RIGHT BOOK, RIGHT PLACE AND RIGHT PURPOSE
Psalm 119:11
"Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee."
INTRODUCTION:
Knowing that you are in the right gives you peace, joy and assurance. Let’s study about the 3-Right Factors of Psalm 119:11.
I. RIGHT BOOK - "THY WORD..."
Time and again kings and governments attempt to abolish the Bible. At some places they burned it. However, God has preserved it for us.
Ingersoll held up a copy of the Bible and said, "In fifteen years, I’ll have this book in the morgue." Fifteen years passed, Ingresoll was in the morgue while the Bible lives on. Praise God!
Voltaire said that in one hundred years the Bible would be an outmodeled and forgotten book, to be found only in museums. After one hundred years, Voltaire’s house was owned and used by the Geneva Bible Society.
THE BIBLE IS THE BEST SELLER OF ALL TIME.
Most books were given for our information, but transformation was what the Bible gives. "There’s a big difference between the book that men make and the Books that makes men."
Misquotes are sometimes more searching than accurate quotes. "Re-Bible us again," prayed a native Indian as he pleaded for a spiritual awakening. Must we not be "re-Bibled" before we can revived?
II. RIGHT PLACE - "...HAVE I HID IN MINE HEART..."
How many do we see people who memorized passages of scripture, and can win debate, but all are head knowledge only?
Probably you already heard about a festivity held in England where people gathered at the plaza for the celebration. While waiting for the main event, they called an orator to recite Psalm 23, and he eloquently delivered it, afterwhich, loud applause and cheering from the people were heard. A rascal boy saw an old pastor and teasingly he shouted, "Let’s see if the Pastor still memorize it!" And people agreed. The old Pastor went up the stage and recited Psalm 23. It was not a beautiful or eloquent like orator did, but everyone felt the difference. No clapping was heard but reverence was felt. Someone asked, "Why?" And he answered, "Son, yes, he knows the Psalm, but I know the Shepherd!"
The right place to hide His Word is not in the head but in the heart; and that’s what God says. Let’s look at Deuteronomy 6:6, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts."
III. RIGHT PURPOSE - "...THAT I MAY NOT SIN AGAIST THEE..."
David realized, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Psalm 66:18. We know that sin separates us from God and we can’t expect Him to listen to us if we do not repent.
A colporteur entered a village in Ceylon. There he sold a portion of the Bible to a notorious dishonest man who took bribes and bore false witness in the courts. The next day, the man returned it and said, "Take back this book. It tells against me, and reproves everyone who is in the wrong path. Take it, and give me back my money!"
CONCLUSION
Sin will drive you away from this Book but this Book will drive away sin from you.
