Date Written: November 24, 2006
Date Preached: November 26, 2006
Where Preached: OZHBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Living a Life of Service
Sermon Title: The Service of Clinging to God’s Word
Sermon Text: Psalm 119:9-11; 105-106
Introduction:
I want to begin this morning with a bit of a review of where we have come from in this particular sermon series… Living a life of service!
We started 4 weeks ago by looking at our theme verse for this series and it is Rom 12:1-2 which says,
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom 12:1-2
(NASB)
In these verses we find Paul laying out what the believer needs to know about HOW he or she is supposed to serve God. We first looked at “The Service of Self-Denial” and we can see that Paul tells us in v.1 that we are to present our bodies as ‘a living and holy sacrifice’ to God. We cannot serve God as we should unless we learn to deny ourselves and put God first in our lives!
We then looked at “The Service of Submissive Obedience” which is the focus of what Paul is saying in v.1 when he says that we are to present our bodies… willingly and freely to God. We are to submit and surrender to Christ in all matters of this life and place our full faith and trust in Him!
Last week we continued in this series and we looked at “The Service of Rejecting the World” and we can see in v.2 that Paul tells the church that if they are going to serve as they should serve God… then they cannot allow themselves to be conformed to the world’s thoughts, actions or philosophy!
This morning I want to address the final service in this series and it is “The Service of Clinging to God’s Word” and it is based on what Paul said in v.2 that not only should we REJECT the world… but we are called to cling TO God and allow God to transform us just as the potter transforms the clay…
So many believers today are trying to do things on their OWN and they are NOT allowing God to transform them into that powerful, faith-based believer that is willing to take on anything and everything for the sake of the Gospel.
And the result of our doing things on our own is that we are weak in our faith…
it is that we become rattled when persecution comes…
it is that we are easily swayed by all winds of doctrine and…
it is that so many people who claim Christ as Savor are taken captive on the beliefs of the world and they are rejecting the truth and inerrancy of Scripture…
Let me give you some really scary statistics that may open your eyes to just what a problem this is within the church today! Many of us would agree that the country we live in today is FAR removed from the country we lived in some 20 or 30 yrs ago.
Let’s look at a simple thing like believing that God’s Word is the truth and is our sole authority for life… the Baptist Faith and Message states that as Baptists we hold God’s Word as the SOLE authority for matters of faith and practice…
A Barna Poll on U.S. Religious Beliefs done in 2001 states that most Americans do not accept evangelism as a personal responsibility: only one-third (32%) claim they have an obligation to share their religious faith with those who believe differently. But God’s Word says…
18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20 (HCSB)
This survey also states that nationally, less than half of all adults (41%) believe the Bible is totally accurate in all it teaches. One of the most remarkable insights into America’s faith is the fact that less than half of all adults (40%) are convinced that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life during His three decades on earth. That means that 60% believe Jesus sinned…
Also in the church today, we have many people who are going down the slippery slope of what is called Theistic Evolution, where they are trying to take the Evolutionary Theory and marry it together with the Creation account…
But the problem with that is that God’s Word categorically rejects Theistic Evolution. The Bible reveals to the believer that God created this world NOT from something else, but He spoke it into existence from where there was NOTHING! Humor me a bit this morning and…
Turn to Gen 1 and let me reveal something to you that you MAY or MAY NOT have realized when you have read this before… follow along with me in your Bibles or on the screen as I read…
So many people have thought that creation simply could NOT be performed like the Bible presents it because it is simply NOT possible.
They say that God created these things but the ‘days’ spoken about in Genesis are actually ages or long periods of time and they try to use 2 Peter 3:8 out of context to prove this theory…
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. (NASB)
But when looking at the context of this verse we can see that this passage is NOT referring to how God determines linear time, but that God is GOD and He exists outside of and beyond time… He is NOT bound by time as we are!
Let’s look at what God’s word says about this and we can see that the Hebrew word for day that is used all thru the creation account of the Bible… is YOM and it DOES carry with it different meanings. It can mean simply the daylight portion of any 24 hour period… what we call daylight!
It could mean a 24 hour period where the earth makes one revolution…what we would call a solar day!
Or it could mean a period of time that is indeterminate such as back in the day we did such and such…
But read along with me and let’s see what the Bible has to say! Read Gen 1:3-13…
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and He called the darkness “night.” Evening came, and then morning: the first day. 6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came, and then morning: the second day. 9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land “earth,” and He called the gathering of the water “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 Evening came, and then morning: the third day. Gen 1:1-13 (HCSB)
Do you see what I am driving at here… the Bible (which by the way is the best commentary on the Bible) reveals here just what context that the Hebrew word YOM is being used. It is being used as a 24 hr day. In other words, God accomplished his tasks in a 24 hour period…as it says in Scripture, “…the evening and the morning of the 1st day… the 2nd day… the 3rd day and so forth.
Many say that could not be the answer because God did not create the sun, moon and stars until day four, but in v.3 we see that God spoke light into existence…so we know there was light before the sun…we also know that there was darkness as well. In fact God named the light “day” and the darkness “night” even before the sun, moon and stars were created!
But another reason is that in the book of Revelation it tells us that in heaven we will NOT need the sun or the moon because Jesus will be the light…
The MAIN question that you as a believer MUST ask yourself is do you believe God can do what God has said He has done!
Do you believe that God created all of creation by merely speaking it into existence?
If you don’t then you have rocked the very foundation of all of Christianity and if you don’t believe that God created the world and Adam and Eve as He said He did… then how can you believe in what is said in Rom 5:12ff when Paul shares that just as thru Adam sin entered the world… that thru the Christ… salvation has come to those who accept Him!
MY POINT THIS MORNING IS NOT TO GET OFF ON EVOLUTION… although that is a sermon for another time… my point is that as believers we have to know, trust and fully cling to the Word of God!
As believers we are called to understand that Scripture is God breathed and that it is all sufficient for the believer in all walks of life…
If we take just ONE thing from the Bible and say it is NOT true or it simply could NOT have happened… then where do we stop? How many pages are we to tear out of our Bibles until we believe ALL of what is in there…
We are called to present our bodies as a holy and living sacrifice… we are called to NOT be conformed to the world but be TRANSFORMED by the Word of God…
For those outside the grace of Jesus Christ, the Bible does not hold any special meaning, in fact to most it is simply a book of fables, old stories and myths.
But when Christ comes into our hearts and souls, we are to look to God’s Word and allow it to transform how we think and WHAT we think… what we do and how we act and where we go…
God’s Word is transformational in nature… it was written to transform lives… it was not written for literary accolades, but for the transformation of the souls of men!
So this morning I want us to look at the service of Clinging to The Word of God and how that not only enhances the Christian walk, but it is essential for the Christian in their walk with Christ!
We cannot serve as God has called us if we are not reading our Bible, if we are not studying our Bible… if we are not taking and storing the Bible in our hearts.. we cannot serve if God’s Word is NOT a vital and vibrant part of our life!
So in reverence of the reading of God’s Holy, Infallible, Inerrant, Unchangeable, Immutable, never failing WORD… let us stand!
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have treasured [hidden] in my heart,
That I may not sin against You. Ps 119:9-11 (NASB)
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light on my path.
106 I have solemnly sworn
to keep Your righteous judgments. Ps 119:105-106 (HCSB)
The first major point I want to get across to you this morning is that we are called to live a life that requires us to…
1. Cling to God’s Way (v.9, 106)
Here the psalmist is telling the reader how one must live to be pure before God. If we want to live as God desires us to live… if we desire to live a pure life we have to seek out God’s way of doing things…
The psalmist was unapologetic when he asked the question, “…how can a young man keep his way pure…” and then followed it up with the answer… “…by keeping it [his life] according to Your Word (God’s Word)…”
He did not say that we need to clean up our act, or TRY harder! What we need to do is live our lives in accordance with the Word of God! In other words, we live by what the Bible says!
When we submit to the God and His will as we are taught in His Word, God will reveal the right path to us and then our lives and ways will be purified… not because of OUR works but because of Christ and His work on the Cross!
But for us to be in the position to be blessed of God you must first live our life in accordance with His Word!
DO YOU REMEMBER THE VICTORY AT JERICHO? Do you remember the requirements God placed on the people to gain that victory? It seemed impossible and God’s way seemed ridiculous to all those who saw it or heard the plan… but Israel was obedient and clung to God’s instructed way and they won a great victory by clinging to God’s way…even though it seemed impossible!
But what I want to point out is the incident just after the victory at Jericho! Do you remember that? The battle for the city of Ai? Do you remember the terrible defeat they suffered? Why did they suffer defeat? It really comes down to some people NOT doing things in accordance with the WAY of God!
God had instructed the people on how to deal with Jericho and the spoils of their victory, but some had been disobedient and for this the nation suffered a great defeat and embarrassment! But also the guilty people who had disobeyed God…who had done things their OWN way… IT LED TO THEIR ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION!
When we come to know Christ as Savior we turn to Him for forgiveness and salvation and then we pledge ourselves to Him in service and obedience… like the Psalmist tells us in v.106
106 I have solemnly sworn to keep Your righteous judgments.
Whether you realize it or not… we have a solomn oath to God… we are part of a NEW covenant that was founded at Calvary.
Christ paid His portion there and fulfilled our eternity when He came out of the tomb… but we have a part in this covenant and that is keeping and clinging to God’s Way!
I want you to understand that clinging to God’s way in NO way saves us… He has already done that in the person of Christ
Clinging to God’s Way in no way KEEPS us saved because He has promised that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit!
Clinging to God’s way reveals our obedience and love to God and it opens doors for us to receive His blessings in this life as well as the next! We must cling to God’s Way!
But we also need to…
2. Cling to God’s Will (v.10)
10 With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
There was once a young girl who had just won $2 for memory work she accomplished in Sunday school, and after the morning service, the pastor’s wife congratulated her. The young girl proudly said, “And I put it all in the morning’s offering!”
“My, how wonderful!” the pastor’s wife exclaimed. “I’m sure God will be pleased.”
“Yes,” the child replied, “now maybe God will let me do some of the things I want to do!”
[Genia Obal quoted in Humor for Preaching & Teaching, by Edward Rowell and Bonne Steffen, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1999] discovered on Sermoncentral.com
So often believers are JUST like this little girl, we give to God expecting to get our own will approved by God… we are so focused on what WE want to do… we fail to seek or even think about what God wants us to do!
We do the things we are expected and called to do by our tradition in the church and we expect God to then turn around and let us act like we want to act and BE what WE want to be…
The psalmist says in this verse that with ALL his heart he has sought God, and he is crying out to God to NOT allow him to stray from the commandments he knows to be true and faithful!
So often in the spiritual realm we KNOW what is good and prosperous for us as believers, but we simply DO NOT do them! Take the Apostle Paul for instance…
15 For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.
Rom 7:15 (HCSB)
We known what God expects of us but we simply do NOT do what He expects of us! And when we DO what He expects we think that God owes us for our service!
As believers, we must realize that God’s will is not an option or a bargaining chip for us. It is the sovereign will of the Creator of the Universe and what He says… is what we have to be about doing!
• We cannot cling to our own will as it will lead us to selfish desires and the sin of pride…
• We cannot cling to the will of others because it will lead us to serving those who think they are above God…
As a believer… ONLY God’s will is going to suffice for our walk with Him! Any other course of action on our part will lead us to disobedience and unfaithfulness to God… and do you remember what James said about those who are unfaithful to God… he called them ADULTERESSES!
I want you to think about the night before Jesus was to die on the Cross… think about what He was doing in the Garden of Gethsemane?
Jesus went there to pray and it was his desire that he would not have to suffer thru what He knew was coming… but it was his desire to have it pass by Him…
But we find that Jesus willingly submitted to the will of the Father, and because He did we can know salvation today.
There are so many believers who are NOT willing to submit to the will of the Father, and because of that there are many people in this world who would hear the Gospel from an obedient follower of Christ… they will NOT hear it because the believer is NOT willing to submit and sacrifice and surrender to the will of God!
We need to know and understand as believers we are NOT going to always understand what happens in this world and I want you to know that all things that happen are NOT God’s will.
There are many people today who are rejecting Christ as Savior, but I know that is NOT God’s will, for the Bible shares with us in 2 Pet 3:9 that God is patient and He desires ALL to come to repentance! God does not WILL a man to get drunk and try to drive his car home… and in the process kill a family of four on their way to church!
What God does is allow his creation to make choices and the Bible tells us that like sheep we have ALL gone astray and that there is NOT one good among us… NO NOT ONE! God’s Word shares with us that ALL have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory!
We live in a fallen and broken world and we have to make a willful and submissive choice to seek and serve God’s Will in our lives! God is NOT going to force it on us, but we have to make the decision to obey Him and follow Him!
If we are going to be the Christians God has called us to be… then we are going to have to learn to seek after and cling to the Will of God… as He reveals that Will to us!
We are not going to be happy, content or successful as believers until we learn to submit to God’s will and we learn to become obedient to WHAT God has called us to do…
"Success is finding God’s will for your life and doing it"
(DR. BOB JONES, SR., FOUNDER OF BOB JONES UNIV, GREENVILLE, SC).
So how do we FIND what God’s will is for our lives?
Henry Blackaby in his study entitled, “Experiencing God” said that we can find God’s will in many areas…
• God reveals His will to us through our reading of His Word…
• God reveals His will to us through prayer and meditation on Him…
• God reveals His will to us through the situations and circumstances of life…
• God also reveals His will to us through other people…
I want you to know and understand today that God is constantly speaking to you and YOU have to listen to Him and submit to His will and way! But not only are you called to Cling to God’s Way and cling to God’s Will, but I can also see that we must…
3. Cling to God’s Word (v.11, 105)
11 Your word I have treasured [hidden] in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light on my path.
Let’s look at what the psalmist tells us here… He says that when we are obedient and submissive to God… that when we cling to His way, His will and His word that there are things that are going to happen!
He reveals to us that when we cling to God’s word and when we begin to study it and store it up in our hearts and minds… that our desire for SIN lessens and lessens… and we are more and more aware of where we are falling short of His glory!
But not only that I want you to take a look at v.105… David tells us that God’s Word is a light unto his path…
Let’s examine that phrase for just a moment… a light unto my path is a phrase that so many of us think it refers to simply lighting our steps.
It DOES refer to that, but I want to look at an implied meaning here that is totally practical from the believer’s perspective! God’s Word not only lights our steps and our path, but it lights us up as well…
When the light of God’s word is shining on us, we can see the blemishes and stains that sin brings in to our lives and we can confess those sins for God’s forgiveness.
So God’s Word not only lights our path, but it illuminates our sin and gives us direction to cleanse that sin! Please do not misunderstand… I believe that the Bible is the BEST thing we could use to live life for God here on this earth.
In fact, it is the ONLY thing that enables us to know what God desires of us and how we can be what God has called us to be!
When Jesus was in the wilderness and Satan came to Him in Matthew 4 we can see that Jesus relied on nothing other than the WORD OF GOD…
In each one of Satan’s temptations of Christ we find Christ saying “It is written…” before rebuking Satan! In other words, Jesus Christ knew how all sufficient God’s word was for the believer!
Here in this passage we find the psalmist reflecting that same wisdom and telling us to store up in our hearts God’s word so that we would not fall prey to temptation!
When Satan comes to us and tempts us with all the things this world can throw our way, the ONLY way we are going to stand under that pressure and temptation is that we are able to lean on God’s Word!
And mark my words, there is going to come a time in THIS country that we will NOT be able to have an open copy of God’s Word… we will not be able to read it or study it… so we must store it up in our hearts and minds where NO government or other religious zealot can take it from us…
We must learn to cling to God’s Word, cling to God’s Will and cling to God’s Way if we are going to live that well adjusted and successful life that God desires for us… if we do that we will abe able to know where and when God desires you to serve Him.
And so often NOT KNOWING is the most difficult battle we face, we say we DON’T know but most of the time is that we know what God wants from us… but we are simply unwilling to submit in obedience and surrender!
Conclusion:
For the believer, clinging to God’s word is paramount to his or her walk with Christ… because clinging to God’s word reveals our sinful nature and provides us with how God has already overcome that sinful nature and replaced it with His love in our heart!
