“THY WORD” Psalm 119
FBCF – 9/20/20
Jon Daniels
INTRO – A former park ranger at Yellowstone National Park tells the story of a ranger leading a group of hikers to a fire lookout. The ranger was so intent on telling the hikers about the flowers and animals that he considered the messages on his two-way radio distracting, so he switched it off. Nearing the tower, the ranger was met by a nearly breathless lookout, who asked why he hadn't responded to the messages on his radio. A grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group, and the authorities were trying to warn them of the danger.
If we turn off the instructions that God has given us in His Word, we put ourselves & so many others in danger. That’s why today, we are going to talk about the importance of Bible intake w/ this message entitled, “Thy Word.”
So far, we have pulled 2 tools out of our “Spiritual Growth Toolbox”:
- Time alone w/ God & prayer.
- Oswald Chambers- “Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.”
Just as it is impossible to carry on your life as a follower of Jesus w/out definite times of prayer, it is also impossible to carry on your life as a follower of Jesus w/out definite times of being in the Word. So today, we are going to pull out the tool of “Bible Intake.”
- Remember the title of the series – “My Spiritual Growth Toolbox” – You grab your toolbox when there’s a job to get done.
- The job? Our spiritual growth & maturity.
o It’s a job that we are going to be working on our entire life. Never fully complete it until we get to heaven.
o It’s not a laborious drudgery of a job, but a job that is filled w/ joy & purpose & meaning as we experience God working in us to make us more like Jesus.
o Philippians 1:6 – “And I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Jesus Christ.”
o Philippians 2:13 – “…God is always at work in you to make you willing & able to obey His own purpose” (GNT).
And just as there are multiple verses & passages that we could study related to prayer, there are multiple passages we could study related to the Bible:
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
- Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
But one of the passages that always comes to mind when I think about the Word of God is Psalm 119. So open your Bibles to Psalm 119 & let’s look at some different verses in this chapter – v. 9, 11, 18, 32, 105, 160, 165
EXPLANATION – Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the longest book in the Bible. In fact, it is the longest chapter in the entire Bible – 176 verses - An amazing chapter to read. Do that this week sometime.
One major theme – to show us the priority that the Word of God should have in our lives. Just the fact that this huge chapter points to that one overarching theme tells us that God’s Word is a priority to God Himself. It is literally the “A to Z” of God’s Word b/c it’s an alphabetic acrostic, meaning that the first letters of each line in Hebrew follow through the alphabet. It’s just awesome to see how God is so precise in the ordering of His Word. He wants us to know that His Word is all-sufficient in guiding us through our lives, no matter what we face or encounter. Listen to these facts:
- Nearly every one of the 176 verses has some mention of the W of G.
- There are at least 8 different words used to refer to the W of G in this Psalm: law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, word, & ordinances.
- There are at least 8 attributes of God that are covered in this Psalm: His righteousness, trustworthiness, truthfulness, faithfulness, unchangeableness, eternality, light, & purity.
THE WORD OF GOD IS SIMPLY AWESOME!
- Randy Frazee – “God knows that without Him, we drift alone, lost, unprotected, into treacherous waters. He gave us a North Star, the Bible, to provide the light we need to lead us where He wants us to go. His Word is the Star that will lead you to True North. Follow it! You can depend on it!”
APPLICATION – We must read, study, & obey God’s Word to live a life that pleases Him.
Here’s what I want to do to help you make this application stick. First, 3 quick points on why we need to read, study, & obey God’s Word. Then I want to give you a very practical way to do just that.
WHY READ, STUDY, & OBEY THE BIBLE?
IT POSITIONS YOU TO WALK – Right at the beginning, the Psalmist writes, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!” (v. 1). God wants us to walk in obedience to His Word – in fact, He commands it & expects it of His children.
- Colossians 2:6 – “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him” (CSB).
And b/c He commands it & expects it, He provides the light we need for the path.
- Psalm 119:105 – “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, & a light unto my path.”
- Our walk through this world is dangerous & treacherous, full of twists & turns. Places where we can get bogged down in the muck & mire of sin; places where we can slip off the side of the path or wander down another path that will lead us away from the Lord; places where we can stumble & fall; places where the enemy himself has set traps & snares to injure us & destroy us.
- Do you see how much we need the W of G to continually position us to walk in the path that the Lord has for us?
IT PROVIDES YOU W/ WISDOM – Probably main verse most folks go to when they think about wisdom is James 1:5 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, & it will be given to you” (NIV). But certainly, Psalm 119 is full of verses that help us see how God provides His wisdom to us through His Word.
- Psalm 119:73 – “…give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.”
- Through His Word, God gives us the understanding, discernment to be able to perceive His ways & know how to live our lives for His glory. So important for us to learn His commandments.
o His wisdom is practical & personal
o It protects us & guides us
o It equips us to do whatever He has called us to do – parents, marriage, business, church, school, social life, manage our $
IT PREPARES YOU FOR WARFARE – We have a very real enemy named Satan - hates God’s Word, hates God’s people, & wants to destroy us any way that he can. He tempts us to sin, strives to pull us away from a close relationship w/ Jesus so he can bring devastation, destruction, & death into our lives.
But God’s Word prepares us for the warfare that we will encounter all the time. His Word is one of the main weapons we have against the onslaught of Satan’s attacks on our lives.
- Ephesians 6:17 – “Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
- Psalm 119:11 – “I have hidden [stored up] your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Charles Stanley – “The Bible is your most powerful weapon in defeating the enemy…To become adept at wielding the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, you need to know God’s Word & to be armed w/ an arsenal of verses that refer specifically to your particular weakness.” (When the Enemy Strikes, p. 167)
Need to make SPACE for God’s Word in your life. Open Bible to a blank page in front flyleaf of your Bible & write down the S.P.A.C.E. principle there. When you read a verse/passage, ask these questions:
S.P.A.C.E. Principle: Is there a:
- SIN for me to confess?
- PROMISE for me to claim?
- ATTITUDE for me to change?
- COMMAND for me to obey?
- EXAMPLE for me to follow?
