INTRO.- ILL.- A collector of rare books ran into an acquaintance who told him he had just thrown away an old Bible that he found in a dusty, old box. He happened to mention that Guten-somebody-or-other had printed it. "Not Gutenberg?" gasped the collector. "Yes, that was it!"
"You idiot! You've thrown away one of the first books ever printed. A copy recently sold at auction for half a million dollars!"
"Oh, I don't think this book would have been worth anything close to that much," replied the man. "It was scribbled all over in the margins by some guy named Martin Luther."
Brothers and Sisters, the Bible is valuable but not because it’s an old book or because Gutenberg printed it at one time or because Martin Luther may have scribbled his name in it. THE BIBLE IS VALUABLE BECAUSE IT IS THE LIVING, ETERNAL WORD OF GOD! And no other book can be compared to it.
Psalm 119 has 176 verses and most of them deal with God’s law or God’s Word. Is scripture important? Is the Bible important? Well, what do you think?
II Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
If scripture is from God as we believe it is then it must be read, listened to, learned from, and obeyed. The obedience is the hard part, of course.
There is another life beyond this life which is eternal, and God is trying to tell us in His Word what to do and how to get there. And it’s a matter of us listening, learning, and living by faith and learning to obey God’s Word.
James 1:22 “Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (And Luke 6:46)
ILL.- Every state has their own “rules of the road” handbook published by the DMV. What’s the purpose of those rules? They give rules to follow for every driver: stop, go, yield the right of way, rules for passing, merging, speed limits, turn signals, etc. This doesn’t mean that every driver is going to abide by those rules, but if they are smart, they will. Following these rules will help to keep them from having accidents or from getting traffic tickets.
LIKEWISE, God’s Word is given to us as a sort of “rules of the road” for living the Christian life. Not everyone abides by those rules, but if they are smart they will. They may not get a ticket from God if they break the rules, but they may get some things they don’t like!
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
It sounds like we all need to follow God’s rules of the roads. If not, there could be a big crash in our lives.
PROP.- What does God’s Word do for us?
1- God’s Word keeps us pure
2- God’s Word helps us to know God
3- God’s Word brings joy to our hearts
I. GOD’S WORD KEEPS US PURE
1 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
ILL.- The Teacher was checking her student’s knowledge of the book of proverbs. “Cleanliness is next to what?” she asked. A small boy replied with real feeling: “Impossible.”
There is no scripture in the book of Proverbs that reads “cleanliness is next to godliness.” Jesus made it clear that men are defiled by what is in their hearts and that godliness is not attained by what we eat or don’t eat or by how often we wash our hands.
Matthew 15:18-20 “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”
I do believe in cleanliness of the human body but even more importantly, I believe that we need cleanliness of the human soul or our inner being. But is this possible? Or is it as that little body said? Is cleanliness next to impossible in our world today? Some would say so and it’s definitely getting harder to stay clean in our world of sin and filth. The filth of sin is everywhere.
Many people in our world, however, don’t care about being pure. They want to enjoy life, including the pleasures of sin. Why not? Everybody else is doing it! Well, not everyone.
Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
We have a choice to make in life: enjoy the pleasures of sin or abstain from the sin of the world by the power and grace of God.
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
When I was 18 to 20 years old it was a lot easier to go along with the crowd and even when the crowd sinned, got drunk, or whatever. Didn’t you find this to be true as well? Why was it easier to sin when we were young? Because our passions ran strong and often ran away with us. We had a lot of energy... a whole lot more than we do now! We also had less spiritual maturity. We didn’t think as much about doing God’s will as we did about doing our own thing, right or wrong. The thinking was”Let’s go do something even if it’s wrong.”
But no matter who we are or where we are in life we can become a lot better, a lot more pure than we are or have been. It’s a matter of listening to God’s word and obeying His Word. It’s a matter of making a deliberate attempt to do what God’s Word says.
Someone said: "It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the consequences of not doing it."
Psalm 119:11 “Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."
II. GOD’S WORD HELPS US TO KNOW GOD
2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
ILL.- Preacher Chuck Swindoll wrote in his book “The Christian Life” that knowing God is life’s major pursuit. But this is far from the major pursuit in life for most people. Chuck said that the actress, Shirley MacLaine once wrote, “The most pleasurable journey you take in life is through yourself... the only sustaining love is with yourself...”
Chuck wrote, “I am more convinced than ever that life’s major pursuit is not knowing yourself, but knowing God. As a matter of fact, unless God is the major pursuit of our lives all other pursuits are dead-end streets, including trying to know ourselves. They won’t work. They won’t satisfy. They won’t result in fulfillment.”
Knowing God is the most important thing we’ll do in life. After all, did He not create us? And does He not give us good gifts? And will we not meet Him face-to-face in death? Then it seems only reasonable that we should get acquainted here and now!
ILL.- What if someone gave you a million dollars in this life? That is, for you to spend during your lifetime. Wouldn’t you want to get to know that person who gave it to you? It’s not every day that someone gives money to someone and especially, a million dollars. Well, guess what? God has given you a million dollars in your lifetime. If you lived to be 75 years old that million dollars would equate to $13,333 per year. If you lived to be only 65 years that would be $15,384 per year. That tells me that God has given you a million dollars during your lifetime and probably even more than that! Why would you not want to know Him?
James 1:16-17 “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
James is saying, don’t be deceived about where all your good gifts come from! They come from above! They come from God! Everything material that you have: money, material things, houses, cars, clothes, EVERYTHING COMES FROM GOD! Since He has gifted you in this way why would you not want to get to know Him? And material stuff is not everything He’s given us!
Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Did you hear that? We’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. In the first place, God has given us Christ to save us. He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us in life and strengthen our inner being. He has given us His Word for guidance and direction in life. He has given us the church for fellowship and encouragement. He has given us the promise of eternal life where there will be no more pain or sorrow or sin or anything the negative and nasty stuff in this life! Why would we not want to know God who gives us all these things?
ILL.- Dr. S.M. Lockridge was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, San Diego CA from 1953 - 1993. He entered heaven in 2000. He is well-known for a passage out of his sermon titled “He’s My King.” He said, “He’s enduringly strong, He’s entirely sincere, He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. He’s God’s Son. He’s a sinner’s savior. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s preeminent. He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest idea in philosophy. He’s the fundamental truth in theology. He’s the miracle of the age.
He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick, He cleans the lepers. He forgives sinners, He discharges debtors, He delivers captives, He defends the feeble, He blesses the young, He serves the unfortunate, He regards the aged, He rewards the diligent, He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him? Why would you not want to know Him?
Lockridge goes on: He always has been, and He always will be. I’m talking about He [who] had no predecessor and He [who] has no successor. There was nobody before Him and there will be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign. We try to get prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and when you get through with all of the forevers, then 'Amen'."
Why would we not want to know Him? And how do we come to know Him? Through His Word. Scripture reveals to us who God is and how He is and what He is. And once we read scripture how can we not want to know Him?
III. GOD’S WORD BRINGS JOY TO OUR HEARTS
14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
Everlasting joy is ours but only in the Lord. The things of this world bring sadness.
ILL.- How sad what happened to the talented country singer, Mindy McCready! Dead at the age of 37, Feb. 17, 2013. Death brought on from her own hand. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, and died in Heber Springs, AR. Sadly, her life was saturated with drinking and drugs, an addiction she was not able to whip and it eventually whipped her. She just couldn’t find what she was looking for in this life and what most people are looking for; a life with some joy in it. But there is the other side of the coin.
ILL.- Max Lucado wrote about a man named Robert Reed who said, “I have everything I need for joy!” His hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can’t bathe himself. He can’t feed himself. He can’t brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear. Strips of Velcro hold his shirts together. His speech drags like a worn out audiocassette. Robert has cerebral palsy. The disease keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike, and going for a walk. But it didn’t keep him from graduating from high school or attending Abilene Christian University, from which he graduate with a degree in Latin. Having cerebral palsy didn’t keep him from teaching at St. Louis Junior College or from venturing overseas on five mission trips.
And Robert’s disease didn’t prevent him from becoming a missionary in Portugal. He moved to Lisbon, alone, in 1972. There he rented a hotel room and began studying Portuguese. He found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the rush hour and a tutor who would instruct him in the language. Then he stationed himself daily in a park, where he distributed brochures about Christ. Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord, one of whom became his wife, Rosa.
I heard Robert speak recently. I watched other men carry him in his wheelchair onto the platform. I watched them lay a Bible in his lap. I watched his stiff fingers force open the pages. And I watched people in the audience wipe away tears of admiration from their faces. Robert could have asked for sympathy or pity, but he did just the opposite. He held his bent hand up in the air and boasted, “I have everything I need for joy.” His shirts are held together by Velcro, but his life is held together by joy. How could this be? Because he knows the Lord through His Word. Scripture brings joy to our hearts.
CONCLUSION----------------
God’s Word does a whole lot more for us and many of these things are listed in this chapter.
- Vs. 25 lifts us out of depression
- Vs. 36 keeps us from selfishness
- Vs. 66 gives us good judgment
- Vs. 98 makes us wiser than many
- Vs. 105 lights our way in life and much more. Thank God He’s given us His Word! Blessed are those who walk according to God’s Word!
ILL.- The Anvil of God’s Word
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
When looking in, I saw upon the floor,
Old hammers worn with beating years of time.
"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he; then with a twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."
And so, I thought, the anvil of God's Word,
For ages, skeptics blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed - the hammers gone.
