Sermon Central
-
I Delight In Your Word Series
Contributed by Scott Maze on Sep 26, 2022 (message contributor)
Summary: When the wind is right, South Koreans launch “Bible Balloons” into North Korea, where the Bible is banned. They are chocked full of Bibles on SD cards, flash drives, and photos of the Bible’s pages.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in all of your Bibles. Now, the longest chapter in your Bible is devoted to how important the Bible is to our lives. Even though the Bible is really valuable, the words and wisdom of the Bible are objectionable to so many people.
Banning the Bible
The Bible is the most banned book of all time. You can guess that dictators such as Stalin sought to ban the Bible.
But the Bible was the most challenged book in school and public libraries around the nation, according to the American Library Association in 2015. The Keller ISD recently returned the Bible to circulation in its libraries after it was flagged for removal last year. The Bible has been challenged as objectionable reading for students and schools since I was in college.
But it’s not just us Americans that flag the Bible. When the wind is right, South Koreans launch “Bible Balloons” into North Korea, where the Bible is banned. An American pastor Eric Foley fills 40-foot balloons filled with hydrogen, and they are chocked full of Bibles on SD cards, flash drives, and photos of the Bible’s pages. With GPS technology, he can direct the balloons to go into rural areas. But the North Korean regime will shoot down the balloons if spotted.
“The Bible has been criticized, challenged, and banned by individuals, groups, and governments through centuries of persecution.” What other book has this kind of reaction?
The Bible and the USA
Despite all this, the Bible has been exceptional for our country, the United States of America. The Bible is so important that astronaut Buzz Aldrin read the words of John 15:5 silently before his counterpart Neil Armstrong said those immortal words, “One small step for man…” The first time men stepped off this planet, they depended on the Bible for inner strength. Martin Luther King, Jr. used imagery from the Bible to argue for civil rights as he talked about the “promised land.” The Bible helped frame our nation’s constitution, and it’s our nation's foundation for civil rights. And every President except one used the Bible when being sworn into office. And the one exception was John Quincy Adams.
The Bible
God gave us a great gift when He gave us the Bible. The central storyline of the Bible is the worship of God made possible by the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
I invite you to find Psalm 119 in your Bibles if you will (page 606 in your Black pew Bibles in front). Now, we don’t know who wrote Psalm 119. And we don’t know when Psalm 119 was written either. But we know this: the entire psalm is carefully and intentionally arranged. Make no mistake about it, Psalm 119 is a masterpiece. C. S. Lewis says that, unlike some other psalms, “[Psalm 119] is not, and does not pretend to be, a sudden outpouring of the heart … It is a pattern, a thing done like embroidery, stitch by stitch, through long, quiet hours, for love of the subject and for the delight in leisurely, disciplined craftsmanship.” Psalm 119 is 176 verses long in English and every verse of Psalm 119 speaks of the Bible in one way or another.
1. I Need the Spirit to Illuminate My Bible
“Deal bountifully with your servant,
that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:17-18)!
Oh, there are wonderful things in His law! The word “law” is “Torah” and means “instruction” or “teaching” in this psalm. You don’t have to be an experienced Christian to know the word “Torah.” There are beautiful things in God’s Word that He wants to teach us. In fact, they are so wonderful that when you really see them, they change you profoundly and empower us to live for His purpose.
1.1 Two Prayers
Two prayers are before us. One prayer in verse 17 and another in verse 18. This is a double prayer for a deeper insight into God’s will for our lives. These verses combine prayer and the Word. Look at the second prayer in verse 18 with me. This is a prayer for God to open our eyes to the wonders of His Word. The Bible is clear that we are blind without God’s mighty intervention to make us see. No one can see the wonderful things inside the Word for what they really are without God’s supernatural help. You need to pray that the Lord will open your eyes. I need to pray that the Lord will open my eyes. We do not naturally see the beauty of God’s Word. We need God’s help to read God’s Word. You and I are blind until the Spirit illuminates the Word of God.
