Introduction
1. Well, as we continue learning the ABCs of the Bible...
We come to the letter K...
K is for Kept.
According to Webster...
Keep or kept is
1 : to take notice of by appropriate conduct as in to FULFILL
to be faithful to to conform to in habits or conduct 2 : to PRESERVE, MAINTAIN: as in to watch over and defend to take care of : TEND we also find the keep or kept often in Scripture... it appears almost 600 times throughout the Old and New Testaments... 2. With 2007 just around the corner... many people will be making New Year’s Resolutions... And one of the thoughts on people’s minds will be... “will I be able to KEEP this resolution”... will I be able to fulfill it... When we get down to the end of the year... like we are now... we can look back and as ourselves in the past tense... “have I kept my New Year’s Resolution”... 3. With all this in mind, let’s look to our text and see some things we need to “keep”... and also some things that God keeps... Read Text: Psalm 18:20-24 1. I have kept the ways of the Lord. v. 21 I have kept myself from sin. v. 23. A. It is thought that David wrote Psalm 18 near the end of his life... David lived a full life... He had been a shepherd... He had been a warrior and the leader of armies... and He became King... And he was an ancestor for Jesus Himself... From all his experiences... throughout his long life... He was able to look back and say, “I have kept the ways of the Lord”... B. Now, to be honest, I began to wonder how David could say this... Because he certainly had some moral failures... and David’s sins and well-known and well documented in the Bible... So, how is David able to look back and say, “I have kept the ways of the Lord”?... “I have kept myself from sin”?... And what we know of David is that he repented... and what we know about God is that He forgives... David was never content to be away from the Lord... He would quickly recognize his sinful condition... or a prophet would point it out... and he would repent... C. That is good thing to remember if we are going to “keep the ways of the Lord”... Let me compare it to our New Year’s Resolutions... Let’s say that you have a New Year’s Resolution to lose weight... probably one of the most popular of all New Year’s Resolutions... And also the one that is most frequently broken!! The Key is to not give up... don’t be content when you slip and fail... On occasion, you might blow it and overeat... but the key would be to put that behind you and start fresh the next morning... My problem has been that when I blow it... I just throw the whole thing away... “well, I gained a pound... I guess I’ll just give up”... Certainly not the best attitude in keeping a diet... D. But we are talking about something more important than a diet... we are talking about our relationship with the Lord... And, if we allow that attitude to creep in to our relationship with the Lord... then we put ourselves in spiritual jeopardy... Some people might think...”well, I’ve blown it... I just can’t handle the temptation... I quit... I just give up on trying to live the Christian life”... But, the better attitude is... “Lord...I’m sorry that I failed you... please forgive me... help me to do better”... And start fresh walking with the Lord... E. Back to our example of the diet... if, a year from now... you are able to look back and see that you have really tried to stick to your new diet... and you have lost a reasonable amount of weight over the course of the year... you would have every right to look back over the last year and say... “I have kept my New Years Resolution”... Instead of looking back at the few failures where you indulged in eating a few too many donuts or chips... you would look back at the year as a whole... and be proud of that accomplishment... F. In the same way,... when you get down toward the end of your life... if you have been able to sustain a Christian life... if you have quickly repented of any sin... and re-committed yourself to walking with Christ... what a blessing to be able to say... “I have kept the ways of the Lord”... I would imagine that all of us would have some failures along life’s journey where we didn’t live up to Christ’s ideal... But hopefully, by the Grace of God... we have allowed Christ to forgive us of those failures... and they are covered by the blood of Jesus... 2. Another “kept” is found in Psalm 66:8-9... God has kept my feet from slipping. Ps. 66:9 A. Back to this idea of temptation... we do not HAVE to fail... we are not DESTINED to fall victim to our temptations over and over again... We are able to overcome... But, we must allow God to work in our lives... we must allow God to hold our hand... and keep us from slipping... I’ve used the illustration before of a young boy walking across a freshly plowed field... as long as the boy keeps his hand in his father’s... His father is able to keep him from falling... but, when he pulls his hand away... and decides that he will walk all by himself... that is when he will fall... God is able to keep us from slipping... God is able to keep our feet secure upon the sold rock... 3. He Whose Walk is blameless is kept safe. Pv. 28:18 A. Solomon, David’s son, also knew about God “keeping” him... The writer to the Proverbs, says in Proverbs 28:18... He whose walk is blameless is kept safe He whose walk is blameless...is kept safe... if we desire for God to keep us safe... if we desire for God to keep us from slipping... we need to ensure that our walk is blameless... We cannot just go and do whatever we want... and think that there won’t be consequences... You reap what you sow... if you sow the wind... you will reap the whirlwind... (Hosea 8:7)... If we follow the 10 Commandments... if we will follow the Great Commandment to love God will all our heart, soul, mind and strength... and love our neighbor as ourself... if we will allow the fruit of the Spirit to be expressed in our lives... if we will live a life of holiness and righteousness before God... if we will walk a life of purity and integrity... God will do His part and keep us safe... But we must do our part... if we refuse to walk blamelessly before the Lord... Then God will not keep us safe... B. Does that mean that walking blamelessly will protect us from all harm?... Not necessary... as you are fully aware... bad things happen to Christians just like non-Christians... So, what does this mean about being “kept safe”?... Solomon is talking about SPIRITUAL safety... (which is even more important that physical safety)... spiritually speaking... if we live a holy life... God will keep us safe... both now and for eternity... 4. Solomon also says, in Proverbs 28:26, “He who walks in wisdom is kept safe.” Pv. 28:26 A. When we walk with the Lord... When we keep our hand in His... When we live a holy life... When we walk in wisdom... God will keep us spiritually safe through the storms of life. Conclusion 1. As we continue to learn our ABCs... we come to this little word “kept”... We need to live our lives in such a way that... as we get down near the end of our lives... we can look back and say, with David... ”I have kept the ways of the Lord”... “I have kept myself from sin”... “Christ has kept my feet from slipping”... “We have walked blamelessly and in the wisdom of the Lord... and He has kept us safe”.
