You're listening to Key Life Fellowship's pulpit ministry
podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we
learn from God's Word together. If you would like more
information regarding Key Life or to speak with one of our
pastors, please visit us at keylifefellow-ship.com.
As you open your Bibles this morning, turn with me to Psalm
119. We'll be looking at verses 105
all the way to 112 this morning in our text.
And the topic that we will be discussing today is one that
unfortunately is not the subject of many of the modern self help,
success driven, human psychology based messages or so-called
sermons that people are receiving from the pulpits in
our country and across Christianity Today.
However, to the men of God of yesteryear, the subject that we
are going to be talking about was a very important aspect not
only to their theology, but also to the entirety of their
Christian lives, their Christian walks.
And the topic that I'm referring to is what the Puritans called
and the Reformers called the perspicuity of Scripture.
Now, I know that perspicuity is not a word that we today use
very often at all. But I think when we revisit what
they meant by this, what, what it really means to be
perspicuous, it means to be clear or to offer a clarity.
And when we talk about the perspicuity of Scripture, we
talk about the Scripture being clearly written, clearly
inspired and clearly understood, especially in regard to the
gospel that has been made so. Clear in God's word and I bring
this topic to you today because I want you to know that God is
not hiding his truth and in some kind of secret code book where
you have to have your own and thumb and.
Glasses to see what it says. He's not hiding it or veiling it
in some mysterious or hidden formula or numerical code that
you have to figure out. That's cereal that used to buy
when you were a kid and you would receive those glasses so
you can read the messages. That's not the word of God.
The word of God, as we were going to see.
Has been made clear and He wants us to clearly understand that
which He has revealed to us in His Word.
I hear often from people I don't understand the Word of God.
Then I asked him, are you spending time in His Word?
Well, I listen to you preach on Sunday morning.
That's not enough because on Sunday morning I am going to buy
the gifts that I have been given, give you clarity on that
topic. And what you're going to have to
learn to do is when you're studying the Word of God on your
own, you're going to have to trust and the perspicuity of
Scripture meaningless that God is clearly given Scripture so
that you can clearly understand it.
He is not hiding anything from you.
He wants you to know. He has preserved His word
throughout the ages so that you can know.
It's given it to you in a language that you speak so that
it will be clear, it will be understood the way that he
intends for you to understand it.
The Westminster Confession of Faith, along with the London
Baptist Confession of Faith, that would be the second one,
the 1689, the one that we adhere to as a church.
It says it's exactly the same in both of those confessions.
It says all things in Scripture are not alike plain in
themselves, meaning not everything is equally clear.
But it says this. Nor alike clear unto all,
meaning not everyone will understand everything he says.
Those things which are necessary to be known, believed and
observed for salvation are so clearly propounded and open in
some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned
but the unlearned may attain unto a sufficient understanding
of them. Both of those confessions
guaranteeing this standing on this, that God's Word has been
made clear enough for even someone who is uneducated to
understand. That means this.
If you are a PhD it is clear enough, but if you are a GED it
is as equally clear to those who will read and study the word of
God, especially in regard to knowing and believing the
Gospel. Richard Baxter in a book called
The Reformed Pastor, he says this.
He says God hath not written his laws in such obscure characters
or delivered them in such ambiguous terms as that men
might not know them. Baxter simply saying this God
has delivered his word in a way that you can know it.
Not keeping it from you, making it known.
John Owens said this. He said the word of God is a
light and a lamp. Wonder where he borrowed that
from. We'll see you in just a moment.
He said the word of God is a light and a lamp, and it is able
to make us wise unto salvation and to instruct the man of God
in all things necessary unto his being.
So he's saying the word of God is a lamp for us, revealing to
us what it is clearly that we need to know from the
Scriptures. William Perkins in a book called
The Art of Prophesying, which has been used by God to help me
to really understand preaching and why I do what I do and how I
do what I do. Perkins said this.
He said the Scriptures are playing in themselves and and do
interpret themselves. They are a light unto our feet.
Again, Perkins, borrowing from the Psalmist here in Psalm 119,
one O 5, as we'll see in a moment.
Showing us that the scriptures are playing in themselves and do
interpret themselves. You say.
What do you mean by that? It's called the analogy of
Scripture meaningless. If you come to something in
scripture that you say to yourself it is unclear, you feel
that is unclear to you, go to something pertaining to the same
topic elsewhere in Scripture that is clear.
And then you interpret the unclear based on the clear, and
then you have clarity on both. You see how that works?
Many people refuse to do that. And that's where you have people
saying scripture could possibly contradict itself.
That's not the case. The contradiction that is
involved in this is you and not the Scriptures.
And so when we look at what these men of old stood for, they
stood for again, the perspicuity of Scripture, the fact that it
has been and is made clear to us.
Thomas Watson. Says it like this rather tongue
in cheek. I believe he said the word is
plain to the sincere. It is a lamp to the feet and not
a puzzle for the brain. I love that it's a lamp to our
feet, not a puzzle to the brain. This is not something that we
have to rack our brains to try to figure out.
God has made His word and the things that have been revealed
that He desires that we know. Now granted, there are some
things that God does not desire for us to know.
In fact, Deuteronomy tells us that fact that the revealed
things belong to man, and that the secret things belong to God.
And there are just some things that we will not know.
But the things that He desires for us to know, He makes those
ever so clear through the perspicuity.
Of the Scriptures. So not only is the Word clear,
as these men testify to in regard to salvation and the
gospel. And that is?
Made that way by design gives us such clarity and.
Isn't it true the gospel pretty cut and dried?
Pretty simple. That unless you repent of your
sin and your unbelief, and you turn to Jesus Christ as your
Lord and Savior, receiving the forgiveness that He alone
purchased for man to have at the cross.
That unless you repent and turn to Christ, you will perish for
all eternity under the judgment and wrath of God in hell.
That is the truth and the clear teaching of the gospel, that God
sent His Son to display His love for all who would trust in him.
And he demonstrates that love for us, and that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.
Even a child can understand that clearly.
But it goes on beyond even the gospel and salvation.
As the psalmist is going to demonstrate and teach us today,
the perspicuity of Scripture overflows into our Christian
lives, and he's. Actually going to give us.
Five areas that the perspicuity of scripture gives us clarity in
as we live our life for Christ daily so.
Here under the Hebrew letter None.
As we come to the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet, we see the
8 subsequent verses starting with 105.
And he says this. Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path. Many of you say, I think we've
heard this before, and you're right.
In the introduction to this series, this is where we began.
That is why this series is entitled Living Life in the
Light of God's Word. Because that is exactly what God
desires, that we who are followers of Christ do, that we
live our lives as if His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light
unto our path. He goes on, and he says this in
the next verse. I have taken an oath and
confirmed it that I will follow Your righteous laws.
I have suffered much. Preserve my life, O Lord,
according to Your word. Accept, O Lord, the willing
praise of my mouth, and teach me Your laws.
Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget
Your law. The.
Wicked haven't set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from
your precepts. Your statutes are MyHeritage
Forever they. Are the joy of my heart.
My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we
come to you now. Thanking you so much for the
perspicuity of Scripture, the fact that Your Word truly is a
lamp into our feet and alive and to our path, that You are
clearly showing us how to live the Christian life that you have
called us to live. And for the believer here who
says that that's unclear simply because they do not consult the
Word, they have no excuse. What I pray that we would in our
heart determine today and be resolved to go to Your Word for
clarity in every aspect of our lives as we see the Psalmist
giving us example after example of the clarity that your word
brings into our lives, that we would walk in that and we would
we would bring you a glory and honor by doing so.
And God, I also pray for the unbeliever who's here today, but
I pray that today your word for the first time would be a lamp
into their feet and a light into their path that you would.
Shine. Into their lives, exposing their
unbelief, exposing their sin through your word.
Pointing. Them to the narrow way of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the only way to the Father, the only way to
heaven, the only way to forgiveness and the only way to
eternal life. And I pray that you make that
known so clearly to them today that they can do nothing but
surrender in faith and repentance to the Lord Jesus
Christ and Lord, we know you will be faithful to your word to
save them as they call on you for salvation.
But as we yield to you now in your spirit.
Teach us, encourage US, strengthen us by your word and
we pray these things in the mighty name of Jesus and all
God's people said Amen. And so we come to the topic of
the perspicuity of Scripture, the fact that the Word gives
clarity. Anyone here thankful for the
clarity that the Word gives in your life?
I'll just go on and tell you this.
If you're already thankful, you're going to be tenfold
thankful by the time that we're done, because we're going to see
once again how powerful God uses His Word in our lives as
believers. The first.
Thing that I want you to. See is this and the Psalmist, he
definitely declares this with his words and with his life that
the word of God gives us clarity for first of all, living.
Psalm. One O 5 says that your word is a
lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
He's speaking here of a walk, that we are walking on a certain
path. He says I have taken an oath and
confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.
Here we see the perspicuity of scriptures giving clarity for
living the Christian life. Isn't that a question that we
ask ourselves many times? How am I to live this new life
that I have received? In fact, I get this from from
nearly every new convert to Christianity that I talk to.
Their next question is how do I learn to live this new life?
I'm thankful that they understand you have a new life
and just as with your own life, you were born and to this world
naturally and you had to learn and you had to grow, didn't you?
It is the same with your new life in Christ.
The fact. That you have been.
Born again to this new life. Now there is this process of
learning and growing and living, and I can tell you this, it can
be rather hazy at first, right? Knowing what to do.
I'm thankful that when I was saved, I had a man who made it
very simple and clear to me. I knew I was saved.
I knew the Lord had saved me there at my seat.
I went back to the little room as we would and I went in there
and the man was talking to me about what was going on and I, I
really wasn't listening. I knew what had just transpired.
God called this wicked Sinner out of the darkness of my sin
and He awakened me. He quickened me to new life.
Now I couldn't explain it like that then, but I knew in that
moment that just took place. So when he got through talking
to me about all the things that he had been trained to talk to
young men about, I asked him this question.
I wanted clarity. You know what I wanted clarity
on how do I live this new life? I know I have a new life.
I heard the preacher saying that if I call into Jesus, He's going
to give me a new life. And I know how wretched I am and
I am in need of a new life. And how did I know that?
His Spirit revealed that to me through the preaching of His
Word. And then I asked him, man, So
what do I do next? He kept it simple for me.
He said you need to get baptized.
Pretty clear. Why did I need to get baptized?
Why I didn't need to get baptized to get saved?
Because I was already saved. I needed to get baptized because
I had been saved, confirmed by scripture.
Later on as I study and I learned that topic, that man
said go get baptized. I said, OK, when can I do it?
He said tonight we're having baptism.
I said I'm in. You want.
To check with your family? No, I'm in.
So what next? Right.
I want a clarity. What do I do next?
How do I live this life? He said you have a Bible.
You know what I believe? I believe if I'd have said no, I
don't have a Bible, I believe that man would have given me his
Bible right then or he would have found me.
One, I said, yes Sir, I do have a Bible.
My grandmother gave me a Bible. Many of you have heard this
story, but you've never heard it in light of God giving us
clarity in how to live this life.
He said, you have a Bible. I said, yes Sir, I do have a
Bible. He said, read it, will do again.
I've been reading it ever since and you know what?
It gives me clarity on how to live this life over and over and
over again. Every crossword that I've ever
come to, I turn to the word of God and it teaches me how to
take the next step. So what next?
He says. Tell everybody what Jesus has
done for you. I've had the privilege of
telling everybody. Not only.
In this country, not only in this state, other states, other
countries, I've been blessed with the privilege of telling
everyone I come in contact exactly what Jesus Christ has
done for this Sinner that was. According to the word of God,
right clarity that this man stole all those things from the
scriptures. Here's what I'm supposed to do
Supposed to. Be baptized.
Why? According to the scriptures,
Give me clarity, right? That's the next thing to do.
What am I going to do next? Read the word, live it, tell
everybody else, make disciples, go on, tell people about Jesus
Christ, evangelizing them with the truth of the gospel.
Word of God tells us how to live this life that so many times we
we often forget to go to the Word of God for clarity on what
do we do as Christians. What do we do now that we're
Christians? Yes, I'm saved.
I'm on my way to heaven. I'm forgiven all my sin.
Now what? You've got a life to live and
you've got a life to live until he brings you home.
And you need to resolve. To live this life the way that
the Word of God teaches us to live this life.
Look at the. Insight from the psalmist here.
He's trusting in God's light. He's not trusting in any light
from any outside source. He's not trusting in any light
from within himself. He's not trusting.
In. The light of philosophy or
ideology. Even in his day, he's trusting
in the Word of God. Your word is a lamp to my feet
and the light from my path. Why is his word a lamp to our
feet and a light to our path? Because Jesus is the light.
And we? Know that he is the light and He
is the Word. John said in the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14
says the Word became flesh and dwelt us, dwelt among us.
So we see that Jesus Christ is the light of this lamp, shining
into his Word, so that we may understand it.
A lamp without a flame is just a fixture.
But this is Christ. Who is this flaming?
We can trust in God's light, and we can trust in God's light to
do the same thing that it did for us at salvation our entire
Christian life. And what is that?
To dispel the darkness. Darkness doesn't go away just
because you're saved, does it? No, there's darkness all around
us. There's darkness in this world.
There's darkness in our old sin nature that we still battle with
constantly our flesh. We have to trust in God's light
to dispel this darkness. Don't you?
Thankful that that light dispels darkness.
You know this to be true. If you don't know this to be
true, I'll give you a kind of fun experiment.
Go home, shut yourself in a closet and turn out the lights.
Now, moms, don't stay in there too long.
The kids need you. Some moms I can see.
Them going to turn off the lights and say, oh, I'm just
going to stay here for six weeks.
Shut the door. Turn off the light and then flip
the switch on and immediately. At the speed of light, darkness
is dispelled completely, and that's the word of God.
It dispels the darkness in our lives.
Psalm 19, verse 8, you just read a portion of it a moment ago.
I'll read another verse here. It says the precepts of the Lord
are right. Verse 8, giving joy to the
heart. The commands of the Lord are
radiant, giving light to the eyes.
Thank you, Lord, let You give light to our eyes so that we can
see the truth and we can see the truth clearly.
So the perspicuity of Scripture gives us clarity for living as
we trust in God's light to dispel the darkness, but not
only that, to direct our steps. He says, Your word is a lamp
unto my feet, and a light from my path.
We see a walk here. He is trotting and walking on a
path. Isn't it interesting that the
word of God over and over and over again, calls our Christian
life a walk? It speaks of the fact that
we're. On a path.
Jesus himself talked about us walking on a narrow road.
And here we are walking on a narrow road and we know this.
It's a narrow Rd. on the side of of a mini treacherous cliffs,
isn't it? And if we're not careful,
trusting in the word of God to clearly light every step on our
path, we will succumb to one of those cliffs.
Psalm 32 verse. 8 says this says I will instruct you and teach
you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch
over you. Aren't you thankful that the
Lord has promised to do that? And he has accomplished.
That promise, and kept that promise in His word.
Preserving it so that we can have it, so that every step that
we take, He protects us and He directs our steps.
He has shown us how to live this Christian life.
Why we are trusting in Him and His Word?
For light along this path, Micah 6-8 says this.
He has showed you. Oh man, what is good and.
What does the Lord require of you?
Right. God's not hiding from us what it
is that He desires for us to do. What is that to act?
Justly and love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Now the Word of God has revealed that to us over and over and
over and even in the life of Jesus Christ.
Did Christ not live and walk and act, just as Micah 6-8 says that
He is, To live, walk and act justly, full of love and mercy,
walking humbly before God the Father?
Did Christ Himself not do that? Of course Christ did, and His
Word gives us clarity in the fact that that is how we are to
live our lives. It's a sad day when the church
looks to other Christians and says, well I'm not going to do
it. So and so is not going to do it.
Instead of looking to Christ and saying this is.
The image that I am being conformed to.
Why? Because He walked in perfect
obedience to what? The Word of God.
And as we walk this walk, as we are living this Christian life,
it is God's word that He uses to direct our every step as He is
dispelling the darkness that is ever before us.
Thomas Manton said this. We clearly understand our duty
by the Word of God. We know what to do as Christians
because the Word of God has told us He hasn't.
He hasn't hidden this from you if you are not doing that which
God wants you to do as a believer.
If you're not doing it, you're simply ignoring what God's Word
has already declared and that He has been precisely clear about
for our Christian lives. He tells us clearly what our
duty, our duties are as Christians in the Word of God.
We have to trust the word. We have to trust it the fact
that it has been clear. We can't compromise on what has
been made clear. So we're going.
To live this Christian life with the clarity from the Word if the
trust in God's light, but we also have to determine to trod
in God's light. We have to walk in this light.
No, I hate to say this, but I'll be honest with you, even as a
believer, there have been times in my life where I did not
utilize his word as a lamp unto my feet and the light unto my
path. I chose to go my own way.
I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand before you get
nervous. If you've ever gone and done
that, if you you've been a Christian, any mountain time,
you've gone and done that. And in that you see the value of
the Word of God, that when I stay in the Word of God, and I
walk with the Word of God as a lamp unto my feet and a light
unto my path, He directs my steps, and those steps are steps
of righteousness for His name's sake.
However, when I try. To do it on my own, outside of
the Word of God. There's little or no clarity at
all in my life. And before you know what I'm
walking. I'm trotting places that I
believe or ought not trod, before I even recognize that I'm
there. Why?
Because I stepped out from the security and the safety of
living in the light of His Word. So we have to trust in God's
Word as light, but we have to trod in God's light.
We have to walk there. We have to live there.
In fact, Proverbs 3 verse 5 says trust in the Lord with all your
heart and lean not on your own understanding and all your
waves. Acknowledge Him and he will make
your paths straight. There's that walk again and He's
making our paths straight. How?
By all of our infinite wisdom and knowledge.
No, our so-called infinite wisdom and knowledge is going to
lead us down the wrong path. But it is His wisdom and
knowledge, as revealed in His Word, that He has made ever so
clear to us that will lead us in the path that He desires for us
to go. He then.
Making our paths straight. And so the Word of God gives us
clarity for living and living the Christian life devoted to
God's path. That.
Path that He's laid out for us, and He promises to lead us into
obedience down that path, to bring Himself glory, to walk us
in safety. So as we trod in God's light,
let us be devoted to God's path, as the psalmist is here.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light into my path, he
says. I've taken an oath and confirmed
it. He's saying I'm devoted to this.
I've taken an oath. An oath to do what?
Walk in the light of God's Word, and to walk in His path as His
Word illuminates that path for me.
We see him devoted to God's path, promising to walk.
In obedience I would to God that he would raise up a group of
people who would promise God, oh God, I'm going to walk in
obedience to your word really mean that with all our heart to
really mean it as the psalmist did here saying I've taken an
oath, I've confirmed it. How did he confirm it By
actually doing it. He was devoted to God's path,
but then he was determined to obey.
Look at his heart here, the determination, he says, and I
confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.
He was determined to be obedient, determined to know
God's law and to know that it is right.
That's what he's saying here when he calls it God's righteous
law, his right law. He says, God, everything that
you say is right and everything that I say and do is wrong in
and of myself and it leads me down wrong path.
But your word and the clarity of your word, it leads me down the
right path because your law is right and we know His law is
right, don't we? Did you know even the lost man
knows that the 10 commandments are right?
You don't believe me? I encourage you to do this.
You can get it online. Just pull up the Texas Penal
Code. You can pull up the fact that
the Texas Penal Code understands and honors that God's law is
right. We know this, right?
If we steal from someone, where are we going?
Jail, We murder someone. Where are we going, Joe?
Where do you think that they got these things from?
They got these things from God's righteous law and his righteous
law meaning this it is right. The psalmist understanding is
says I'm devoting myself and I'm determined to obey that which
is. Right as I live.
And God has made that ever so clear, hasn't he?
What right living looks like. Many.
Times we forget that the fact that God gave us His law to show
us what His righteous standard is, and yes, to show us what His
righteous standard is, to remind us that we fail at every one of
our feeble attempts in our humanity.
However, when we failed, Christ came, and he obeyed the law
completely on our behalf, and he then imputes his righteousness
unto us. Not so that.
We can now live any way that we want to live so that we can
live, as the psalmist is saying here, following his righteous
laws. We now live in obedience to the
Word of God that has been made ever so clear to us through the
doctrine that we are looking at today.
We live this life now out of appreciation for what Christ has
done for us. And so everything that's needed
to live a God honoring life, everything.
That's needed for your Christian life is found in the Word of
God. The Word of God gives us clarity
for living. Secondly, the Word of God gives
us clarity for another topic that the Psalmist addresses for
US, one that we don't like to talk about much, but that
Scripture talks about quite often.
That is the fact that the Word of God gives us clarity for
suffering. He says in one O 7 I have
suffered much, preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word.
He goes back to the Word again. He says I'm suffering much and I
might not understand why I'm suffering so much, but I'm going
back to your word and I'm going back to your word because there
I have understanding. There I have clarity and the.
Perspicuity of Scripture gives us clarity even into our
sufferings as Christians. The Bible clearly teaches us
about suffering. First, the Bible teaches us
about the reason for suffering. Did you?
Know that we can understand from the Bible why we might be
suffering in our life, right when we ask that question.
Why me? You ought to be asking, why not
me? Every Christian throughout the
course of time has had to suffer trials of many kinds.
Why? Because Jesus said that we
would, and He himself did. But the Word of God teaches us
with clarity how to do that. It tells us the whole reason for
our suffering, so that we can have some understanding into
this. The word makes it clear that our
sufferings in this life are never in vain.
They're they they they are are joined together with a sovereign
purpose. We might not know what that
purpose. Is.
But we. Can't know the reason for our
suffering. How about?
This Sometimes we suffer so that God can bring us to himself.
Anyone. Here suffer prior to your
Christianity, because little did you know that God for ordained
before the foundations of the earth to rescue you, and he
allowed you to suffer and and put you flat on your back so
that you would look to Him and call unto Him to save you.
Anyone here ever? Suffered in that way.
I can tell you this, if you're in Christ at this point in time,
you're grateful for that suffering.
You're grateful for the fact that God let you suffer so that
He could, through His Word, make it so clear that I have a plan
for your life and the plan that I have for your life.
It's not that you die in your sin, but that I rescue you by my
grace, and I bring you into fellowship with me.
When we understand that clearly from Scripture, we can rejoice
in that kind of suffering. What about this?
What about suffering as a part of the growth process?
Oh, so many times we forget that suffering is a part of our
Christian growth process. I can remember being a little
boy laying there in bed in the middle of the night, growing
right? And you know when your kids are
doing this, you can't keep them in blue jeans.
And your. Legs are being stretched, your
bones are growing, your, your tendons, your muscles, they're
all being stretched. And the doctor would tell you
what you're having growing pains.
You're suffering, but you're growing and that's a good thing.
It's it's part of life and it's a part of our Christian life.
We suffer, but in our suffering, God uses that.
So we will grow. So we we will become what it is
that he desires for us to be. In fact, Paul gives us insight
in this. In Romans chapter 5 verse three,
he says not only so, but. We also rejoice in our
sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance,
perseverance, character, character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His
love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.
What's Paul saying here? That suffering is a part of the
Christian life, But suffering has a purpose many times for the
believer, and he wants us to have clarity on this.
It could be that you're suffering in your Christian life
because God is stretching you. God is causing you to grow, and
you are growing for His glory so that you will persevere and so
that you will. Bring.
Him glory in every aspect of your life.
So perhaps the Word gives us clarity in the fact that we're
suffering because it's just a part of the growth process.
Doesn't the Word teach that? What about this?
What about the fact that we might be suffering in order to
simply share in Christ's suffering?
I know that the American church doesn't consider this an honor.
But. Thankfully, the American church
is not the extent of the entire bride of Christ.
There are those around the globe who are suffering for Christ
right now who consider it an honor because they get to suffer
as Christ suffered for them. Peter says this about this kind
of suffering. He says in first Peter chapter 4
verse 12. Dear friends, do not be
surprised at the painful trial. You are suffering as as though
something strange were happening to you, but rejoice that you
participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be
overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
Think about that for a second. What he's saying.
He's saying as you are going through the this, this suffering
and this trial in your life. In every ounce of your flesh
wants to just cry out, whine and complain.
Peter says rejoice and rejoice because you participate in the
sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when His glory
is revealed. I want you to think about that
for a second, seeing suffering clearly in Scripture as a
privilege that only belongs to those that Christ desires to
reveal Himself to. And isn't it true that sometimes
in our darkest hours, in our most intense suffering, we can
relate to Christ the most who suffered in our place and
suffered agony and death in our stead?
And we can also know this, that because of the clarity that we
see in Scripture, not only will we share in His suffering and
have that privilege, but we will also share eternally in the
privilege of sharing in His glory.
Oh, would you even stop for a moment and begin to fathom that
to? Share in the glory of Christ,
the infinite, eternal glory of Christ, and we will share in
that with Him for all eternity. That gives us reason to.
To rejoice even in our sufferings.
And to suffer with joy in our heart.
Does the Scripture not give us clarity on that?
Of course it does. Because the perspicuity of the
Word of God gives us clarity into our suffering, suffering
and God uses to bring us to Him suffering that is a part of our
growth process, suffering that is in order for us to share in
Christ suffering, to know Him more.
Is that not what Paul said? I want to know him more, even
annoy him in his suffering. It is agony to know that.
That's true love for Christ. How about this suffering due to
the Lord's discipline? Knowing what Hebrews chapter 12
says, that whom the Lord loves, he disciplines and he chastens
with rod. And if you're without that kind
of discipline, if God doesn't cause you to suffer when you
rebel, it's confirmation. That you don't belong to Him.
Now let that sink in for a second.
If you're going to live any way that you want to live, and
there's no suffering there, you have clear clarity from
Scripture. You don't know Him.
You're not His. Because my Heavenly Father is
not going to allow one of His children to continually bring
reproach upon His name. He will discipline you until you
get it. He will even take you home so
that you do see the seriousness of that.
See the fact that Scripture gives us clarity into all those
things, clarity into our suffering, why we may be
suffering. How about suffering just simply
because the world hates us? Have you?
Ever thought about that? Seems like I always have to
suffer in this life. Count it as joy.
Everybody else gets the raise. Everybody else gets the
promotion. Everybody else seemingly gets
everything else of this world be.
Thankful that you don't belong to this world anymore, and
praise God in the midst of it. And know this.
And sometimes we suffer simply because the world hates us.
Is that not the reason that Jesus suffered?
Light came Into Darkness, but they hated the light because
they loved their sin. And they proved their hatred,
didn't they, by causing Christ to suffer.
And Jesus himself said this. If they hate you, they're also
going to hate. I mean, if they hate me, they're
also going to hate you because you follow me.
And so see that suffering just a part of the Christian life.
The world is going to hate you right when you come to Christ
your old friends. Begin.
To talk bad about you. They don't want anything to do
with you. They say mean things like you've
changed and you're different. You are changed and you are
different. You need to tell them I'm a new
creation. All the old things are gone.
Behold, all things have been made new.
You're. Absolutely right.
Thank you for noticing sometimes that brings suffering into our
lives through the form of persecution.
But Jesus in his Word and the perspectuity of His Word gives
us clarity, doesn't he? Matthew chapter 5, verse 10.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
He says this. This is our response to it.
Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven.
From the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you, the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you. Jesus being also a part of that
group, He's letting them know it is a part of the Christian life.
It is suffering because the world and the people of this
world hate us. The Scripture gives us clarity
on that. And so when you find yourself in
a season of suffering, go to the Word of God For clarity, go to
the Word of God and ask yourself this question.
Why am I suffering? Am I suffering because God is
drawing me unto himself? Am I suffering as a part of this
growth process as God is stretching me and God is growing
me my suffering, simply so that I can know to share and learn
what it means to share in Christ's suffering.
Am I suffering due to the Lord's discipline in my life?
Is there unconfessed and unrepentant of sin in my life
and the Lord is causing me to suffer as a form of discipline?
That's real church. Am I suffering just simply
because the Word world hates me because they hate Christ?
Scripture gives us clarity on that, doesn't it?
This is where we learn to value that clarity.
In the midst of our suffering, we turn to the Word of God and
we find the answers. We see the reason for our
suffering, but also we see this as we're learning to suffer.
According to the person perspicuity of Scripture.
We see this not only the reason for our suffering, but the
response to our suffering. How does Scripture teach us to
clearly respond in the midst of our suffering?
I think this is important, isn't it?
Because I can tell you this, I've blown in a time or two.
Well, I. Didn't go to the scriptures and
learn how to respond. In my suffering, I might have
complained, I might have. Bellyache I might have.
Whined. A little bit.
I know none of you have ever done that, but I'll be honest
because I also know that the Scripture's clear on lying.
He gives us the response to suffering.
What he says here, He says I've taken an oath and confirmed it,
that I will follow. Oh, excuse me, He says, I
haven't suffered much, preserved my life.
Oh, Lord, according to your word, He's crying out in that
word. Oh Lord, in desperation, he's
calling out to the Lord to help him.
He needs rescue. And our response to suffering is
this, we need to turn to God as our rescuer, as our salvation,
not just salvation for eternal life and forgiveness of sin.
We know that to be true. He is that, but He's our
constant salvation. He is our constant and ever
present help in our time of need, Is He not?
Is that not why Scripture says that we can boldly come before
His stone of grace and our time of need?
And there we can find the mercy and the grace that we need for
whatever situation that we are going on that is going on in our
life that we are going through. We have to cry out to God to
rescue us, according. To His word, knowing and what He
has promised, he will deliver, not doubting that, trusting that
He will deliver us from our suffering.
Did you know that there is not a Christian who will suffer
forever? The lost man cannot make that
claim. The lost man, though he may not
suffer in this life, he will. Suffer for all eternity but the
save man, though may, he may suffer every day of this life.
When this life is over, he will suffer no more, and he will
suffer never again according to the promises of the word of God.
Let us cry out to our deliver as a psalmist does there.
In Psalm 34 verse 17 it says this.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them.
He delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are
crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many
troubles, but the Lord delivers him from some of those.
If your Bible says that, get a new one.
He will deliver Him from the mall when I long for the day
that our Savior and our salvation delivers us from all
of our troubles some of. You who are in Christ to you,
you say, I testify to that as well.
And I know that His word is clear that one day He will.
Some of you have had to suffer something your entire Christian
life, and perhaps you will continue to suffer in that your
entire life. But in the end, God, who is
faithful will deliver exactly what He has.
Promised, and that is utter and complete deliverance for those
who are in Christ. No more sickness, no more sin,
no more tears, no more sorrow, standing in the presence and in
the glory of God for all eternity free from the suffering
of this world according to the word of God.
Psalm 91, verse 14, the psalmist says because he loves me, says
the Lord, I will rescue him and I will protect him, for he
acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will
answer him, and I will be with him in trouble, and I will
deliver him and honor him. All the Scripture is so clear
that no matter what kind of suffering that we are going
through as a believer, it is only temporary.
It is limited to this life. And let me just give you the
good news about this life. According to the Word of God, it
is but a mist, a vapour. It's here one second and it's
gone the next. And so know this, that our
sufferings are light and momentary, and they shrink in
comparison to the glory that will be revealed for those of us
who are in Christ. So we must have the proper
biblical response to suffering. Scripture is very clear on what
that is. Cry out to God to rescue you and
then to consider God's word in your suffering, holding on to
the very promises of Scripture as you continue to endure in
whatever it is that you are enduring through fact.
The author of Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23 says, let us hold
unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is
faithful in the midst of your suffering.
Hold on to the promises of the word of God without compromise,
unswervingly. The psalmist here doing just
that, He said, Oh Lord, according to your word, he says
I've suffered much, preserved my life according to what you have
promised, knowing full well, having full confidence that
God's going to bring him through his suffering.
He is responding in the proper manner, crying out to God for
help, considering God's word in the midst of his suffering.
He says, oh Lord, according to your word, he doesn't want
anything to happen that's not in accordance with his word.
Lord, if it is that I suffer for a long season, you'll give me
strength to to endure and you'll give me deliverance.
If it is that I suffer in a short season, you'll give me
strength to endure and you will deliver me in the end.
So we see the Word of God gives clarity for living, for
suffering. Thirdly, the Word of God gives
clarity for worshiping. 10. Eight, he says, Accept, O Lord
the willing. Praise of my mouth.
He wants His worship and His praise to be biblical.
Watch, he says, and teach me your laws, He says.
I want you to accept my willing praise.
I want to worship you properly. Did you know the perspicuity of
Scripture? Gives.
Us clarity into how we are to truly worship.
I know some of you are saying, oh finally, please tell them
that that we're to seeing hymns and some of you are saying, oh,
please tell them finally that that we're to sing choruses.
Then there are those of you in the middle.
Please tell them to do a little mixture of both.
We're not talking about music. The music is a part of our
worship. It is a part of our praise.
That is why when we sing songs, we sing songs that are based on
the perspicuity of Scripture, the clear teachings of
Scripture. Why?
So that in those songs your heart is turned to God.
Not to your emotions, not to your feelings, not to some warm
fuzzy that you like or your preferences.
Your hearts are turned to God in true, acceptable worship and
praise. And the Scriptures clearly teach
us how to worship God rightfully because the Scriptures give us
clarity and things that are important in our worship, one
that is often forgotten and unfortunately replaced with so
many humanistic things, and that is this, the worth of God.
It is in the Scriptures that we see the worth of God, who He is
and His true worth, His attributes, His characteristics.
Who he is in? Fact.
We go back to Exodus chapter 20, verse 2 as the Lord gives the 10
commandments. He says this in the second
verse. There he says I am the Lord your
God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of
slavery. Why is he saying this?
He's saying this so they can know exactly who he is and he
was worth something to them because they knew what it was
like to be under the yoke of slavery.
And he's teaching them about his worth, who he is, and he reveals
that to them. He then gives them commands that
we know as the 10 Commandments. And he starts like this.
You shall have no other gods before me.
Why? Because I'm the God who rescued
you from the Egyptians. You shall not make for yourself
any idol in the form of anything in heaven above, or on the earth
beneath or in its waters below. Why?
Because no man made thing rescued you from the tyranny of
Egypt and from Pharaoh he. Goes on and he says this, You
shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I the Lord
your God am a jealous God. Why is he saying this?
He's saying don't bow down and worship them because they are
not worth it. I ought to be worth it.
And shouldn't the one who has redeemed us from the slave balk
of sin worth it? Shouldn't he be?
God giving this lesson in the 10 commandments that often we read
right past, he said. By showing love to 1000
generations of those who love me and keep my commands.
Then he reiterates, you shall not misuse the name of the Lord
your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who
misuses his name. What is he saying here in these
first commandments? He's saying I have worth and I
want you to recognize my worth. Church's time that we recognize
the worth of God as defined by Scripture, not what you think
about God. I get so tired of relative
thinking in our culture telling me all the time what they think
about God. Well, what I think about God is
this. And the next person says, well
what I think about God is this. And they contradict each other.
It does not matter what you think about God.
It doesn't matter what you feel about God.
What matters is what does the Word clearly say about God?
Who do the scriptures say that He is?
That's who He is. And in that we will see the
words of God. And when we see the words of
God, we can't help but praise Him.
We can't help but worship Him. We can't help but sing songs
that bring glory to Him and song that that magnify His name.
That's what worship is. Sing the worth of God.
And where do we see the worth of God?
We see it in Scripture clearly. Again, the perspicuity of the
word of. God is designed so that you will
see his worth. Many of you want to talk about
trivial things that have to do with worship, but you don't want
to talk about the worth of God That brings us to a place of
worship. And I, I grieve for you, I pray
that God would, through the Scriptures, reveal clearly to
you his worth, and then in seeing his worth, you would
properly worship the way that Scripture teaches us we should
worship. Well, the scriptures clearly
teach us to worship God based on the worth of God.
But also. On the written teachings of God,
let us preserve these things so that we can see them.
God Himself has taught us in His Word concerning worship.
He's done this by declaring what he does and doesn't accept as
obedient worship and. Shouldn't that be our heart as
it is for the psalmist here? He says, Accept, O Lord, the
willing praise in my mouth. He's saying, Lord, may what I
say and what Ioffer back to you be acceptable to you.
And how is He ever going to have clarity on that?
How are you ever going to have clarity on that?
We go to the Word of God and we find clarity very quickly.
Psalm 51. Verse 16 it says you do not
delight in sacrifice or I would bring it.
You do not take pleasure and burnt offerings. 17 says the
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite
heart. O God, you will not despise.
Oh, the Scriptures speak clearly on acceptable worship,
acceptable declaration of praise to him, praise that he accepts.
What is it? Praise that comes not from our
ritualistic works or acts. The praise that comes from a
broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.
He says, Oh God, you will not despise these who have
brokenness. Humility.
God teaches us in His Word that our worship is not about
anything other than our brokenness before His worth.
Because when we see His worth in comparison to who we are, they
are to cause us, as it did the men of old, to fall on our face
in dust and ashes, repenting before a holy God, broken and
contrite before Him, in awe of who He truly is as revealed in
His Word. He declares this kind of worship
is right, in fact, Jesus while He was here on this earth.
And John chapter 4 gives us more clarity into worship.
In John chapter 4, verse 23 is he's having that conversation
with the Samaritan woman. She wanted to change the subject
to worship. Bad idea.
And he gave her a lesson. He said.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when true worshippers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth.
And they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.
God is spirit, and His worshippers must worship in
spirit and in truth. You.
Cannot worship in spirit, in truth, if your spirit is not
first crushed and broken before the worth of God, your worship
is not true and it's not acceptable.
The psalmist here is saying, accept, O Lord, the willing
praise of my mouth. Yes, it's willing, but I want it
to be acceptable. And the Word of God gives us
clarity into our worship. What is acceptable?
What is right? It's acceptable when it's from
brokenness and spirit and truth. Paul says this Romans chapter
12. Therefore, I urge you, brothers,
in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.
This is your spiritual act of worship.
What is he saying? In view of the fact that you
have received mercy from God through the Lord Jesus Christ,
lay yourselves down, broken and humble before God.
This is acceptable worship. I wish that the church would get
back to a place of acceptable worship.
Well, we see clearly that Scripture says we must be broken
and that we would submit to that brokenness and humility.
The Word of God clearly instructs us in the area of
worshiping God, just as it clearly instructed us in the
areas of living and suffering. But fourthly, we see this, the
word of God gives us clarity for trusting and trusting God, he
says in 109. Though I constantly take my life
in my hands. I will.
Not forget your law. The wicked have set a snare for
me, but I have not strayed from your precepts.
You see the psalmist here always going back to the word of God,
which he stated in the beginning was a lamp into his feet, and a
light into his path. Numbers 23 verse 19 declares for
us God is not man that He should lie, nor Son of Man that He
should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act?
Does He promise and not fulfill? What is Numbers teaching us?
That everything that God says is true and we can have confidence
in that. And the perspicuity of Scripture
gives us clarity in the fact that God cannot and does not
lie, that He is faithful to everything that He has promised.
He is trustworthy. Aren't you thankful that you
have a trustworthy God? I feel for all of the people who
follow false religion and false gods and goddesses of this
world. Their gods are lies, therefore
everything that they have supposedly said is a lie.
But our God is the one true God, the God who let his people out
of Israel just as he said, the God who parted the waters for
them to pass, the God who sent his only begotten Son to this
earth to redeem those who are under the curse of sin.
I'm thankful that our God is trustworthy.
Now we can see that very clearly in Scripture that we can trust
in God. He's given us plain.
Insight so that we can trust in Him, we can trust in God's
Providence, we can rest in His sovereign rule according to His
sovereign word. We can take His word and we can
say, because His word says this, I will rest my head upon the
word of God and what He says. To his children resting in his
sovereign rule, sovereign reign, and his sovereign word, Psalm
one O 3 verse 19, it says the Lord has established his throne
in heaven and his Kingdom rules over all.
O we can rest in the sovereign rule of God, that He is in
control of every single situation.
There is nothing that we face in this life where we have any
reason not to trust in his sovereign Providence.
It doesn't matter what that is. He's in control of all of it.
He's working all of that, as Scripture says, to the good of
those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.
According to Romans. 828 We all know what that says, but let's
just stop. We know that in all things God
works. Don't even read it all.
Get to that first part and rejoice.
He's working, He said, but I don't see it.
He's working. Why?
Scripture gives me clarity on that.
I don't feel it. He's working.
How do you know Scripture says that He is.
I don't yet see it. I can't touch it.
I can't feel it. He's working.
Aren't you thankful that scripture gives us clarity into
the Providence of God that though we may not understand it
fully, we can know that He is working and He's working for the
goods of those who love Him and who are called according to His
purpose? I don't even know how a
Christian, a non Christian makes it in this world because I don't
know where I would be without having the the Providence of God
to cling to constantly. Just like what?
I don't know what tomorrow has in store, but I know you do full
well because your word declares that you do that.
All my days have been written since before the foundation of
the earth, and you know exactly what tomorrow.
Is going to look like your word has given me clarity into that
and I trust in that. I trust in your Providence,
Lord, I trust in your sovereignty.
I rest in your rule, not only in my life, Your rule over
everything, everything recognizing God has full and
complete control in every situation.
Isaiah the 46th chapter says this in verse 9.
Remember the former things, those of long ago.
I'm God and there is no other. I'm God and there's no one like
me. I make known the end from the
beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please owe.
It is so good to hear those things so clearly in the Word of
God, and to just rest in thee, and to say thus saith the Lord,
I can trust in my trustworthy God and His sovereign Providence
over all things. Not only that, I can trust in
God's protection and He gives me clarity into that in the
Scriptures. The.
Word gives us clarity for trusting in God, trusting in his
Providence, but also his protection.
Look at the psalmist here. Though I constantly take my life
in my hands, I will not forget your law.
He says the only hope that I have and all the things that I
have to do because the psalmist understood what it means.
Every time he went somewhere, he had a new enemy.
He goes on in 110 and he says the wicked have set a snare for
me, but I have not strayed from your precepts.
He says everywhere that I step in my life there is a danger,
there is a snare. But God, I'm trusting in you as
my salvation to deliver me from every one of those snares.
Now let's talk about snares briefly.
Snares come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, don't they?
Many of you have never trapped an animal in your life, and
that's OK. I myself have and I understand
the concept of a snare. So this speaks volumes to me.
We don't put out a. Snare where we want an animal to
go, we put out a snare where the animal is already going.
And the. Animal in the darkness of night
walks into the snare on his normal path, and it's the end of
his life because his path was not lit up.
There was no lamp unto his feet, there was no light unto his
path. It was either a trap or snare
that was set for him. The Psalmist.
Is saying there's snares in my life, but yet I'm trusting God's
word. It gives me clarity to see those
things. Gives me clarity to not stop in
the middle of that trap, but to walk around it in the safety and
the security that God has provided for me.
Well, there are many snares in our life.
Snares in this world. How about the snare of sin that
is constantly trying to beset us?
How? About the snare of Satan, our
enemy. Who's?
Constantly setting traps for us to fall into along the path that
we're walking. How about the snare of the
system of this world? That's.
Constantly nagging at us. You know what we can learn from
the word of God, that God has given us clarity for any snares
that we face. Psalm 91, verse 3, the psalmist
says, surely he will save you from the deadly fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence. Surely he will deliver you.
Aren't you thankful that our God is a God who delivers us?
He says, surely he will deliver you.
Psalm 124. It says if the Lord had not been
on our side, let Israel say if the Lord had not been on our
side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us,
they would have swallowed us alive.
The flood would have engulfed us.
The torrent would have swept over us.
The raging waters would have swept us away.
Praise be to the Lord who has not let us be torn by their
teeth. We have escaped like a bird out
of the Fowler's snare. The snare has been broken and we
have escaped. Watch what he says in verse 8.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and
earth. Aren't you thankful this
morning, if you're in Christ, that He has, by the light of His
Word, freed you from the snare of Satan and the snare of sin
and the snare of this sinful world?
May we rejoice in that. May we trust in God's protection
for all of the snares that we might face along the waist.
Proverbs 325 says, Have No Fear of sudden disaster of the ruin
that overtakes the wicked. He says, for the Lord will be
your confidence. It will keep your foot from
being snared. Well, how does this happen?
By the light of God's Word. It's God's Word who reveals to
you that is another snare set by the enemy, that is another snare
set by your own sin. That is another snare of this
sinful, wicked world. These are snares and God's Word
shows us what they are. We don't preach legalism to you
when we say avoid those things. We say avoid those things
because the Word of God is spoken clearly on these things.
They will drag you down and they will kill you, because the wages
of sin is death. Sin is nothing to play around
with. Rely on God's protection,
trusting in Him to do as His Word says that He will do, save
us and deliver us from pestilence and from snares.
He has promised to deliver and to save all who trust in Him by
faith, according to His Word. Romans 10/13 For everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Call on Him, trusting in Him to save you.
He's faithful to save. Psalm 14518.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him
in truth, that sincerity of heart for all who call on Him
with a sincere heart. And you know how you call on Him
with a sincere heart. He gives you a new heart that is
sincere, and that heart calls on Him in desperation, trusting in
the clarity of His Word and what He has said to rescue all who
call on His name. So the Word gives us clear
reason to trust in God, doesn't it?
To trust in His Providence, to trust in His promises.
But fifthly, is it OK if I finish the fifth point this
morning? Is anyone still here?
Are you OK with that? I don't really care.
But I ask with insincere courtesy.
Because we're going to look at the 5th part because it's part
of this text. The Word of God gives us clarity
for fifthly persevering because many have forgotten in this
messed up world that we live in where we call apostatizing from
the faith, simply deconstructing, lightening the
load and softening it up a bit. They forget that we are called
to persevere, and it is through the Word that we clearly learn
how we are to persevere in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is His Word that teaches us, and so let.
Us. Look at that, he says.
In verse 111, your statues are MyHeritage forever.
They are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your
decrees to the very end. You know what you call a person
who was once a Christian and is no longer a Christian?
A person. Who was never a Christian.
Don't dare give them the compliment of telling them that
they just deconstructed in their faith.
We hear this all the time. Well I want my child, this is a
parent, to have faith of their own.
They encourage the kid to go out and get faith of their own.
The kid goes out and gets faith of their own and it's Buddhism
or it's Islam or some other false ideology.
Nothing at all, just relative truth.
No, if your father and your mother taught you about the
faith, the faith in Christ, the real faith that comes through
the gospel, if they have taught you about that, please do not
depart from your mother and your father's faith.
Be thankful that God allowed you to be raised in a home where
they taught you the truth and stand in that truth.
And how do you do this? How do you stand in this truth?
How do you persevere? Through the perspicuity of
Scripture, you go back to Scripture and Scripture teaches,
teaches you exactly how to do this.
He says your statutes are MyHeritage forever, my eternal
heritage, the things you have promised God.
That's what I hold on to. That's what I cling to.
He says those things are forever.
And he says this, they're the joy of my heart.
Christian, we are to persevere according to Scripture with
rejoicing. Rejoicing.
Not Oh. Man, I'm still fighting the good
fight sounds. Fun.
No, we're to persevere with joy in our heart according to the
word. Is that not what Paul said in
Philippians chapter 4, verse 4? Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again. Rejoice now where he was.
He was actually at the Ritz Carlton, out by the pool.
And he was enjoying the sun and and and and and the warm weather
and everything was nice. No, that's not where he was when
Paul wrote this. He was, as we learned when we
walked through Philippians verse by verse and we saw his heart,
he was chained to a Roman guard 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. And even then that he learned to
rejoice while he was imprisoned. He rejoiced in the Lord always.
And he even reiterated again, I say rejoice, oh Christian, the
Scriptures teach us to rejoice even in the midst of everything
that we have to persevere through, to rejoice according to
the word of God, to persevere with joy as we.
Conceive God's clear and eternal promises.
That's how we're going to have joy.
We keep going back to the Word. You say one day.
One day this will all be passed. One day this will all be over.
One day this will all be worth it.
One day we will see him face to face.
One day he will embrace me with his nail scar hands.
And he will, He will kiss the cheek, my Savior, kiss the cheek
of this once wretched Sinner welcomed me into his fellowship
for all eternity. One day I can trust in that, and
so can all of you in Christ. Rejoice.
Rejoice that though we have to persevere for a little while,
help is on the way. Our deliverer will return just
as he's promised. Oh, it's clear in Scripture.
Oh, rejoice as you persevere, conceiving God's clear and
eternal promises. Rejoice as you persevere,
convinced that every promise of God is true.
How many of you understand every single one of them?
All. Of God's promises are yes and
Amen to those of us who are in. Christ Jesus, when you read a
promise in the Old Testament and you're in Christ, say this.
That's for me the redemption that's promised, the forgiveness
that's promised, the Messiah that's promised for me.
Thank You, Lord, that You promised me such clear things in
Your Word. Let me hold on to them with
rejoicing in my heart and rejoicing from my lives.
For the psalmist is here today. Your statues are MyHeritage.
They are the joy of my heart. He's rejoicing, clinging to
God's Word constantly. Or may we cling to His Word
constantly, knowing that the clear truth of Scripture Trump's
every other thing, our feelings, our thoughts, our anxieties.
May we trust His word as we persevere rejoicing in Him.
Not only is He teaching us, and does the Lord teach us in His
word to persevere rejoicing, but He teaches us, as the Psalmist
gives an example here, to persevere resolved.
Look how resolved he is. I admire this greatly.
He says. My heart is set on keeping your
decrees to the very end. What resolve?
He says. I have set my heart to obey you
all the way to the end. No matter what I have to
persevere through, I'm going to rejoice and I'm going to obey
you all the way to the end. He's resolved setting our hearts
on persevering obediently in the faith until our life on earth is
finished so that we can share with the apostle Paul when he
says things like this. Second Timothy, chapter 4 for.
Seven. I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race. I have kept the faith.
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness with the
Lord, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to
me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have
longed for his appearing. Oh, keep pressing on.
Keep fighting the good fight so that one day you can rejoice.
As the apostle Paul is rejoicing here, he's not fretting because
he's about to enter into the presence of the Lord.
He's been longing for this day. He's been longing to see him
since the day that he saved him. And he says with great
confidence and great hope, because his whole life as a
Christian, he was resolved to obey the mission that God had
laid out in his word through his Spirit in his life.
And finally he gets to say, I fought the good fight.
I finished the course. I've kept the faith.
Many of you. Know that John MacArthur passed
away this week and I can't help but think of him.
If you know Pastor John MacArthur, he is no longer with
us and I can promise this. He don't want to come back here,
but he fought the good fight. He finished his course and he
kept the faith. What encouragement to us we
ought to be that encouragement to other believers resolved in
our Christianity to do what it is that God in his word has
clearly defined for us to do as we persevere, as we bring him
glory until the day that we get to hear those words of Matthew
25. For Jesus says, well done, good
and faithful servant. Oh, what a day that will be for
those of us who resolved to walk in obedience to the Word of God.
What a day that will be when we get to hear that knowing full
well we deserve none of that, that He acknowledges the work
that He did in us that allowed us to persevere with resolve.
And we get to think Him laying our crowns at His feet and
worshiping Him for all eternity for what He has done for us.
Well, the Word of God gives us clarity for persevering.
Rejoice, be resolved, fight the good fight, press on in the
faith. Hebrews chapter 12 tells us
this. Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that easily entangles, and
let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
He says, Then let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and
Perfector of our faith. For the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such
opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and
lose heart right there in His word.
Clarity on how do we persevere to Christ, We fix our eyes upon
him. We say thank you Lord, and you
did not quit on me. And as the psalmist says here, I
will not quit on you. My heart is set on keeping your
decrees to the very end. Thank you Lord for the work that
you have done in me. Setting our hearts on
persevering obediently in the faith, resolved to do that,
Resolved. Surrendered to God and to His
word all of our days without compromise.
Listen, this is not a one time thing.
It's sad that Christianity in our culture has been reduced to
A1 time thing. Say this little prayer and ask
Jesus in your heart and then you go to heaven.
Oh, Christianity is so much more than that.
Christianity is persevering in the faith.
Your entire life surrendered to God because of what Jesus Christ
clearly has done for us according to his word.
John 831 as we prepare to close it says to the Jews who had
believed him, they had had knowledge, had belief, no true
life changing hard knowledge. Jesus said if you hold to my
teaching, you are really my disciples.
If you hold to my teaching, if you resolve to do what my word
clearly says, he says, then you can know this be really one of
my disciples, Matthew 24 verse 13.
He says he who stands firm to the end will be saved well.
That's for all the people who have ignored the Word of God in
the clarity and scripture. In.
Regard to persevering in the faith, saying that they've
deconstructed. Listen, my friend, you have not
deconstructed. You have apostatized from the
faith. You are as guilty as Judas
Iscariot. I pray that God would have mercy
on your soul. We must persevere and the Word
of God has given us all the clarity we need to know what
that looks like. All the perspicuity of Scripture
has shown us clarity for these areas of our life.
Oh, do you see it? Do you walk in it?
Clarity for living, Clarity for suffering.
Clarity for worshiping. Clarity for trusting.
Clarity for persevering. I'll speak for myself on this.
I'm thankful for his clarity in all those areas of my life so
that I'm not confused by the faults of men.
So I. Asked the Christian today, if
you're here with us today and you claim to know Christ, are
you looking to the perspicuity of Scripture?
It's clear teachings. Are you looking to those clear
teachings to lead you and guide you in your Christian life?
You're not going to find clarity in how to live the Christian
life anywhere else. His Word as He began, this is a
lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths.
He just word that to you, giving you clarity to your entire life,
to the unbeliever. May you see that God has been
equally clear to you who are not in Christ in regard to the
gospel, in regard to what the Word says.
It's true and the word is spoken that all men ascend and fall
short of the glory of God, that there is none righteous.
No, not one, no one seeks after him.
John in the 3rd chapter the Lord himself says if we don't
believe, we are condemned all ready.
The thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ.
John chapter 3 also says that God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him will
not perish, but have everlasting life.
A promise from the word of God. Just as much as a promise to
those who don't believe, there's a promise to those who do
believe. Those who don't believe are
condemned already. They will spend an eternity
under the wrath of God in hell. And that's clear in Scripture.
Oh, I know it's not clear in culture.
We're not talking about the perspicuity of culture.
The culture is not clear at all. We're talking about the clarity
of Scripture. The Scripture has spoken if
you're not in Christ, you will spend an eternal death in hell.
But today that can change for you.
Today you can believe and you can trust in Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Savior. You can cry out to Him as God
opens your heart to see the truth as He regenerates your
dead heart to believe. You can't experience all the
promises of God in regard to salvation, forgiveness of sin,
and eternal life by turning to Jesus Christ as your Lord and
Savior today. My prayer for you is that you
would repent and turn to Christ while there's still time.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we
come to you thinking for Your word and the clarity that you
bring from Your Word. God, I pray today that clarity
has come to many. I pray to the believer that they
see the importance of Your word in their life as they walk this
path, as they walk the Christian life.
Lord, may they receive clarity in every aspect of your life
from Scripture. Lord, I pray for the lost soul
who's here today, that today it's been made clear to them
that unless they repent and turn to Christ, there is no eternal
hope for them in heaven, in your presence communing with you,
there is no hope of forgiveness, no hope of eternal life apart
from Jesus Christ. That today, Lord, you would turn
their hearts to see the truth and they would surrender to
Christ as Lord and Savior. Make that clear to them now.
And we pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.
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