43:36,395 --> 00:43:37,114 But it's not the Bible. 882 00:43:39,544 --> 00:43:42,555 The Bible is the Word of God to us, and how we approach it needs to be 883 00:43:42,555 --> 00:43:44,054 done thoughtfully and carefully. 884 00:43:44,135 --> 00:43:44,795 We need to be serious. 885 00:43:44,795 --> 00:43:45,434 We need to be focused. 886 00:43:45,434 --> 00:43:46,405 We need to be determined. 887 00:43:47,824 --> 00:43:52,145 Y'all, here's what I'm gonna challenge you for for the next 12 weeks along the 888 00:43:52,145 --> 00:43:58,484 lines of, of this I'm gonna challenge us to get serious, to get focused, and 889 00:43:58,484 --> 00:44:01,874 to get determined on God's Word for the next 12 weeks, and I'm gonna ask 890 00:44:01,874 --> 00:44:06,945 you to commit to be in the Word of God every single day for the next 12 weeks. 891 00:44:08,445 --> 00:44:10,574 For some of you, y- you're like, "Check, I'm there." 892 00:44:10,625 --> 00:44:10,884 Great. 893 00:44:11,554 --> 00:44:13,994 Others of you, you're like, "I'm almost there. 894 00:44:13,994 --> 00:44:14,945 Maybe I can do that." 895 00:44:14,945 --> 00:44:16,574 Some of you, that may seem overwhelming. 896 00:44:18,105 --> 00:44:21,365 But I'm just asking you, just for 12 weeks, to say, "Okay, I'm gonna rethink 897 00:44:21,365 --> 00:44:24,164 my schedule, I'm gonna find the time, and I'm gonna get into the Word." 898 00:44:24,365 --> 00:44:25,945 I'm calling this the QT Challenge. 899 00:44:26,184 --> 00:44:30,954 Not the Cutie Challenge, not the QuikTrip Challenge, the Quiet Time Challenge. 900 00:44:32,265 --> 00:44:34,454 We talk in our church a lot about the DBR, and, and, and I 901 00:44:34,454 --> 00:44:35,724 love that, Daily Bible Reading. 902 00:44:35,724 --> 00:44:37,355 It stresses the fact that it's supposed to be daily. 903 00:44:37,675 --> 00:44:40,535 But one of the things that I think can be a downside to that is, again, 904 00:44:40,535 --> 00:44:43,575 it can become about crossing off a number on a, on a piece of cardboard 905 00:44:43,575 --> 00:44:46,015 or whatever that thick paper is. 906 00:44:47,934 --> 00:44:49,555 And I, I want it to be more than that. 907 00:44:50,494 --> 00:44:54,105 I want it to be more than that for me, and I want it to be more than that for you. 908 00:44:55,134 --> 00:44:56,575 So the QT Challenge looks like this. 909 00:44:56,575 --> 00:44:59,435 This is what I'm gonna ask you to do every single day for the next 12 weeks as 910 00:44:59,435 --> 00:45:01,475 we're in this study of the, of Psalm 119. 911 00:45:02,905 --> 00:45:05,175 I want you to, to pick up your Bible, and before you get into 912 00:45:05,175 --> 00:45:05,984 the Word, I want you to pray. 913 00:45:06,944 --> 00:45:07,234 Pray. 914 00:45:07,844 --> 00:45:09,734 If you gotta confess some things before the Lord, confess 915 00:45:09,734 --> 00:45:10,634 some things before the Lord. 916 00:45:10,634 --> 00:45:14,304 I want you to come to the Lord, I want you to ask Him to show you 917 00:45:14,304 --> 00:45:15,395 something from the scriptures. 918 00:45:15,395 --> 00:45:18,905 I want you to ask Him to help you understand what you're about to read. 919 00:45:19,204 --> 00:45:21,575 I want you to pray so that you're set up with a heart that's gonna 920 00:45:21,575 --> 00:45:24,085 come expecting an encounter with God when you read the Word. 921 00:45:25,344 --> 00:45:26,545 Second, then I want you to read it. 922 00:45:27,204 --> 00:45:29,825 Whatever the passage is, whatever your reading is for that day, I want you to 923 00:45:29,825 --> 00:45:34,535 read it a- and read it thoughtfully, because the next step that I want you 924 00:45:34,535 --> 00:45:35,944 to do is I want you to reflect on it. 925 00:45:36,975 --> 00:45:37,844 I want you to reflect on it. 926 00:45:37,844 --> 00:45:40,314 If you're doing the Daily Bible Reading with us, the Old Testament and New 927 00:45:40,314 --> 00:45:43,145 Testament, I want you to go ahead and read the Old Testament and then stop 928 00:45:43,145 --> 00:45:44,655 and reflect on the Old Testament. 929 00:45:45,465 --> 00:45:47,764 Ask yourself, "Okay, what am I taking away from this today? 930 00:45:48,444 --> 00:45:50,185 What does the Lord wanna show me in this today?" 931 00:45:50,954 --> 00:45:54,645 I was doing this this morning a- a- and I was going through s- f- 932 00:45:54,844 --> 00:45:56,155 First Chronicles, I think, seven... 933 00:45:56,155 --> 00:45:57,655 Yeah, 17 through 19. 934 00:45:58,225 --> 00:46:01,294 And so you got the Davidic covenant there and you got a couple other things. 935 00:46:01,294 --> 00:46:04,165 And I, I just saw this morning, as I reflected back, I was like, "Man, God, 936 00:46:04,165 --> 00:46:07,874 you are just showing your sovereignty through chapter 17, through chapter 937 00:46:07,874 --> 00:46:09,434 18, and ch- through chapter 19. 938 00:46:10,374 --> 00:46:13,995 And, and you are just reminding me that you are a God who is sovereign. 939 00:46:13,995 --> 00:46:15,425 You're in control of all these things." 940 00:46:16,904 --> 00:46:19,434 And then I flipped over to, to the New Testament reading in John 10, and as 941 00:46:19,434 --> 00:46:21,624 I was reading that, I read that, and then I stopped and I reflect, and what 942 00:46:21,624 --> 00:46:25,225 I reflect on was what I talked about a minute ago, that Jesus is, is the 943 00:46:25,225 --> 00:46:27,835 one whose voice I need to be hearing, and if I'm hearing His voice, then I 944 00:46:27,835 --> 00:46:31,165 have to be in the place where His voice is found, which is the Word of God. 945 00:46:32,775 --> 00:46:34,654 So do some reflection about it. 946 00:46:35,094 --> 00:46:35,915 What needs to change? 947 00:46:35,915 --> 00:46:37,885 Or, or there's some things that you need to apply. 948 00:46:39,464 --> 00:46:41,365 And then finally, I want you to, to close by praying. 949 00:46:42,714 --> 00:46:47,725 If this is the Word of God to us, then every time we read it, He's 950 00:46:47,725 --> 00:46:52,824 communicating to us, and it's helpful for us to then communicate back to 951 00:46:52,824 --> 00:46:55,405 Him To say, Lord, thank you for this. 952 00:46:56,124 --> 00:46:58,395 If there's something that you need to do, a change that you need to make, 953 00:46:58,395 --> 00:47:00,134 pray for the, the ability to do that. 954 00:47:00,284 --> 00:47:01,865 Ask that He would help you to do that. 955 00:47:03,124 --> 00:47:05,785 Resolve before Him, commit before Him to do that. 956 00:47:07,544 --> 00:47:10,765 Maybe He's gonna lead you into a fresh season of, of confession during 957 00:47:10,765 --> 00:47:13,105 that, that concluding prayer because He's gonna show you, man, I've, I've 958 00:47:13,105 --> 00:47:15,015 been, I've been sinning in this area. 959 00:47:16,224 --> 00:47:17,555 Or maybe He's just gonna lead you into praise. 960 00:47:17,555 --> 00:47:19,295 God, thank you so much for what I've just read. 961 00:47:19,295 --> 00:47:20,844 Thank you for what you're showing me about this. 962 00:47:21,504 --> 00:47:22,945 But spend some time praying. 963 00:47:24,875 --> 00:47:26,305 That's the challenge for the next 12 weeks. 964 00:47:27,485 --> 00:47:28,255 I think it's doable. 965 00:47:29,415 --> 00:47:31,934 Not only is it doable, but, but it is well worth your time. 966 00:47:33,705 --> 00:47:38,354 This is the way to have not just a great summer, but a great life, by 967 00:47:38,354 --> 00:47:42,554 giving yourself over time, and time, and time again to the Word of God. 968 00:47:43,974 --> 00:47:46,865 So as we embark on this summer study, I wanna just encourage you to use this 969 00:47:46,865 --> 00:47:53,575 as a time where God is giving us all a reset on our quiet time, a reset on 970 00:47:53,575 --> 00:48:00,864 our time with Him, to make a plan, to set our schedule, to make the Word a 971 00:48:00,864 --> 00:48:07,395 priority, to get accountability from a brother or sister in Christ, to resolve 972 00:48:07,395 --> 00:48:09,914 to get into the Word every single day. 973 00:48:10,855 --> 00:48:15,214 And I promise you, you will never get to the end of it and say, 974 00:48:15,454 --> 00:48:16,454 "I wish I hadn't done that." 975 00:48:19,184 --> 00:48:20,534 I'll just conclude with this thought. 976 00:48:22,504 --> 00:48:25,795 I don't know of a single Christian on their deathbed who has thought to 977 00:48:25,795 --> 00:48:28,675 themself, "I wish I hadn't spent as much time in God's Word as I did." 978 00:48:31,355 --> 00:48:34,725 But I can tell you one thing in my own heart, I'm already thinking about my 979 00:48:34,725 --> 00:48:40,805 time should I know when it's coming, and I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna 980 00:48:40,805 --> 00:48:43,174 say, "Man, I wish I had spent more time in the Word of God than I did." 981 00:48:43,174 --> 00:48:43,265 And 982 00:48:45,895 --> 00:48:49,805 what I want that to do now is I want that to motivate me to 983 00:48:49,805 --> 00:48:51,155 close that gap as much as I can. 984 00:48:52,555 --> 00:48:52,874 Let's pray. 985 00:48:54,675 --> 00:48:56,735 Lord God, we thank you so much for the scriptures. 986 00:48:56,764 --> 00:48:58,075 We thank you for their truths. 987 00:48:58,075 --> 00:49:00,354 We thank you for the joy that is found in keeping them. 988 00:49:00,354 --> 00:49:04,024 We thank you that you gave us your Word not to leave us beaten and bloodied 989 00:49:04,024 --> 00:49:08,234 in a spiritual mess to say, wow, we don't measure up, but to show us how 990 00:49:08,234 --> 00:49:10,635 good it is to pursue Christ-likeness. 991 00:49:10,984 --> 00:49:14,465 And we thank you that our standing before you is not in how good we are at obeying. 992 00:49:14,465 --> 00:49:17,215 It's not in how faithful we've been in reading the Bible every day. 993 00:49:17,215 --> 00:49:18,195 It's not in any of those things. 994 00:49:18,195 --> 00:49:21,544 Our standing before you is about our relationship with you through Jesus. 995 00:49:22,565 --> 00:49:27,225 And that relationship, Lord, should create a desire within us to love you more, to 996 00:49:27,225 --> 00:49:31,065 draw closer to you, and you've provided a way to do that through your Word. 997 00:49:31,804 --> 00:49:33,765 And it's not just about the then and there. 998 00:49:33,765 --> 00:49:37,124 We can have those blessings and that joyfulness that's ours here and now. 999 00:49:37,825 --> 00:49:39,984 So God, I pray that this summer we would truly give ourselves over, 1000 00:49:39,984 --> 00:49:44,014 surrendered fully in submissive, obedient devotion to the Word. 1001 00:49:44,515 --> 00:49:46,394 As we seek to grow as your followers. 1002 00:49:46,455 --> 00:49:47,205 In Jesus' name, 1003 00:49:48,085 --> 00:49:48,813 amen.