THE BENEFITS OF THE WORD OF GOD
TEXT: PSALM 19:7-11
INTRODUCTION:
It is such a blessing to be reading the Word of God, and have the Spirit apply it to our soul, as the tears of joy and thankfulness flow, and our hearts rejoice with the knowledge that the Lord has not forgotten us. What a joy to have the priceless understanding that our God is real, that He cares for us, is concerned for our welfare and will encourage us by speaking to us through His precious Word.
The 19th Psalm was written by King David to “The Chief Musician.” According to Wikipedia, it is part of the Jewish, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant Liturgies, and the composers Bach and Haydn were both inspired by this Psalm and set it to music. The renowned 20th-century Christian philosopher and author, C.S. Lewis, said, “I take this…to be the greatest poem in The Psalms and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”
It starts out by proclaiming the wonders of God’s creation, then David goes on to even more highly praise the Word of God and its benefits. He says the Law of the Lord is perfect, meaning not just the teachings of Moses, but the whole of Scripture; that it is able to convert the soul from death to life. The Psalmist goes on to guarantee us, that in this world, where we are filled with uncertainty and doubt, His Word is sure and is able to give wisdom that the world cannot give. He says that God’s statutes are so right that they make our hearts rejoice in their truth; that His commandments are pure, able to help us to cure our spiritual blindness.
The Psalmist goes on to say that His Word puts fear in us, (not craven fear, but reverence for and awe of the Lord). That holy reverence for Him and His Word has the power to sanctify our hearts, and place in us a desire to be more like Him. We next learn that God’s Word endures forever. Though this world and all things in it are ever-changing, His Word is eternally the same, so we can count on it. We learn too that His Word is to be more desired than all the riches the world had to offer: more valuable than the finest, 24-carat gold; also, that they are sweeter than honey, and by His Word, we are warned to keep away from sin.
We see the emphasis that Jesus places on the absolute importance of His Word in the 6th chapter of John. Early in the chapter we read of Jesus multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish, enough to feed 5,000 men, plus the women and children. The next day, some of the same people came looking for Him. From the context, we learn they came looking for another meal, because Jesus said, “You seek Me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled” (John 6:26). Jesus then said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).
Jesus was emphasizing that without God’s Spirit intervening and changing our hearts from those of stone, into hearts of flesh that love God, there is no hope for eternal life. It is impossible to believe in Jesus for salvation without receiving His word and feeding on it. Just having a mere intellectual understanding of His words will accomplish nothing of an eternal nature and benefit. A person can read His words all day long, but unless the Spirit enlivens His words to help us spiritually receive them it will be to no avail.
I want to share with you some thoughts about the Word of God that came from what some may say is an unusual source: the actor, Denzel Washington. He is the son of a Pentecostal minister. He has always been very outspoken about his Christian faith and reads the Bible daily. I watched a YouTube video of him speaking to the graduates at Dillard University in New Orleans, encouraging them to "put God first."
He said, “I've been protected, I've been directed, I've been corrected, I've kept God in my life, and He's kept me humble…” I agree with his statement, that the Lord has done the same for me, and to me, by my connection with God is through His word. I added the word: “Connected” to Denzel’s statement.
My points are: Through the Word of God, we are Connected, Directed, Protected, and Corrected.
I. THROUGH GOD’S WORD WE ARE CONNECTED
A. There are some people who we refer to as “loners,” but even those people want to be connected to something: maybe it is the TV, or video games, or the solitude of nature, or even reading. But I think it’s safe to say that most people want to be connected to someone -- another person, or to some group, or a movement.
B. But the most important thing to know is that we are connected to the One, True, Living God of the universe. That is the one thing that has an eternal consequence because whether we are connected to Him or not, will determine where we spend eternity
C. How do we connect with God? The only way to know Him and find His salvation is through the Word of God. It is His Word to us.
D. He directed its creation and its composition:” For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Pet. 1:21).
E. He gave it to us as His gift, for the purpose of telling us how to return to the safety of His arms: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16)
F. Jesus wants to connect with us. Didn’t He say, “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest”? (Matt. 11:28).
G. Hundreds of years before, the Lord spoke the same thing through the Prophet Isaiah, saying: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1). In verse 11, He tells us how we are to come to Him, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
H. Through God’s Word, we are connected to Him
II. THROUGH GOD’S WORD, WE ARE DIRECTED
A. Psalm 43:3 says, “Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle.”
B. The Word gives us direction. When we’re drifting through life, not knowing where to go, we can turn to the Word of the Lord, and agree with the Psalmist when he says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psm. 119:105).
C. So many times, in life, we don’t know what to do about a situation or what our next move should be. That’s when turn to the Word of God, where we can read: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left” (Isa. 30:21).
D. Solomon truly said, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:6).
E. Through the Word of God, we are directed.
III. THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD, WE ARE PROTECTED
A. I’ll never forget driving home from work on a hot summer afternoon on Rt. 139, with no air conditioning, and falling asleep. Then something or someone hit me in the stomach and woke me up, just as I looked to find myself in the other lane, about to have a head-on collision with another car. I swerved enough to miss, and almost immediately was able to pull into our driveway. That very instant, the scripture came to me about how God had similarly protected Peter, when he was in Herod’s prison, about to be executed the next morning.
B. He had fallen asleep too, and God sent an angel who smacked him in the side, waking him up, and broke him out of the prison, bringing him to safety outside the prison walls. His Word will wake us up.
C. We have an enemy of our souls, who the Bible says, is “going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8). We would never know this without God’s Word telling us and would be at his mercy.
D. John MacArthur comments on this scripture and says, “The Gr. word for “devil” means “slanderer”; thus, a malicious enemy who maligns believers. He and his forces are always active, looking for opportunities to overwhelm the believer with temptation, persecution, and discouragement…Satan sows’ discord, accuses God to men, men to God, and men to men. He will do what he can to drag the Christian out of fellowship with Christ and out of Christian service…And he constantly accuses believers before God’s throne, attempting to convince God to abandon them…”
E. **READ EPH. 6:15-17 READ**
F. The Amplified Bible’s rendering says we are to have the “belt of truth buckled around your waist; our ”feet with the Gospel of peace,” and to arm ourselves with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
G. Speaking of the Israelites wandering the wilderness, Psalm 107:20 says that God “sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”
H. God’s Word is our protection. Our enemies all must fall before the power of the Word of God.
IV. THROUGH GOD’S WORD, WE ARE CORRECTED
A. This is the word I added to Denzel’s life statement. It is a statement of fact that as children of God, we can many times be unruly and disobedient, so we must turn to God’s word for correction.
B. We can also learn in His Word of the consequences for disobedience, and thus better understand the need for correction.
1. An example of this is when King Saul disobeyed the Word of the Lord by not killing all the Amalekites and all their cattle, the prophet Samuel said, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" (I Sam. 15:23).
2. What was the result of Saul’s disobedience? God rejected him as king over Israel.
C. The Bible constantly describes the correcting influence of His Word. We learn in I Thess. 1:9, that the preaching of the Word by Paul and his apostolic band had this effect: “…you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” His Word turned me from the worship of Idols, and I’m not unique in that.
D. The Lord Jesus saved and delivered the Apostle Paul and gave him this mission: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18). His Word also turned me and you from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, and gave us forgiveness.
E. The scripture most often turned to on this topic is II Tim. 3:16. Paul writes to Timothy, his son in the Lord and says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…”
F. We need to read and meditate on the teachings of the Bible to correct our wrong actions and purify our thoughts and bring them more in line with His Word.
Closing:
In the Book of Isaiah, we are commanded to “seek out the book of the Lord and read…” (Isa. 34:16). Scripture is God's witness to His own faithfulness. Borrowing from my own message: “The Word Will Stand Forever,” I’d like to share with you the views of various people regarding the Word of God.
“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” President Ronald Reagan.
“And as God promises in the Bible, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on the wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. And they will walk and not be faint.” President Donald Trump
“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man.” Abraham Lincoln.
“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.” D.L. Moody
"The secret of my success? It is simple. It is found in the BIBLE.” George Washington Carver
“After more than sixty years of almost daily reading of the BIBLE, I never fail to find it always new and marvelously in tune with the changing needs of every day” Cecil B. DeMille
Hold fast to the BIBLE as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts on your hearts and practice them in your lives.” President Ulysses S. Grant.
Let’s live our lives in the light of His Word, walking daily in it and putting its teachings into practice in our lives, as He instructs us and shows us in this Word. If we do we will be connected, and learn that His grace and strength are made perfect as a result of our weakness (II Cor. 12:9). We can learn that there is healing for us, because “By His stripes, we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). By His word we will learn that He will direct us in the way we need to go, like He did Paul and the Apostolic band (Acts 16:9, 10). By His Word, we can discover that He will protect us from danger, like he did David when Saul was trying to kill him (I Sam. 20:1-4). By His Word, He will correctly teach us the method to find forgiveness for our sins, as we learn in I John 1:9.
Let’s meditate on His Word so we can experience its benefits.
