1 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:06,160 You are listening to Key Life Fellowship's Pulpit Ministry 2 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,640 podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,360 learn from God's Word together. For more information about Key 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:17,200 Life Fellowship, visit us on the web at keylifefellow-ship.com. 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:24,600 Amen. What a an honor as we sing that 6 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,800 reminder. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God 7 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:32,000 Almighty. What an honor that because of 8 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:37,600 Christ we can now dwell and live in the presence of the one true 9 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,320 and living God who we were once alienated and cut off from. 10 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:51,480 Anyone thankful for that this morning, they don't ever want us 11 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:54,920 to lose sight of that privilege, the fact that we get to come in 12 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:59,120 and to abide in the presence of God because of Christ. 13 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,680 So if you have your Bibles this morning as we prepare our hearts 14 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,280 and our minds to receive instruction from the Word of 15 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:11,440 God, if you would turn to Psalm 119, I know that's no shocker to 16 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,920 any of you who have been around Key Life Fellowship for any 17 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:15,760 amount of time. When I told you that we were 18 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:17,960 going to start at verse one and we were going to walk all the 19 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:19,840 way through, that's exactly what I meant. 20 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,640 And we're going to continue to do that as the psalmist is going 21 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:28,640 to continue to break down these eight verse sections and to 22 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,000 teach us so many things that the Lord has taught him. 23 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,480 And we come today to the Hebrew letter Hey, which is spelled in 24 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,680 our English translation HE and he is going to begin another 8 25 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,640 verses that we are going to teach together, simply because 26 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,200 they belong together. And as we. 27 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:52,960 See in this section today in our series entitled Living a Life in 28 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,480 the In the Light of God's Word, the Psalmist is going to again, 29 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:02,640 as he will through this entire chapter of the Psalms, he is 30 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:07,160 going to again put great emphasis on the word of God over 31 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:09,600 and over and over again. And let me just tell you 32 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:13,000 something for any of you who are already at the point where you 33 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,280 say, man, I, I, I've heard enough about the word of God. 34 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:21,360 You have a spiritual condition and it's not a good condition. 35 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,280 And I pray that God would change your heart, because we're going 36 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,800 to see as we continue journeying through the 119th Psalm, that 37 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,240 had God not preserved His word for us, we would be in a 38 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,000 dreadful state, never hearing the truth, never learning the 39 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,160 truth, never receiving the wisdom and the knowledge from 40 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:40,600 God that He desires that we have. 41 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,160 But God has preserved his truth, and He has preserved his truth 42 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,000 for a reason. And that is so that we can walk 43 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,400 in the light of God's Word. And today, as we are walking in 44 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,920 the light of God's Word, we're going to see the Psalmist teach 45 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:56,880 us about knowing and trusting the great God of the Bible, 46 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,160 knowing and trusting him. And let me just make this very 47 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:06,360 clear that to know someone and to trust someone, that's two 48 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:10,360 totally different things. Because in order for us to trust 49 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,960 someone, they must be trustworthy. 50 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,080 And the psalmist is going to speak of God, and he's going to 51 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:20,480 speak of God as he truly is trustworthy and faithful to 52 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,640 everything that he has said and everything that he has promised 53 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,000 in his Word. And so it's. 54 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:32,880 Crucial this morning that we learn three things about God in 55 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,160 light of what the psalmist is reflecting toward us as we read 56 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,480 this. And that is this we can know and 57 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,800 trust God in these areas. And and that first area is this 58 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,600 God as our instructor, our teacher, the one who we learn 59 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,120 from because we are truly learning principles that are 60 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:52,840 outside of the scope of humanity. 61 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,520 When we open the word of God, we are learning supernatural and 62 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,120 sovereign truths. And so we need a supernatural 63 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,040 and sovereign instructor. And the psalmist understood God 64 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,960 as his instructor. We're also going to see that he 65 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,320 understood God as his director, the one who was directing his 66 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,440 steps and leading his life. And he was submitting to God's 67 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:18,519 word to receive that direction and, and, and that leadership in 68 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:20,880 his life. And then thirdly, the psalmist 69 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,400 is going to talk about God as his preserver. 70 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,840 And where would we all? Be had God not and and if God 71 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:34,080 ceased to continue to preserve us both in our physical lives 72 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,360 but also in our spiritual lives. And so I want us to see the 73 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,680 emphasis that the psalmist is going to make on all three of 74 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:46,000 those aspects of the great God of the Bible, because it is in 75 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:51,400 that that the psalmist really learned not just about God, but 76 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,840 he learned to trust the God that he knew to be those things. 77 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:59,280 And I pray that's what we learn in this message today. 78 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:04,120 So verse 33, right after the Hebrew letter, hey, it says 79 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:09,720 this, teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees, and then I 80 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,200 will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I 81 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:16,600 will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart. 82 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:21,320 Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find 83 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,400 delight. Turn my heart toward your 84 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:28,200 statutes and not toward selfish gain. 85 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,240 Turn my eyes away from worthless things. 86 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,280 Preserve my life according to your word. 87 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:40,280 Fulfill the promise to your servant so that you may be 88 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:43,880 feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, 89 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:49,200 for your laws are good. How I long for your precepts. 90 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:54,680 Preserve my life in your righteousness. 91 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:56,640 Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we 92 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,600 come to you now, thanking you for Your word that You have 93 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,880 throughout the ages preserved for us. 94 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,280 Not only so that we may know you and what a privilege and what an 95 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:12,680 honor it is to know you, but Lord also so that we can trust 96 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,360 You. That we can know that our God is 97 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:21,120 faithful to everything that He has promised and everything that 98 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:25,120 He has said. That we can count on you not 99 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:30,960 just some of the time, but 100% of every second of every minute, 100 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:36,320 of every hour, of every day, of every week, of every month, and 101 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,280 every year that we exist. And for all eternity we can 102 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:45,000 trust in your faithfulness. God, I pray as we learn that 103 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,840 even more today from the psalmist who knew you and who 104 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:53,240 trusted you, that we would lean into You, trusting You more and 105 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,840 more as our teacher instructor, as our guide in our direction 106 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:01,320 for our lives, as the One who preserves us. 107 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,840 Thank you, Lord, for your word, how you remind us of these 108 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:06,960 things over and over and over again. 109 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,120 Holy Spirit, we ask now that you would teach us these truths, 110 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,200 that you would make them real to us and we would apply them to 111 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,920 our lives. We pray these things in Christ's 112 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,960 name, Amen. So as the psalmist unfolds this 113 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,960 short chorus of eight verses, here he is speaking, of course, 114 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:32,240 of the fact that we can, as I have already said, not only no, 115 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,120 but we can trust God and we can trust God in these certain 116 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,600 areas. Look what He says there in verse 117 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,240 33 of Psalm 119. We're going to jump right into 118 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,480 this because there is a lot here. 119 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,760 If you were serving somewhere in the 9:00 service, you know that 120 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,880 there must have been, right? And so we jump in very quickly. 121 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:58,320 And he says this in verse 33. Teach me, O Lord, to follow your 122 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,320 decrees, and then I will keep them to the end. 123 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,080 In 34, He says, give me understanding and I will keep 124 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,760 Your law and obey it with all my heart. 125 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:09,960 So what is the psalmist doing here? 126 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,120 I don't want us to miss this. I don't want us just to read 127 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,280 through this and and think that there's nothing being said here 128 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,400 because there's some very important principles that often 129 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,520 times we forget. The psalmist is confirming his 130 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:22,680 need here and and his need for what? 131 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,840 He's confirming his need to be taught. 132 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:32,640 By God and not by men. He desires to be taught directly 133 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,799 by God. He values God's wisdom and his 134 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:42,919 instruction, and he wants it from God himself, an education 135 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:45,880 that he could not receive anywhere else. 136 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,400 He is saying, Lord, I need you to teach me. 137 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:52,320 I need you to give me understanding. 138 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:57,960 And he rightfully acknowledges, and he calls on the Lord as his 139 00:08:57,960 --> 00:08:59,480 instructor. I know what some of you are 140 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:00,880 thinking, Kirk, what are you doing? 141 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:03,960 You are about to preach yourself out of a job. 142 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,720 That's not so. The true preacher, one who is 143 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,960 definitely called by God, will only constantly remind God's 144 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,960 people of the things that God has said. 145 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,200 And so when I stand in this pulpit, let these not be my 146 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,280 words that I teach, because my words in and of themselves have 147 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:28,320 no eternal value. However, when I teach the 148 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,720 scriptures, I am teaching the very word of God. 149 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:36,200 God breathed Holy Spirit inspired words to His people. 150 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,280 I know all of my critics. They get upset with that, right? 151 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,760 Stop teaching the Bible so much and just entertain us a little. 152 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:47,880 Tell us a funny story, tell us a joke. 153 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,680 Give us some entertainment. I'm so thankful that we're not a 154 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:56,640 church who's built on jokes and entertainment, but a church who 155 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:00,640 was built on receiving instruction directly from God. 156 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,880 And how does He instruct us? It's through His Word. 157 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:09,880 His Word instructs us about everything we need in this life. 158 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,760 The psalmist understands that. The Psalmist values that he 159 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,840 knows that the Lord is his instructor. 160 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,880 Oh dear Church, please don't ever say that I am your primary 161 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:31,760 instructor because all I can really do is just remind you 162 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:39,320 what God has already said. That is why I take such diligent 163 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:44,560 care. To spend time week after week 164 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:49,760 after week digging through the scriptures, desiring and praying 165 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,480 to know Lord. What are you saying to your 166 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,720 people here? Because I have no desire to be a 167 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:01,880 stand up comedian or to be entertaining for a group of 168 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:06,160 people who could care less about knowing and trusting God. 169 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:12,760 I literally want to proclaim to you what God has proclaimed in 170 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,800 His Word so that God can be your instructor. 171 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:22,440 The psalmist getting that, that God is his instructor, that God 172 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,760 is the instructor who is teaching His children, any 173 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,600 children of God here who are thankful that God teaches us 174 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:34,480 directly. Our heavenly Father teaches us 175 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,160 directly. In fact, if you were in Christ 176 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:43,680 here today, know this, that God is teaching you through His Word 177 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:46,520 this very moment as we read through the Scriptures. 178 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:55,480 It is His word into your heart. Not only that, He has sent His 179 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,360 Spirit to live in each and everyone of you who are in 180 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:04,760 Christ, to always be with you and always be instructing you in 181 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:09,160 regard to His Word, enlightening you to the truths that are found 182 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:13,400 in Scripture. So He desires to teach His 183 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:15,200 children. Now let me just say this, it is 184 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,920 a privilege to be taught by God Himself, because this is a 185 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,320 special teaching. This is not for everyone. 186 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:28,720 In fact, a person who is not in Christ cannot understand the 187 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,160 things of the Spirit. That's what Paul tells us. 188 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:37,720 But those of us who have been counted in Christ, we receive 189 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:41,040 special teaching from our Heavenly Father that he has 190 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,240 promised to deliver to his children. 191 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,480 Psalm 1/19/99. I turn your attention there and 192 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,800 and knowing this, that in some weeks we will get to this text 193 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,520 and we will preach it again. But the psalmist says this in 194 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,560 verse 99 of the 119. He says I have more insight than 195 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:00,560 all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 196 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:03,360 What was the psalmist saying? Was he being arrogant here? 197 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,080 Not at all. He was saying the knowledge that 198 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:12,400 I have received from the Word of God as He teaches me, that 199 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:17,200 knowledge and that wisdom is incomparable in comparison to my 200 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,280 worldly teachers. My worldly teachers, as 201 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:24,920 intelligent as they may be, they know nothing in comparison to 202 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,440 what I can learn directly from God as one of His children. 203 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:34,120 To know that He is giving me this special teaching that comes 204 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:40,880 from Him, a teaching directly from God Himself to His own 205 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:42,600 children. You say what? 206 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,560 Isn't it crazy that we spend so much time in so-called churches 207 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:50,160 talking about so many trivial things and never stopping to 208 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,600 talk about the privilege, the reality that God himself is 209 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:57,480 teaching his children? Look at John chapter. 6 Jesus 210 00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,040 understood this principle, and he taught on it. 211 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:02,800 John chapter 6 verse 44, it says, no one can come to me 212 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,960 unless the Father who sent me draws him. 213 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,440 Did you know this? You can't even come to Christ 214 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:11,200 unless the Father first teaches you through His Holy Spirit, 215 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:16,320 unless He teaches you. Your need for a Savior, unless 216 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,480 He opens your eyes to the fact that you are a Sinner and there 217 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,800 is only one hope for a Sinner, and that hope is the Lord Jesus 218 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:24,600 Christ. And how do we know these truths? 219 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:28,160 These truths are contained within the pages of Scripture. 220 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:32,560 To know that it is Jesus Christ, the only name given under heaven 221 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,880 whereby men must be saved, who came to this earth as God 222 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:39,160 Incarnate, who died on a cross, who was buried, and who rose 223 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,880 again on the third day, just as He said that He would. 224 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,880 And it is God Himself who opens your eyes to that teaching. 225 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,240 And it is that teaching that sets you free from sin, and sets 226 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,000 you free from your wickedness, and sets you free from the wrath 227 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:57,000 of God that will come upon all unbelieving, unrepentant 228 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,960 sinners. And so it is God who first 229 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,120 teaches us anything in regard to Jesus Christ. 230 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:08,880 It is God who sovereignly regenerates us, making us one of 231 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:13,560 His own, so that we are now teachable, filling us in, 232 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:15,560 indwelling us with His Holy Spirit. 233 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,920 Who is that ever abiding teacher in the lives of believers? 234 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,080 So we've received teaching directly from God. 235 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,840 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, 236 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,240 and I will raise him up at the last day. 237 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,960 It is written in the prophets. Watch what I'm showing you here. 238 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,680 They will all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to the 239 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:38,920 Father and learns from Him comes to me. 240 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:43,520 It is God. Who pointed you to your need for 241 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:45,800 a Savior? It is God who pointed you to the 242 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:49,840 fact that you are a Sinner. It is not some preacher who does 243 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:51,720 that or some teacher who does that. 244 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,560 It is only a preacher or a teacher who is repeating for you 245 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,040 the word of God that there is none righteous, no, not one, and 246 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,920 that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal 247 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:03,600 life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 248 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,400 Those are not our words. Those are the very words of God. 249 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:12,000 It is the word of God that says, if we believe in that Jesus who 250 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,800 Scripture speaks of, He will grant to us eternal life and 251 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,880 forgiveness of sin. That is not something that man 252 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,600 has made-up. That is the very words and the 253 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,520 promise of God. And so our great instructor, our 254 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:32,280 teacher, teaches his children, drawing them unto himself, that 255 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:37,320 he may teach them directly. What a privilege it is. 256 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:42,080 Isn't that not what Isaiah said? And Isaiah 54 was going to 257 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:46,360 transpire, He says in verse 13. All your sons will be be taught 258 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:50,800 by the Lord, and great will be your children's peace. 259 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:56,560 Parents, teach your children this principle is that every 260 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:01,920 time they open this book they are being taught directly by 261 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,000 God. This is not man's word, this is 262 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:09,160 not man's idea, this is not some philosophy of man. 263 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,440 This is God breathed, Holy Spirit inspired truth. 264 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:19,839 It is the very Word of God, infallible and inerrant, and He 265 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,880 teaches His children directly from His Word. 266 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:32,360 And so the true sons of God will be taught by their Father. 267 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:36,280 Oh, you know this. You know that your Father's 268 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,880 taught you many things in your physical, earthly lives. 269 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,960 In fact, long after, and unfortunately, all fathers will 270 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:46,400 at some point in time leave this earth. 271 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,240 At some point in time, you're going to reflect back and you're 272 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:51,880 not going to remember all the bad things. 273 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:53,080 You're going to remember the good things. 274 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:55,920 You're going to remember the lessons that were taught, and 275 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,320 you're going to tell other people, probably your children 276 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:04,360 or your grandchildren. My daddy taught me this. 277 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,160 And you're never going to forget the lessons that your earthly 278 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:11,360 father has taught you. Now I want you to understand 279 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:15,440 that principle is ever so true in regard to your heavenly 280 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,760 Father. True sons will be taught by the 281 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:26,120 Lord, and true sons will never forget what the Lord has truly 282 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:27,920 revealed to them. Spurgeon said it like this, and 283 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,880 in fact, ironically it was in his exposition of this 33rd 284 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,440 verse. Here in the 119th Psalm, he says 285 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,320 those who were taught by God never forget their lessons. 286 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:43,960 When divine grace sets a man in the true way, he will be true to 287 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,200 it. He's saying when you were 288 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:50,000 instructed directly from God, he makes sure that that is never 289 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,920 removed from your memory and you remember those things. 290 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:58,000 I find it interesting that many people can say that they have 291 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,640 been taught something by God, only to drift away from God and 292 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:02,240 to live their life for themselves. 293 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:05,280 And turn their back on the God who they say at one time taught 294 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,760 them something. Unfortunately, what we have is 295 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:11,760 we have the teaching of men many times disguised as the teaching 296 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,480 of God, the philosophies of men disguised as the wisdom of God. 297 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,440 And when those philosophies and those teachings of men wear off, 298 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,840 the people go back in the world and they return to their sin 299 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,080 because they were never truly taught by God. 300 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,840 Because when a man is taught by God, that teaching roots and it 301 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:31,960 roots forever in their life is changed from that point forward. 302 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:38,840 Spurgeon definitely identifying with that, confirming that God's 303 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,040 Word over and over teaching us that. 304 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:43,840 He says Teach me, oh Lord, to follow your decrees and then I 305 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:45,720 will keep them to the end. He said. 306 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,200 I won't forget them if you teach them to me. 307 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:51,840 Oh, I can hear all the wisdom of men, and it means nothing. 308 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,080 The Lord, when you teach me directly as your child, those 309 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:00,720 are things that will be stamped on my heart forever, and I'll 310 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,600 walk in those things. I'll keep them to the end. 311 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:08,840 So we see a God here as the psalmist instructor, one who is 312 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,400 teaching his children. But in teaching his children, 313 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,880 he's always teaching His Word. He's always teaching His Word, 314 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,120 and God delights in teaching His children His. 315 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:25,160 Word, in fact the first Kings chapter 3 verse 9, it says this. 316 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:27,760 So give your servant A discerning heart to govern your 317 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,960 people and to distinguish between right and wrong. 318 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,800 For who is able to govern this great people of yours? 319 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,360 This is Solomon asking for God to give him wisdom and to teach 320 00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:40,560 him. And then it says in verse 10, 321 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:44,520 the Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 322 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:50,240 He was pleased that Solomon would trust him to teach him 323 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:54,200 about the true wisdom, to truly teach him His word. 324 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,480 Psalm 32, verse 8, the psalmist says, I will instruct you and 325 00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:58,880 teach you in the way you should go. 326 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,040 This is the Lord speaking to him, and I will counsel you and 327 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,280 watch over you. What a joy to know that we have 328 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,680 God as our teacher, as his children. 329 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,640 We can trust that he teaches us. He shows us the way that we 330 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,240 should go and He counsels us and he watches over us that that's 331 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,920 the three things that we're going to see come out of this 332 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:20,840 Psalm that we're looking at today. 333 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,200 God is our instructor, teaching his children and teaching his 334 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:30,320 children his word. Psalmist knew that he must be 335 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,040 taught some things. The only problem with many 336 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,200 people in the church, they already know everything. 337 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:38,280 They already have so much knowledge that they think they 338 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:40,280 know everything, and there's no one who can teach them anything 339 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,600 else, not even God himself. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going 340 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,320 to break the news to you. God's knowledge and wisdom is 341 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,160 infinite. You can spend every second of 342 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,720 the rest of your life learning about Him and truly learning 343 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,440 about Him, and you are never going to exhaust fully who He 344 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:58,360 is. So there's always room for us to 345 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:02,200 learn more about God and to learn to trust our God more. 346 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:04,920 Where do we learn this? We learn this through the 347 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,560 Scripture. Let me help everyone else who 348 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,000 would be LED astray by common teaching these days. 349 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:11,880 We learn this through the Scripture alone. 350 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:18,640 In fact, I would implore every single one of you, when I teach 351 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,520 something from this pulpit, if you do not filter it through the 352 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:23,760 pages of Scripture, you are a fool. 353 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,720 Because many a fool have been LED astray by some slick talking 354 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,240 man who gave them some slick talking teaching that was not 355 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:33,480 biblical at all. Though he stood in a pulpit and 356 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,440 though he stood with a Bible open, he was not teaching them 357 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,960 the word of God. So when you were here and you 358 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,680 were learning, I pray that your Bible is open and that you. 359 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,600 Are. Holding this fallible man 360 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,320 accountable, and that you are looking, is he teaching and is 361 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:52,640 he instructing from the word of God? 362 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,120 And if he is not teaching and instructing from the word of 363 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:59,800 God, it is just his opinion. Now I try to do a good job at 364 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,640 this, and if I give you my opinion, and sometimes I do, I 365 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:04,800 try to preface it with this. This is how hard it is to 366 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:06,680 understand. This is what Kirk thinks. 367 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:12,160 Now, what Kirk thinks really doesn't matter in comparison to 368 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,000 what God says. That's why I would encourage you 369 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:18,480 strongly, not just myself. If God moves you off and you're 370 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,160 sitting under another man's teaching, take the Word of God 371 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,240 and filter every single principle and every precept and 372 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,480 every doctrine and every thought that that man gives to you 373 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,720 through the Holy Scriptures. Why? 374 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:32,720 Because that's the very Word of God, and that's what He teaches 375 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:33,520 us. From. 376 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:38,480 We have to get back to an ideology of sola scriptura where 377 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,960 we say that it is the scripture alone that dictates what we 378 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,640 believe, that dictates our relationship to God and dictates 379 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,080 our knowledge of God and our understanding of who God is and 380 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,480 who God isn't. So it's very important that you 381 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:57,120 see that God teaches us directly from His Word what a gracious 382 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:03,320 God he is, that he has preserved his word for us throughout the 383 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,920 ages so that we can have it, that it has not been his desire 384 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,880 to hide it from us. The psalmist here says, Oh Lord, 385 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:16,160 teach me to follow your decrees. There are things that God has 386 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,480 decreed for. US, we don't have to run. 387 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,120 Run around frantically as if we're searching for these 388 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:23,920 things. Open the word of God, find out 389 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:28,480 what God has decreed for his people, or teach us your decrees 390 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,640 and teach us how to follow your decrees. 391 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:32,160 We know you've revealed them to us. 392 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,600 You haven't hidden them. You haven't made this difficult. 393 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,800 Deuteronomy 2929 that the secret things belong to God and the 394 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,720 revealed things belong to man. God, show me all the things that 395 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,960 you desire to reveal to me in Your Word. 396 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:49,280 He's faithful to do so as he teaches His Word to the children 397 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,640 that He loves. Preserving the Scriptures so 398 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,720 that we can have them. Oh, so many times. 399 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:57,560 We pick up our Bible. We take it for granted. 400 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,240 Many of you have many volumes, many copies, many translations. 401 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,760 There was a time when men were giving their lives just to have 402 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,760 one for entire cities and villages. 403 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:12,760 We all have them in our hand. We all have them on our 404 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:18,600 electronic devices. Yet so many times we fail to 405 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:20,040 trust God for the instruction we need. 406 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,160 You know how I say that you fail? 407 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:24,160 Because you don't open the pages of Scripture. 408 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:26,640 You don't open the pages of Scripture. 409 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,400 And unless you have somehow become all knowing and all wise, 410 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:35,440 which you have not, you still are in need of God's 411 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:37,560 instruction, His teaching from His Word. 412 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:44,200 God has decreed things in His Word that we must have Him teach 413 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,600 us so that we can obey those things. 414 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,160 So his word teaches us what he's decreed, but is all His word 415 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,560 also teaches us what God demands. 416 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:56,440 Look, he mentions his law, and I will keep your law and obey it 417 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,040 with all my heart. I know in a. 418 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,040 Society where we have created a weak and impotent God. 419 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:06,320 The word demand alongside of God is something that bothers some 420 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,560 of you. Can I insert this, that God has 421 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:14,160 full right to demand and command whatever it is that He desires 422 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:19,280 and wills to demand and command? And I will not reduce Him to 423 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,600 some weak and impotent deity who does not have that right. 424 00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:26,840 He has every right, especially in the lives of His children, to 425 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,680 tell you what you are to do. All of you who are in the room 426 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:35,080 today, you know as parents you have a right as a parent, don't 427 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,520 you? To demand and to command your 428 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:42,040 children to do what it is that you desire them to do. 429 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:45,840 Why should our Heavenly Father not have that same right? 430 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,360 In fact, whether you give it to Him or whether you don't, He has 431 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:50,840 that right. You don't have to acknowledge 432 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,120 it. You will do it His way. 433 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:59,920 You'll do it the hard way. But He has the right to demand 434 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:02,240 the things of His people. And it is in the teaching of His 435 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:04,280 Word that we know what these things. 436 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:10,120 Are. I know in our limp wristed weak 437 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:14,920 society we don't like anyone telling us what to do. 438 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,600 You got it all figured out. Did you know that's weak? 439 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,200 That's weak. You don't have it all figured 440 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:23,880 out. You do need help, and you do 441 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,480 need help from God, and you do need instruction from God. 442 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,640 To pretend that you have it all figured out shows your weakness. 443 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,360 Your weakness is your own pride. And you have to be humbled to 444 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:37,160 the point, just as the psalmist is here, where he says, God, I 445 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,680 need your instruction. I need you to teach me. 446 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,360 I need you to teach me your word. 447 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,440 Before you ever open the pages of Scripture, you better bow the 448 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,720 knee. Lord, teach me what Your Word 449 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,840 says. Teach me what this means for my 450 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:59,640 life. Reveal Your Word to me so that I 451 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,680 will keep Your law and so that I will obey it with all of my 452 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:07,080 heart, so that I will follow your decrees and follow them to 453 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,440 the end. So we see our instructor here 454 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:12,680 being highlighted by the Psalmist who teaches his 455 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,040 children, who teaches His Word to us. 456 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:20,320 Many have asked, why do you teach through an entire book of 457 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:22,760 the Bible? In this sense, it's an entire 458 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:27,760 passage of the Bible because God has preserved it to teach you 459 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,400 something. And if I were to jump from place 460 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:33,280 to place to place, you wouldn't receive all of the teaching that 461 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:36,160 He has designed for that passage of Scripture or that book in 462 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,880 Scripture to teach you. And so we. 463 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,000 Open it up and we walk from the first verse all the way to the 464 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:43,680 last verse, all the while praying. 465 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:45,640 Lord, instruct us, teach us in Your Word. 466 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,280 Why? So that we'll follow Your 467 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:54,160 decrees, keep them to the end, so that we'll keep Your law and 468 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:58,320 obey it with all of our hearts. Shouldn't that be our desire as 469 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:00,760 children of God to learn from God, to learn His Word being 470 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:03,000 taught by God? And then watch this. 471 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,600 The psalmist doesn't stop there in regard to our instructor. 472 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:07,840 Our instructor is teaching his children. 473 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,960 He's teaching his word, but he's teaching for results. 474 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:15,040 I love this part because so many people, especially in the 475 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,680 theological realm, are just interested in collecting 476 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:19,280 knowledge. They want to be the smartest 477 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,120 theologian. Around and I've met those guys. 478 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:25,840 Some of them have become such smart theologians that they're 479 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:27,720 smarter than God in their own minds. 480 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:34,040 Be very leery of that attitude where you think you have God all 481 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:36,480 figured out and you can somehow reduce him to some type of 482 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:42,280 system. God is talking here through the 483 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:47,520 Psalmist about the fact that our teacher teaches for results, 484 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:50,920 meaning this He doesn't teach just so that we can know a whole 485 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:55,080 bunch of deep truth. He wasn't just simply teaching 486 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,520 the psalmist so that the psalmist could be well versed in 487 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,000 the Scripture, so he can impress his friends about all the 488 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,160 Scripture he's memorized, all the Scripture that he knows, but 489 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:05,960 he's literally teaching for results. 490 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:08,760 He's teaching so that the psalmist will live these things 491 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:12,040 out. And we know we need that in the 492 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,080 church, don't we? More than anything in our day, 493 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,360 Not more knowledge. You, you have more knowledge 494 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,120 than any generation that has ever come through this world. 495 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:22,520 You have knowledge at your fingertips. 496 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,240 Where we lack is not knowledge and access to knowledge. 497 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:30,800 Even in regard to God's Word, we lack an application. 498 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,120 We lack in the results that God desires. 499 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:34,280 What does he desire? Well. 500 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:38,040 What did the Psalmist say? Follow his decrees. 501 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,400 Keep them to the end. Consistency in our lives being 502 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,520 sold out. Followers of Christ desiring to 503 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,200 please Him with every aspect of our life. 504 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:49,040 He says give me understanding in 34. 505 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,680 Why did he want understanding? Not so that he could be smarter 506 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,240 than everyone else, so he can understand God's law, so that he 507 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,400 could keep God's law and he could obey it with all his 508 00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,320 heart. The psalmist knew full well what 509 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:01,920 it means to disobey the Lord. Remember the last message. 510 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,880 He was in the dust, broken over his sin because he had disobeyed 511 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,520 the Lord in some fashion. And God brought revival in his 512 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:09,040 heart. And now God has brought revival 513 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:11,240 in his heart. And now God is teaching him. 514 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:13,880 What is he teaching? Him. 515 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:17,960 He's teaching him that it's not enough just to know the Word of 516 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,680 God because the psalmist knew the Word of God and he ignored 517 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,480 it and it led him into sin. He's saying we also have to 518 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:29,080 apply the Word of God. The Bible was never given just 519 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:31,920 as a book full of information for you to memorize. 520 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:37,840 It was given so that we would live out the truths in the Bible 521 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:41,760 that we do memorize. James 122 We know what James 522 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:43,560 says. He says do not merely listen to 523 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:45,080 the word and so deceive yourself. 524 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:49,880 Do what it says. That that, that is resoundingly 525 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:52,200 similar to what the psalmist is saying here. 526 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:57,080 I want to do what your word says, and I need you to teach me 527 00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:00,040 exactly what your word says. Not so that I can puff up, 528 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:03,560 because knowledge puffs up. Not so that I can puff up. 529 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:09,000 But so that I can obey, you know what I would to God I pray to 530 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:14,520 God, I I genuinely do that God would raise up not a group of 531 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:18,640 people who know his word, though I want you to know his. 532 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:24,760 Word watch this who know his word and they obey it with 533 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:26,760 their. Full hearts. 534 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,040 Why is that my desire? Because I know in Scripture 535 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:33,360 that's God's desire, and so I pray that His will be done in 536 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:37,160 that area. So God is a God who teaches for 537 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:41,120 results. True teaching from the Word of 538 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:46,840 God will bring obedience. It will result in obedient, 539 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,240 sanctified lives. That is the. 540 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:52,080 Whole. Reason for the Word of God, that 541 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:56,240 you would be sanctified and set apart through the Word. 542 00:32:57,840 --> 00:32:59,800 So the whole. Reason that we see a lack of 543 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,520 sanctification in the so-called church and the age and the 544 00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:06,120 culture that we live in is because we can't sit still for 545 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:09,280 an hour and be taught truth from the word of God. 546 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:13,440 We have to be entertained and it can't be longer than 20 or 30 547 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:19,280 minutes or we are checking out. What a sad state that we're in. 548 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:25,000 What a sad state that we're in. If Jesus Christ himself entered 549 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:31,480 into this building today and stepped up into this pulpit and 550 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:40,640 said, let me teach you directly. Let me teach you things that 551 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:45,720 will change your entire life, would you stay? 552 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:49,880 Would you stay for hours? Would you look at your watch 553 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:54,160 every 10 seconds? No, you would be be having that 554 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:56,600 privilege of being taught directly by the Lord. 555 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,680 That's what he's saying when we open his Bible, the word Logos 556 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,800 Christ, we are being taught directly from Christ and he 557 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:06,880 teaches for results, change lives. 558 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,880 Jesus himself said this while he was teaching on this earth. 559 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,320 He said not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the 560 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:14,920 Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father. 561 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:19,800 He who actually applies that which has been taught to him or 562 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:21,840 to her, and how does he do do that? 563 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,679 Because he has truly been taught by God. 564 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:30,639 It then is effectual teaching. The sad thing is, the church is 565 00:34:30,639 --> 00:34:34,880 so inundated with the strategies and the teachings of man and the 566 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:41,880 entertainment focused on man that no one is truly learning 567 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:47,840 from God. Therefore, there are no lasting 568 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:52,080 results. When the Lord teaches, He 569 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,600 teaches for results. He teaches for results because 570 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,440 it glorifies Him. We're going to see that more 571 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:01,120 clearly as we unfold the rest of this. 572 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:05,560 So we see God as our instructor. What a joy to know that, to know 573 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:11,880 that the all lies, all knowing, omnipotent, omniscient God of 574 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:18,840 everything teaches us directly those who are in Christ, who are 575 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,200 His children. What a privilege. 576 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,040 What a privilege that so many times we don't take advantage 577 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:26,440 of. I would encourage you that this 578 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,480 day forward, take advantage of the fact that every time you 579 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:35,920 open the Bible, you receive direction and instruction right 580 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:39,600 from God himself. And if you really believe that, 581 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:42,320 let me help you. If you really believe that you 582 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:45,520 are receiving instruction from God from the Bible, you will 583 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:51,520 open the Bible often because you will need instruction often as 584 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:53,840 you walk through this dark and wretched world. 585 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:58,640 So we see the psalmist identifying God as his 586 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:03,040 instructor, but next we see this God as his director. 587 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:06,720 And he's saying, I know and I trust him not only as my 588 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:10,200 instructor and my teacher, but also as my director. 589 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:15,120 Watch his plea here, verse 35. Direct me in the path of your 590 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,040 commands. For there I find it delight. 591 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:22,160 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not towards selfish 592 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:25,120 gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless 593 00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:26,960 things. What is the psalmist saying 594 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,240 here? He's saying, God, I need your 595 00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:32,200 direction in my life. Because in and of myself I keep 596 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,760 choosing the wrong direction. I keep choosing the wrong 597 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:36,680 direction for my life. I keep choosing the wrong 598 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:38,400 direction for which path I'm supposed to go on. 599 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,080 I keep choosing the wrong direction for where my eyes 600 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:45,560 look, where my heart is focused. Lord, I need you. 601 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:52,880 To direct me in my life, I need you desperately. 602 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:55,240 Well, look at his. Please there. 603 00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:57,360 Direct me in the paths of your commands. 604 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:01,760 He knew what it was like to follow the paths of his sinful 605 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:04,320 nature. I told you before that many 606 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,400 assumed that this was David who wrote this Psalm. 607 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,800 And if it is, And I'm not going to argue with anyone. 608 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:13,040 But if it is David knew what it means to choose your own path 609 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,600 and and to to choose the route that your sinful nature desires. 610 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:19,520 We have it documented in Scripture that that he knows 611 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,800 fully about that. And so here this man is saying, 612 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:25,840 Lord direct me in the path of your commands. 613 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:29,560 For at the heart of everything, they're my delight. 614 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:34,560 What is he saying? When I went on my own path, it 615 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:38,080 was not very delightful. I faced your discipline in my 616 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:40,120 life. I faced your correction in my 617 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:41,720 life. I faced your conviction in my 618 00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:42,960 life. Remember David, when he was 619 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:45,080 repenting, my bones were wasting away. 620 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,480 I was crushed under the weight of my conviction. 621 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:49,880 He said there was no delight in that at all. 622 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:51,600 And if you're a believer, you know exactly what I'm talking 623 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:53,280 about. There's no delight in following 624 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:54,240 our own path. Again. 625 00:37:57,720 --> 00:38:03,240 There is delight in being directed on the path that God 626 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:08,840 wants us to walk in. So the psalmist here 627 00:38:09,240 --> 00:38:12,440 acknowledging God not only as instructor but as director, the 628 00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:16,360 one who is leading us to the Scriptures, He is constantly 629 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:20,720 pointing us back to the truth of the Scriptures, directing our 630 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:25,480 lives through His commands. And a true believer is going to 631 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:29,160 find delight there. In fact, there will be no more 632 00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:32,840 delightful place in your life than to be right smack dab 633 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:35,720 obediently in the middle of the will of God. 634 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:39,600 In fact, the most miserable person on the planet is not a 635 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:41,920 lost man who gives no regard to God at all. 636 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:43,360 He's having fun on his way to hell. 637 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:50,680 It is a saved man who has decided to walk his own path. 638 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,640 It is a saved woman who has decided to do things her own way 639 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:57,840 to take control of her life. Once again, the psalmist 640 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,760 understanding that's dangerous. He says, but but I delight in 641 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:04,520 being there in the will of God on your path, following your 642 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:05,480 commands. Why? 643 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:07,160 Because that's where we find true joy. 644 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:09,960 We find true joy as believers in our obedience. 645 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:13,720 We find out what true obedience look like from the Scriptures. 646 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:17,480 And the scriptures are always leading us, directing our lives. 647 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:21,600 We must depend upon them, just as he says there. 648 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:26,160 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find 649 00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:28,520 delight. There's no delight for the 650 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:31,720 believer anywhere else. It's where we find true 651 00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:34,360 direction and true delight. Psalm 25, verse 4. 652 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,880 The psalmist said this, show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your 653 00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:39,000 paths. Guide me in your truth and teach 654 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:43,480 me, for you are a our God, my Savior, and my hope is in you 655 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:45,760 all day long. He said show me your ways 656 00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:47,720 because I have no hope without you. 657 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:50,200 If I'm not on your way, don't teach me your path, because if 658 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:53,520 I'm on my own path, I, I have no hope, I have no peace. 659 00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:56,240 Those of you who are in Christ, who have wandered away at some 660 00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:58,040 time in your life, you. Know this to be true. 661 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:02,320 You find yourself wondering now if I pray as the psalmist is 662 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:04,520 praying here. Lord, direct me in the path of 663 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:08,400 Your commands, for there's where I really find light. 664 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:11,200 Turn my heart toward your statutes. 665 00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:14,960 Turn my eyes. Away from the worthless, 666 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:18,480 worthless things of this world. So we see that he is constantly 667 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:24,240 through his scriptures, leading US, directing us, we find 668 00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:27,320 direction through the Word. We find delight in obeying the 669 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:30,840 Word, in fulfillment, in obeying the word Christian. 670 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:33,960 Not, not to look for familiar fulfillment anywhere else. 671 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,240 We find fulfillment in obeying the Word of God. 672 00:40:37,240 --> 00:40:40,200 That's what we have been crafted, born again in Christ. 673 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:45,160 To do that is to obey Him, to bring him glory with our lives. 674 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:52,040 So he's trusting the Lord to direct him, and he's finding 675 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:54,360 that direction through his leadership and pointing him 676 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:56,760 where he wants him to go in the Scriptures. 677 00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:01,680 But not only leading us and leading the psalmist there to 678 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:05,400 the Scriptures, He's also leading us and leading him away 679 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:10,160 from himself and ourselves. What he says in verse 36 turn my 680 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:12,560 heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. 681 00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:16,840 The psalmist knew that apart from a work of God, he was prone 682 00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:19,480 to selfish desire and selfish gain. 683 00:41:20,240 --> 00:41:22,160 Now I won't. Incriminate any of you here 684 00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:24,800 today, because people don't like when I do that, when I speak 685 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:27,560 generally about the fact that we're all pretty messed up. 686 00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:33,040 So I'll say it about myself. If God doesn't constantly 687 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:38,720 redirect me, if He doesn't constantly turn my heart toward 688 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:45,840 Him, I'm prone to selfishness. I'm prone to selfish desire. 689 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:48,600 I'm prone to selfish gain. Oh, I know, right? 690 00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:52,760 Pastor? The problem with you is you've 691 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:54,360 never heard an honest pastor before. 692 00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,000 Now, I can't say this or you would be offended, or I would 693 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,720 say that you are likewise exactly the same. 694 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:02,760 But I would never dare do that to you. 695 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,040 So I'll take it upon myself this morning. 696 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:11,240 No, I'll say this, that all humans, when left to themselves, 697 00:42:11,240 --> 00:42:15,240 will be selfish. You'll follow your own selfish 698 00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:17,240 desires. It's, it's interesting to me 699 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:20,360 this, this. Thing that we have going on in 700 00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:22,560 our culture, Narcissism. What does that mean? 701 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:24,840 Selfishness. Well, apart from Christ, we're 702 00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:28,000 all narcissists. You say. 703 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:29,680 Well, that's not what my therapist told me. 704 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:34,080 Your therapist is a liar. Your therapist is a liar. 705 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:37,280 Don't take therapy from someone who's not giving you 706 00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:38,640 instructions from the Word of God. 707 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:42,480 The Word of God is very clear that if we are on on our own 708 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:47,640 path, we need God to turn our heart toward His statues and 709 00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:52,080 away from our selfishness. That's what the psalmist is 710 00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:55,800 saying here. He knew that he needed a work 711 00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:59,240 from God in his life to turn him away from himself. 712 00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:02,880 Isn't Scripture constantly leading us away from us? 713 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:06,640 That's why many men don't like the scriptures because they like 714 00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:09,440 themselves. And they open up the scriptures 715 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:11,440 and say, man, this is this is beating me up all the time 716 00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:13,080 because every time I read something I realize that I'm 717 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:14,240 deficient. Yes, you are. 718 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:17,640 Yes, you are. Now I turn another page and I 719 00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:19,520 realized I missed the mark. I look at the commands and I say 720 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:20,720 I've broken them all. Yes you have. 721 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:24,560 Keep reading. You'll find out that that's by 722 00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:27,640 design. God designed it that way so that 723 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:30,200 you will see your deficiencies and you will see your great need 724 00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:33,080 for him to direct your life, and you will bow the knee to the 725 00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:35,240 Lord Jesus Christ in desperation, saying, Lord, 726 00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:38,320 direct me, direct me in the path that I should go. 727 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:41,920 Turn my heart away from my selfishness and turn it to your 728 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:43,800 statutes. Turn it to truth because of all 729 00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:49,880 I've ever done is followed lies. So the psalmist is understanding 730 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:54,280 that principle to God through his word is directing us, 731 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,480 leading us away from us constantly. 732 00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:01,840 What a prayer, what a prayer. What would happen if the church 733 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:05,480 today would say God lead us away from. 734 00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:11,960 Us and toward your word. Let this not be about us any 735 00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:15,400 longer, but let this be about you and your word. 736 00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:19,640 What would happen? There wouldn't be people here 737 00:44:19,680 --> 00:44:22,200 sitting here saying, man, I, I, I'm, I'm tired of hearing about 738 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:25,120 the word. You know, they would be on the 739 00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:28,840 edge of their seat saying God speak to us, God teach us, God 740 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:31,280 shape us, mold us for your glory. 741 00:44:35,160 --> 00:44:38,120 Psalmist understood God is director of his life, 742 00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:42,160 understanding that God directs through the Spirit's power 743 00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:47,200 living in and through him, combined with the truth of the 744 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,600 Word. The Spirit illuminates that word 745 00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:52,400 and then empowers us to walk in obedience to that word. 746 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:57,080 So He's our director, leading us to the Scriptures, teaching 747 00:44:57,120 --> 00:45:00,160 those Scriptures to us, as we saw in the first point, leading 748 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,520 us away from ourselves and our own selfish desires. 749 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,600 And we don't have time to sit here and speak of all of our 750 00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:07,360 selfish desires. We know that we have them. 751 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:12,360 He just turned my heart toward the statues and not toward 752 00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:14,640 selfish gain. And then he takes it a step 753 00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:19,480 further in verse 37. He's depending on God to give 754 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:21,760 him direction to lead him from the Scriptures and to the 755 00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:23,960 Scriptures and to lead him away from himself. 756 00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:28,080 And then we see here another principle leading us away from 757 00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:30,120 sin. And how does he say this 758 00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:32,400 happens? Turn my eyes away from worthless 759 00:45:32,720 --> 00:45:36,960 things. Turn my eyes away from worthless 760 00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:40,840 things. He's speaking here of the lust 761 00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:42,840 of the eyes. It's the lust of the eyes that 762 00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:46,800 we see John in his first epistle there in first John talk about 763 00:45:46,800 --> 00:45:49,720 in verse 16 of chapter 2, he says for everything in the 764 00:45:49,720 --> 00:45:52,200 world, the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and 765 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:54,840 the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father 766 00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:57,760 but from the world. And what is he saying those 767 00:45:57,760 --> 00:45:59,920 things that we lust after with our eyes. 768 00:45:59,920 --> 00:46:04,320 Those things are worthless. Now before anyone checks out 769 00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:08,040 here, lust goes way beyond sexual thing. 770 00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:15,880 The things you covet, the greed that you have in your heart, the 771 00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:19,120 purpose for living. If that purpose is for you and 772 00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:20,920 for your stockpile and your bigger barns. 773 00:46:20,920 --> 00:46:23,440 If that purpose is is for you and the betterment of your 774 00:46:23,440 --> 00:46:26,160 family and just to. Live the American Dream and it's 775 00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:31,920 not to glorify God. You're looking at things with 776 00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:35,760 the wrong eyes. Your purpose is to look upon 777 00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:40,280 success and to to desire success with the covetous heart, to envy 778 00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:44,400 the success of others. If your eyes are to look to 779 00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:54,160 money, be driven by greed and again, selfishness and you need 780 00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:56,880 to pay attention to this, he says. 781 00:46:56,880 --> 00:47:00,240 Turn my eyes away from worthless things. 782 00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:05,800 Even on your social media accounts, right? 783 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:08,240 When you're coveting everybody under the sun because they're 784 00:47:08,240 --> 00:47:11,800 all in Cancun all the time and you're always at work on a 785 00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:17,800 Monday, scrolling through the world's endless vacation. 786 00:47:18,720 --> 00:47:20,600 And they're awesome relationships, right? 787 00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:24,120 They are on their fourth love of their life, living it up some 788 00:47:24,120 --> 00:47:28,520 tropical destination while you're suffering for the Lord at 789 00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:33,000 work, providing for your family and doing the noble thing 790 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:37,640 according to the Word of God. But now your eyes have led you 791 00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:41,960 astray, haven't they? Oh, and we don't have time to 792 00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:45,800 discuss all of the ways that our eyes could lead us astray. 793 00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:53,080 But know this, all sin starts with a glance that turns to a 794 00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:59,200 gaze, which turns to lust, which roots in your heart. 795 00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:02,720 And then as Jane says, when it's full grown, it gives birth to 796 00:48:02,720 --> 00:48:09,280 sin. All lust of the eyes eventually, 797 00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:12,400 if not mortified, will result in sin. 798 00:48:14,240 --> 00:48:18,440 We need to be aware of that. In fact, Jesus said this Matthew 799 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:22,600 528, He says, But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman 800 00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:25,760 lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 801 00:48:26,560 --> 00:48:29,240 If there have been many who have foolishly said this, Jesus said 802 00:48:29,240 --> 00:48:32,120 if you look after a woman lustfully and you've already 803 00:48:32,120 --> 00:48:33,800 committed adultery in your heart, so to look at a woman 804 00:48:33,800 --> 00:48:35,840 lustfully is the same as adultery. 805 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:39,520 That's not what he's saying to look at a woman. 806 00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:42,200 Lustfully is not the same as having an adulterous affair with 807 00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:43,440 a woman. Not the same at all. 808 00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:47,520 What is he really teaching here? He's saying if you look at a 809 00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:51,960 woman lustfully and it does not end with mortifying your sin, it 810 00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:56,720 is going to lead you down to a path that will inevitably give 811 00:48:56,720 --> 00:49:01,680 birth to sin. Please understand that you men 812 00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:05,880 who think that you can not turn your eyes from worthless things 813 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:09,880 all the time and it not result in sin, you have another thing 814 00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:12,920 coming. It will result in sin. 815 00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:18,240 You are setting yourselves up. It is sin, and it will result in 816 00:49:18,240 --> 00:49:21,440 greater sin. The psalmist here understanding 817 00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:22,520 that. What a prayer. 818 00:49:22,520 --> 00:49:24,800 Turn my eyes away from worthless things. 819 00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:27,840 If that's the greed of the world, if that's the sexual lust 820 00:49:27,840 --> 00:49:31,160 of the world, if that's the pride of the world, if that is 821 00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:34,720 the success and the notoriety of the world, turn my eyes from 822 00:49:34,720 --> 00:49:35,520 those things. Why? 823 00:49:35,720 --> 00:49:38,240 Because if I'm not looking at them, that's not my focus. 824 00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:40,240 And where does he want his eyes turned? 825 00:49:40,320 --> 00:49:44,120 Back to the Word of God. Back to the Word of God. 826 00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:50,520 But many of you spend hours upon hours upon hours on your little 827 00:49:50,720 --> 00:49:56,200 electronic idols. I said it, and I don't 828 00:49:56,200 --> 00:49:59,840 apologize. You spend hours upon hours on 829 00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:05,600 your electronic idol, turning your gaze to all of the nonsense 830 00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:09,360 and the worthlessness of this world when you ought to be 831 00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:12,200 turning to the word of God, saying Lord, teach me. 832 00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:15,800 Lord, direct me. Guide my steps, guide my life 833 00:50:15,960 --> 00:50:17,880 and guide those things for your glory. 834 00:50:18,040 --> 00:50:22,320 Lead me away from me. Lead me away from. 835 00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:28,560 Sin turn my eyes from worthless things because you're not going 836 00:50:28,560 --> 00:50:31,400 to go toward the direction that you're not looking at. 837 00:50:32,680 --> 00:50:35,800 I learned that the first motorcycle that I had, I almost 838 00:50:36,440 --> 00:50:39,560 straightened out the curve that I was turning in and why I was 839 00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:41,600 focused on the curve instead on the road where I was headed. 840 00:50:42,760 --> 00:50:45,160 If I would have continued to focus on the curve, about two 841 00:50:45,160 --> 00:50:47,120 more seconds I would have ended up in the ditch through the 842 00:50:47,120 --> 00:50:49,280 trees and probably y'all wouldn't be talking to me right 843 00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:52,560 now. And I learned, you know what, I 844 00:50:52,560 --> 00:50:55,760 better keep my eyes on where I'm headed because wherever my eyes 845 00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:56,800 are, that's where I'm going to go. 846 00:50:57,880 --> 00:50:59,600 It's the same in our Christian lives. 847 00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:01,800 If we were focused on the Word of God, we were focused on the 848 00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:04,240 principles of the Word of God. We are focused on God himself 849 00:51:04,240 --> 00:51:09,040 that is revealed in His Word. Our gaze is not going to be on 850 00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:10,440 the things of the world. That's what the psalmist is 851 00:51:10,440 --> 00:51:11,920 saying. Turn my eyes away from worthless 852 00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:14,720 things. Oh, I would that a group of 853 00:51:14,720 --> 00:51:15,880 people this morning would say that. 854 00:51:15,880 --> 00:51:21,800 Turn my eyes away from worthless things because you know this and 855 00:51:21,800 --> 00:51:25,320 I know this. Whatever goes into your eyes 856 00:51:25,320 --> 00:51:30,520 goes into your mind, and there's no telling where he's going to 857 00:51:30,520 --> 00:51:34,840 go after that because when it roots into your heart, it 858 00:51:34,840 --> 00:51:39,320 inevitably will result in sin. So he's leading us away from sin 859 00:51:39,320 --> 00:51:41,360 here. The Psalmist understanding that 860 00:51:41,360 --> 00:51:44,920 that's God's desire he has. Our director psalmist knows and 861 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:46,720 trusts in God to direct his life. 862 00:51:46,720 --> 00:51:49,320 I pray that we would know and trust God in directing our 863 00:51:49,320 --> 00:51:52,680 lives. If you think that you know a 864 00:51:52,680 --> 00:51:55,800 better direction for your life than God, you're sadly mistaken. 865 00:51:57,440 --> 00:52:00,360 Did you hear me? Because many live their lives, 866 00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:01,520 they would never say it with their mouths. 867 00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:04,720 They know better. They live their lives as if they 868 00:52:04,720 --> 00:52:07,000 think that they know better than God. 869 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:14,920 But isn't it foolish to have access to a sovereign God who's 870 00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:19,360 already seen and knows the beginning from the end, not just 871 00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:24,280 of your life, but of everything? Isn't it foolish to not trust in 872 00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:28,720 Him and to trust in this guy? Of course it's foolish. 873 00:52:29,600 --> 00:52:31,360 Of course, it was foolish for the psalmist. 874 00:52:31,840 --> 00:52:34,000 That's why he says, Lord, you turn my eyes away from worthless 875 00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:36,280 things. Let me focus on you and on your 876 00:52:36,280 --> 00:52:38,200 word. So we see God as our director. 877 00:52:38,200 --> 00:52:40,200 And thirdly, I want you to see this, and it's very important. 878 00:52:41,200 --> 00:52:43,680 Many have asked me, why don't we just, why don't we just preach 879 00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:45,760 one or two of these verses? This is a lot because they're 880 00:52:45,760 --> 00:52:50,120 made to go together, because the psalmist is seeing God as his 881 00:52:50,120 --> 00:52:53,480 instructor, his teacher, and as his director, the one who leads 882 00:52:53,480 --> 00:52:58,520 him through life by his word. But the psalmist is human, just 883 00:52:58,520 --> 00:52:59,240 like us. And you know what? 884 00:52:59,240 --> 00:53:00,720 He's going to fail and He has failed. 885 00:53:03,320 --> 00:53:05,840 He's going to point us to a very important principle that we need 886 00:53:05,840 --> 00:53:10,440 to realize because we too might fail at some point in time, that 887 00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:15,840 not only does God instruct us and direct us, He preserves us. 888 00:53:16,320 --> 00:53:19,040 Watch what He says here, verse 37. 889 00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:20,840 Preserve my life according to your word. 890 00:53:21,280 --> 00:53:23,520 What does that mean? Preserve my life according to 891 00:53:23,520 --> 00:53:26,600 what you have promised, not based on my performance, not 892 00:53:26,600 --> 00:53:29,160 based upon on what I get right and what I don't get right. 893 00:53:30,920 --> 00:53:32,360 Preserve my life according to your word. 894 00:53:32,360 --> 00:53:33,960 I'm glad that the Psalmist didn't teach us to pray. 895 00:53:34,160 --> 00:53:36,920 Preserve my life according to whether I get it right or not, 896 00:53:38,760 --> 00:53:40,240 He goes on. He says, Fulfill your promise to 897 00:53:40,240 --> 00:53:42,320 your servants so that you may be feared. 898 00:53:43,360 --> 00:53:46,680 Take away the disgrace I dread for your laws or good and how I 899 00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:49,080 long for your precepts. Preserve my life and your 900 00:53:49,080 --> 00:53:51,280 righteousness 2 times. He says Preserve my life, 901 00:53:51,280 --> 00:53:55,960 trusting God as His Preserver. What is this section Speaking 902 00:53:55,960 --> 00:53:58,200 of? It's Speaking of God as the one 903 00:53:58,200 --> 00:54:00,240 who preserves his people. Did you know this? 904 00:54:00,240 --> 00:54:02,040 Your good works don't save you, and your good works don't 905 00:54:02,040 --> 00:54:04,920 preserve you. Anyone here thankful for that? 906 00:54:06,200 --> 00:54:08,000 Because I don't have a good enough good works to preserve 907 00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:09,040 me. And I sure didn't have enough 908 00:54:09,040 --> 00:54:13,400 good works to save me. But it's God himself who saves 909 00:54:13,400 --> 00:54:16,040 us and who preserves us. And in this section, that's what 910 00:54:16,040 --> 00:54:20,320 the psalmist is, is turning our attention to, that it's God 911 00:54:20,320 --> 00:54:23,640 alone who instructs us that it's God alone who directs us. 912 00:54:24,360 --> 00:54:28,480 And as God alone who will preserve us, He is our 913 00:54:28,880 --> 00:54:31,560 preserver. But why does he do this? 914 00:54:32,240 --> 00:54:34,920 Why does he do this? This is most of the time the 915 00:54:34,920 --> 00:54:39,400 reason why people won't believe in eternal security because they 916 00:54:39,400 --> 00:54:41,640 think like. Humans, they say. 917 00:54:41,640 --> 00:54:47,520 Why would God preserve people who are constantly bent to 918 00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:50,680 disobeying Him? Why would He do this? 919 00:54:50,680 --> 00:54:52,880 And So what they do is they create a false doctrine that 920 00:54:52,880 --> 00:54:55,760 says this, God preserves you as long as you're doing good, but 921 00:54:55,760 --> 00:54:57,600 if you do something wrong, He unpreserved you. 922 00:54:57,920 --> 00:54:59,880 Let me help all of you. That's not preservation. 923 00:55:01,680 --> 00:55:05,640 Preservation is eternal. And He's promised to eternally 924 00:55:05,880 --> 00:55:09,880 preserve us in many places in His Word, and He always has 925 00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:14,840 eternally preserved His people. Why does He do this? 926 00:55:14,840 --> 00:55:22,080 Let me make this very clear. He's our Preserver because He 927 00:55:22,080 --> 00:55:26,040 desires to uphold the glory of His name. 928 00:55:26,280 --> 00:55:29,640 That is what the Psalmist is recognizing here, that the 929 00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:37,000 Preserver is upholding the glory of His own name by faithfully 930 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:41,280 accomplishing what He has promised in His Word will come 931 00:55:41,280 --> 00:55:43,360 to pass. You know what He's promised in 932 00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:46,400 His Word about every single one of you who are in Christ this 933 00:55:46,400 --> 00:55:48,400 morning, no matter where you are. 934 00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:51,480 Some of you are faltering, some of you are wavering. 935 00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:54,480 You still have faith in Christ. You're still His. 936 00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:56,440 We know that you're never going to not be His. 937 00:55:56,920 --> 00:56:00,320 What does He promise us? That those He foreknew He 938 00:56:00,320 --> 00:56:03,000 predestined to conform to the image of His Son. 939 00:56:03,880 --> 00:56:05,240 And those He predestined, He called. 940 00:56:05,240 --> 00:56:08,120 He effectually called them. Those He called He justified, 941 00:56:08,120 --> 00:56:09,880 and those He justified He did also. 942 00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:11,840 Glorify. You know what he's promising us. 943 00:56:12,400 --> 00:56:15,360 He who began this good work in you will carry it on to 944 00:56:15,360 --> 00:56:17,960 completion, just as Philippians 16 says. 945 00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:21,440 And He's promised us that He is going to preserve us. 946 00:56:21,440 --> 00:56:24,800 Now why He does this is for the glory of His name, because He 947 00:56:24,800 --> 00:56:29,160 promised that He who began this good work in US will carry it 948 00:56:29,320 --> 00:56:32,320 unto completion. Wherever you are right now in 949 00:56:32,320 --> 00:56:35,080 your Christian life, if you are truly in Christ, let me assure 950 00:56:35,080 --> 00:56:38,160 you this, you will be glorified one day. 951 00:56:38,760 --> 00:56:41,160 Why? Because God said so, not because 952 00:56:41,160 --> 00:56:44,680 Kirk said so. And so my preservation is not in 953 00:56:44,680 --> 00:56:47,000 some promise that I've created in my own mind. 954 00:56:47,680 --> 00:56:50,800 It's created in the promises that I see in Scripture that 955 00:56:50,800 --> 00:56:52,480 we're His and we will always be His. 956 00:56:52,480 --> 00:56:54,960 And there's nothing that is going to pry us from the grip of 957 00:56:54,960 --> 00:56:57,000 his grace. He has counted us as his 958 00:56:57,000 --> 00:57:01,600 children, and we will always be His children, and He will uphold 959 00:57:01,600 --> 00:57:05,240 the glory of His name in fulfilling those promises. 960 00:57:05,480 --> 00:57:08,440 That's what the psalmist means when he says preserve my life. 961 00:57:08,600 --> 00:57:10,640 According to your word, he's saying this. 962 00:57:10,800 --> 00:57:12,640 Preserve my life, just like you said you would. 963 00:57:13,920 --> 00:57:16,760 Just like you promised you would, knowing that God is 964 00:57:16,760 --> 00:57:19,720 faithful to all of His promises. Remember, He's teaching us to 965 00:57:19,720 --> 00:57:25,320 trust Him. And the first reason that we see 966 00:57:25,320 --> 00:57:30,040 God preserving His people is, is because of the upholding of the 967 00:57:30,040 --> 00:57:35,200 glory of His name. What do I mean by that? 968 00:57:35,560 --> 00:57:36,960 We see it all throughout Scripture. 969 00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:44,240 Scripture faithfully preserving His people for His name's sake. 970 00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:47,400 You say we need clarity. Sure you do. 971 00:57:47,960 --> 00:57:50,400 Look at First Samuel chapter 12, verse 22. 972 00:57:51,280 --> 00:57:54,160 For the sake of his great name, the Lord will not reject his 973 00:57:54,160 --> 00:57:56,960 people. Because the Lord was pleased to 974 00:57:56,960 --> 00:58:01,240 make you his own. He will not reject His people. 975 00:58:01,320 --> 00:58:04,040 That's for all of the whack theologians who say this, that 976 00:58:04,040 --> 00:58:07,360 God has rejected his original covenant people. 977 00:58:07,440 --> 00:58:11,280 He will not reject his people. Period. 978 00:58:13,120 --> 00:58:16,840 And how this ideology has infected so much eschatology, I 979 00:58:16,840 --> 00:58:19,800 have no idea other than you don't trust in the entirety of 980 00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:25,440 Scripture that the promises that he made to ethnic Israel will be 981 00:58:25,440 --> 00:58:28,480 fulfilled just as he said. That's just for free. 982 00:58:31,600 --> 00:58:34,920 First, Samuel makes it very clear that he's upholding the 983 00:58:34,920 --> 00:58:38,000 glory of his own name. That's why he doesn't reject his 984 00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:39,440 people, because he said that he wouldn't. 985 00:58:39,960 --> 00:58:41,840 Psalm 23, three. He restores my soul. 986 00:58:41,840 --> 00:58:43,480 He guides me in paths of righteousness. 987 00:58:43,480 --> 00:58:45,520 Why? For his name's sake. 988 00:58:46,160 --> 00:58:48,160 Not so that people can pat me on the back and say, oh, what a 989 00:58:48,160 --> 00:58:51,920 righteous dude you are. It's for his name's sake. 990 00:58:52,640 --> 00:58:55,280 Psalm 2511. For the sake of your name. 991 00:58:55,520 --> 00:58:58,520 Oh Lord, forgive my iniquity. Though it is great. 992 00:58:58,760 --> 00:59:01,840 What a prayer. When's the last time that you 993 00:59:01,840 --> 00:59:05,760 went to God in confession? And the reason for your prayer 994 00:59:05,760 --> 00:59:09,160 was not so that God would hold something, not hold something to 995 00:59:09,160 --> 00:59:12,040 your charge or hold something to your charge, but you went to to 996 00:59:12,040 --> 00:59:15,240 prayer and confession and in a desire for forgiveness, you went 997 00:59:15,240 --> 00:59:18,120 there so that God's name would be upheld. 998 00:59:18,160 --> 00:59:20,520 When's the last time you approached confession like that? 999 00:59:20,680 --> 00:59:24,480 Lord, don't let your holy name be blasphemed because of my sin 1000 00:59:25,680 --> 00:59:28,960 and for your name's sake. Lord, because you've promised to 1001 00:59:28,960 --> 00:59:32,560 forgive all those who will confess their sin, You'll 1002 00:59:32,560 --> 00:59:34,160 cleanse them from all. Unrighteousness. 1003 00:59:35,720 --> 00:59:39,240 Lord, for your name's sake, forgive me for your glory. 1004 00:59:39,240 --> 00:59:42,680 Forgive me not because I deserve it, because I'm worthy of it, 1005 00:59:44,160 --> 00:59:48,600 but because you're worthy. You'll be seen as faithful to 1006 00:59:48,600 --> 00:59:51,640 forgive, just as scriptures over and over say that you're slow to 1007 00:59:51,640 --> 00:59:56,040 anger, full of love and compassion. 1008 00:59:57,360 --> 01:00:00,720 God, show me that love and compassion through your 1009 01:00:00,720 --> 01:00:06,240 forgiveness. Psalm 31 Three Since you are my 1010 01:00:06,240 --> 01:00:09,080 rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name, lead and 1011 01:00:09,080 --> 01:00:12,360 guide me, he says. Direct me, lead me, guide me. 1012 01:00:12,760 --> 01:00:15,480 Why? For the sake of his name? 1013 01:00:16,400 --> 01:00:19,680 Well, that would change modern Christianity, wouldn't it? 1014 01:00:19,680 --> 01:00:24,960 If we really understood that this is all for the sake of His 1015 01:00:24,960 --> 01:00:30,440 name, that God preserves us simply because He desires to 1016 01:00:30,440 --> 01:00:33,880 uphold the glory of His holy name. 1017 01:00:34,640 --> 01:00:38,280 Psalm 79. Nine, help us, O God our Savior, 1018 01:00:38,280 --> 01:00:42,280 for the glory of your name, deliver us and forgive our sins 1019 01:00:42,280 --> 01:00:45,720 for your name's sake. They understood it in the Old 1020 01:00:45,720 --> 01:00:47,160 Testament, didn't they? Psalm one. 1021 01:00:47,160 --> 01:00:50,880 O 6-8 Yet he saved. Them for his name's sake, to 1022 01:00:50,880 --> 01:00:54,440 make his power known. We could pull the congregation 1023 01:00:54,440 --> 01:00:57,320 before I began this section and say, why did God save you? 1024 01:00:57,440 --> 01:01:01,440 And you would say to give me eternal life, to give me 1025 01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:05,800 forgiveness, to do this for me and that for me. 1026 01:01:06,560 --> 01:01:10,720 Please understand this. You benefit from all of those 1027 01:01:10,720 --> 01:01:13,720 things that God blesses us with, but they are benefits. 1028 01:01:13,840 --> 01:01:17,520 The reason that God saves anyone, please listen to this, 1029 01:01:17,640 --> 01:01:23,040 is for the glory of His name. For the glory of His name, why 1030 01:01:23,040 --> 01:01:25,920 did God save you? The correct answer is because 1031 01:01:25,920 --> 01:01:29,480 God wanted to display His glory through this once wretched 1032 01:01:29,480 --> 01:01:32,440 Sinner who has been changed by the saving power and the 1033 01:01:32,440 --> 01:01:34,640 sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1034 01:01:35,720 --> 01:01:38,080 It's for the glory of His name. Why? 1035 01:01:38,080 --> 01:01:41,840 Because He's all about upholding the glory of His name. 1036 01:01:41,840 --> 01:01:43,720 Why? Because He's worthy of every 1037 01:01:43,800 --> 01:01:49,840 ounce of that glory. That's why He preserves us for 1038 01:01:49,840 --> 01:01:52,520 His name's sake. So He is the Preserver, 1039 01:01:52,520 --> 01:01:56,520 upholding the glory of His name. Secondly, upholding the 1040 01:01:56,520 --> 01:02:00,280 testimony of His people. You know why He upholds our 1041 01:02:00,280 --> 01:02:01,880 testimony? Because we testify of Him. 1042 01:02:01,880 --> 01:02:04,560 We testify of His goodness, we testify of His faithfulness, we 1043 01:02:04,560 --> 01:02:10,080 testify of His power. And because we do that, we are 1044 01:02:10,080 --> 01:02:12,720 testifying of Him. And So what He does then is He 1045 01:02:12,720 --> 01:02:17,200 defends His children, protecting those who are His. 1046 01:02:18,440 --> 01:02:21,520 That's why we can sing with confident confidence that He is 1047 01:02:22,120 --> 01:02:25,560 our defense. He is our shelter. 1048 01:02:25,800 --> 01:02:30,000 He is our fortress. He is our stronghold. 1049 01:02:30,000 --> 01:02:33,920 He is our ever present help in our time of need. 1050 01:02:34,400 --> 01:02:39,080 He protects. Those who are his the Psalmist 1051 01:02:39,360 --> 01:02:42,120 understanding this, even requesting preserve my life 1052 01:02:42,120 --> 01:02:46,120 according to your word, fulfill your promise to your servant so 1053 01:02:46,120 --> 01:02:50,320 that you may be feared, so that others would glorify your name. 1054 01:02:52,160 --> 01:02:54,800 He says take away the disgrace I dread for your laws or good. 1055 01:02:54,800 --> 01:02:59,600 What is the disgrace that he dreads the reproach that would 1056 01:02:59,600 --> 01:03:01,440 come upon him. Now some of the reproach that 1057 01:03:01,440 --> 01:03:03,600 would have come upon the psalmist and scholars, they 1058 01:03:03,600 --> 01:03:06,160 differ in their view of this, would have been self-inflicted 1059 01:03:06,160 --> 01:03:08,360 reproach. He because he was a mere man and 1060 01:03:08,360 --> 01:03:12,040 did sinful things. But some of the reproach that 1061 01:03:12,040 --> 01:03:14,080 came upon him would be unjust reproach. 1062 01:03:14,080 --> 01:03:16,480 That would be that persecution. That would be those enemies who 1063 01:03:16,480 --> 01:03:18,840 would attack him and say false things against him. 1064 01:03:18,840 --> 01:03:20,880 And if we were again to assume that this was David, we know 1065 01:03:20,880 --> 01:03:22,760 that there are accounts of both of that in Scripture. 1066 01:03:22,920 --> 01:03:26,360 People who rightfully and justly brought reproach upon him for 1067 01:03:26,360 --> 01:03:30,440 the sin in his life, but also those who wrongly brought 1068 01:03:30,440 --> 01:03:33,360 approach upon him right. For instance, Saul and many of 1069 01:03:33,360 --> 01:03:36,680 the other enemies that we see that David would have had in his 1070 01:03:36,680 --> 01:03:40,160 lifetime. But no matter who. 1071 01:03:41,040 --> 01:03:44,920 Comes against God's children. God is faithful to defend and to 1072 01:03:44,920 --> 01:03:49,240 protect His children, just as a good father always does. 1073 01:03:49,240 --> 01:03:52,760 I don't know a dad in this room that if something were about to 1074 01:03:52,760 --> 01:03:56,440 happen to your child, someone was going to harm them in some 1075 01:03:56,440 --> 01:03:58,720 sort of way. I don't know a dad in this room 1076 01:03:58,840 --> 01:04:01,400 who would not act swiftly to keep that from happening. 1077 01:04:02,520 --> 01:04:05,600 And I would say this, you would be absolutely right in defending 1078 01:04:05,600 --> 01:04:09,200 your children against some type of harm that would have been 1079 01:04:09,600 --> 01:04:11,400 placed upon them by someone else. 1080 01:04:14,480 --> 01:04:20,360 God in his love toward us, being the good father that He is, He 1081 01:04:20,360 --> 01:04:26,640 defends and He protects his children as well, preserving his 1082 01:04:26,640 --> 01:04:32,360 testimony of being a good God to His children in our lives. 1083 01:04:33,160 --> 01:04:37,680 The psalmist understanding the defense that he has from God and 1084 01:04:37,680 --> 01:04:40,720 understanding why God does this, but not only the psalmist 1085 01:04:40,720 --> 01:04:42,560 understanding that Isaiah, Isaiah 48. 1086 01:04:42,560 --> 01:04:46,040 He testifies to this in verse 9. For my my own name's sake, 1087 01:04:46,040 --> 01:04:48,840 recording the the words of the Lord, I delay my wrath. 1088 01:04:49,120 --> 01:04:52,200 For the sake of my praise, I hold it back from you so as not 1089 01:04:52,200 --> 01:04:54,880 to cut you off. See, I have refined you, though 1090 01:04:54,880 --> 01:04:57,480 not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace 1091 01:04:57,480 --> 01:05:00,400 of affliction. For my own sake, for my own 1092 01:05:00,400 --> 01:05:04,000 sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? 1093 01:05:04,200 --> 01:05:06,120 I will not yield my glory to another. 1094 01:05:06,240 --> 01:05:08,840 God says I'm going to glorify myself and I'm going to glorify 1095 01:05:08,840 --> 01:05:14,320 myself in defending you and not turning you over, being in your 1096 01:05:14,320 --> 01:05:19,800 corner as a good Father does, preserving my name, the 1097 01:05:19,800 --> 01:05:23,280 testimony that you bear. He does that in the lives of His 1098 01:05:23,280 --> 01:05:25,160 children. Ezekiel speaks of this as well 1099 01:05:25,160 --> 01:05:27,840 in chapter 20, verse 21. But the children rebelled 1100 01:05:27,840 --> 01:05:29,440 against me. These are children rebelling 1101 01:05:29,440 --> 01:05:31,360 against God. They did not follow my decrees. 1102 01:05:31,360 --> 01:05:34,920 They were not careful to keep my laws, although the man who obeys 1103 01:05:34,920 --> 01:05:37,800 them will live by them. And they desecrated my Sabbath. 1104 01:05:38,040 --> 01:05:41,440 So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger 1105 01:05:41,440 --> 01:05:44,760 against them in the desert, but I withheld my hand and for the 1106 01:05:44,760 --> 01:05:48,640 sake of my name, I did not. I did what would keep it from 1107 01:05:48,640 --> 01:05:50,840 being. I did what would keep it from 1108 01:05:50,840 --> 01:05:54,440 being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had 1109 01:05:54,440 --> 01:05:57,640 brought them out. Also with uplifted hand, I swore 1110 01:05:57,640 --> 01:05:59,320 to them in the desert that I would. 1111 01:05:59,320 --> 01:06:02,200 Disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the 1112 01:06:02,200 --> 01:06:04,160 countries, he said. I did tell them that I'm going 1113 01:06:04,160 --> 01:06:08,280 to disperse them, but I am never going to leave or forsake them. 1114 01:06:08,400 --> 01:06:13,840 I am going to uphold my people and the testimony that they 1115 01:06:13,840 --> 01:06:17,320 bear, which is my name and my word. 1116 01:06:18,040 --> 01:06:21,800 The psalmist fully understanding that today and what a joy it is 1117 01:06:21,800 --> 01:06:28,560 to know that he truly is our defense, that he truly is a God 1118 01:06:28,560 --> 01:06:32,720 who defends his children. And he does that upholding the 1119 01:06:32,720 --> 01:06:36,280 testimony of his name in us. Not only does he defend his 1120 01:06:36,280 --> 01:06:38,640 children, he dismantles their accusers. 1121 01:06:38,640 --> 01:06:42,600 I don't want you to miss this. He completely dismantles their 1122 01:06:42,600 --> 01:06:44,240 accusers. He says take away the disgrace I 1123 01:06:44,240 --> 01:06:47,720 dread for your laws are good. He says take away the disgrace 1124 01:06:47,720 --> 01:06:50,720 that is going to come upon me from all these other people and 1125 01:06:50,720 --> 01:06:53,960 I'm going to focus not on them, but I'm going to focus on. 1126 01:06:54,080 --> 01:06:56,880 Your word, Your laws are good, and I'm going to focus on that. 1127 01:06:57,960 --> 01:06:59,920 And in doing that, you know what the psalmist was doing? 1128 01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:03,120 He was just sitting back and he was trusting in God not only to 1129 01:07:03,120 --> 01:07:06,960 defend him as his preserver, but to dismantle his enemies before 1130 01:07:06,960 --> 01:07:11,880 his very eyes, those who would bring accusation against him, 1131 01:07:12,760 --> 01:07:15,920 whether it was just, whether it was unjust. 1132 01:07:16,680 --> 01:07:20,560 He knew that God was going to dismantle all of the accusers 1133 01:07:20,560 --> 01:07:25,840 who would come against him. Psalm 59, Psalm 59, and verse 10 1134 01:07:25,840 --> 01:07:28,400 says You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God. 1135 01:07:29,000 --> 01:07:32,800 God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who 1136 01:07:32,800 --> 01:07:35,400 slander me. That's the psalmist's hope 1137 01:07:35,400 --> 01:07:38,480 there, to know that there are people slandering him and 1138 01:07:38,480 --> 01:07:41,480 bringing reproach upon him. And you know what the psalmist 1139 01:07:41,480 --> 01:07:43,600 didn't do? He didn't take matters into his 1140 01:07:43,800 --> 01:07:47,720 own hands. He just simply trusted in God. 1141 01:07:48,200 --> 01:07:51,280 In fact, he bows to the knee here and he says, take away the 1142 01:07:51,280 --> 01:07:53,760 disgrace that I dread. You know what his disgrace was, 1143 01:07:53,760 --> 01:07:56,000 that he would bring any reproach upon the name of God because he 1144 01:07:56,000 --> 01:07:59,560 knew he bore the name of God. And he says, take it away and 1145 01:08:00,880 --> 01:08:02,640 I'll focus on your laws for their good. 1146 01:08:04,000 --> 01:08:06,840 Know how I have learned this in my life? 1147 01:08:06,840 --> 01:08:08,840 And it's been a slow, slow process. 1148 01:08:11,040 --> 01:08:14,920 I've learned to trust God to defend me against accusers and 1149 01:08:14,920 --> 01:08:17,359 against enemies. And you know what? 1150 01:08:17,359 --> 01:08:20,399 It's sad, but they come at you all of the time. 1151 01:08:20,680 --> 01:08:23,359 These are generally people who they don't even take the time to 1152 01:08:23,359 --> 01:08:25,479 get to know you. Or if they do know you, they 1153 01:08:25,479 --> 01:08:27,279 just simply don't like you. And that's OK. 1154 01:08:27,279 --> 01:08:33,399 Most days I don't like myself either, but I have learned that 1155 01:08:33,399 --> 01:08:39,120 I have to focus on God's Word in those times and I have to bow my 1156 01:08:39,120 --> 01:08:41,000 knees in prayer. And there are times where I have 1157 01:08:41,000 --> 01:08:45,040 to just simply turn those enemies over to the Lord and 1158 01:08:45,040 --> 01:08:47,479 say, Lord, I don't want to hurt the testimony of your name 1159 01:08:47,560 --> 01:08:50,359 through this, and I don't want them to hurt the testimony of 1160 01:08:50,359 --> 01:08:53,800 your name through this and to bring disgrace because I dread 1161 01:08:53,800 --> 01:08:57,279 that. So I'm going to focus on your 1162 01:08:57,279 --> 01:09:00,960 word and I'm going to trust in You to do what only you can do. 1163 01:09:03,760 --> 01:09:07,040 It seems like I always hear the words of Jesus there in Matthew 1164 01:09:07,040 --> 01:09:12,560 chapter 5 when those enemies, those accusers come, Matthew 1165 01:09:12,560 --> 01:09:15,399 chapter 5 where he says in verse 11, blessed are you when people 1166 01:09:15,399 --> 01:09:19,319 insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil 1167 01:09:19,319 --> 01:09:22,920 against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because 1168 01:09:22,920 --> 01:09:25,359 great is your reward in heaven. For in the same way they 1169 01:09:25,359 --> 01:09:27,319 persecuted the prophets who were before you. 1170 01:09:27,600 --> 01:09:30,160 What hope we have from the Lord there when our enemies attack 1171 01:09:30,160 --> 01:09:32,760 and when our accusers attack, and when there are those who say 1172 01:09:32,760 --> 01:09:35,920 all kinds of things against us. And you know what our human 1173 01:09:35,920 --> 01:09:37,640 nature is to do. You know exactly what it is. 1174 01:09:37,640 --> 01:09:38,439 I'm going to straighten them out. 1175 01:09:38,520 --> 01:09:39,840 I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. 1176 01:09:39,880 --> 01:09:42,960 I'm going to give them a pound of flesh for the pound of flesh 1177 01:09:42,960 --> 01:09:46,000 that they have dealt me. And in doing that, you know what 1178 01:09:46,000 --> 01:09:47,760 we don't do? We don't glorify God in that. 1179 01:09:48,800 --> 01:09:50,760 But you know what I have seen throughout the years? 1180 01:09:52,279 --> 01:09:57,680 I've seen this. If I will bow the knee and in my 1181 01:09:57,680 --> 01:10:02,720 heart trust the word of God, He will disperse all of my enemies. 1182 01:10:03,920 --> 01:10:07,160 Before you know it, one troublemaker is gone. 1183 01:10:07,160 --> 01:10:09,760 The next troublemaker is gone. They're making trouble for 1184 01:10:09,760 --> 01:10:16,280 someone else. God defends His people and 1185 01:10:16,280 --> 01:10:22,000 dismantles their accusers. He defends us from that 1186 01:10:22,000 --> 01:10:25,040 onslaught that comes from the enemy, from those who are 1187 01:10:25,040 --> 01:10:26,560 controlled by the enemy. Doesn't he? 1188 01:10:28,080 --> 01:10:31,440 As Satan attempts to condemn God's people constantly, what 1189 01:10:31,440 --> 01:10:33,080 does this word do? It reminds us there's no 1190 01:10:33,080 --> 01:10:35,240 condemnation for he who is in Christ Jesus. 1191 01:10:36,760 --> 01:10:39,320 He goes on down in Romans 8A little further, and he reminds 1192 01:10:39,320 --> 01:10:44,320 us of the fact that we're conquerors through Christ. 1193 01:10:47,080 --> 01:10:50,200 So I would encourage each of you, when those enemies attack, 1194 01:10:51,120 --> 01:10:55,600 do as a psalmist is doing here, confidently trust in God, the 1195 01:10:55,600 --> 01:10:57,880 one who preserves us, the one who defends us. 1196 01:10:58,720 --> 01:11:01,440 And He always has and He always will defend His people. 1197 01:11:01,440 --> 01:11:07,160 He will defend you as well. So we see the Preserver 1198 01:11:07,520 --> 01:11:11,080 upholding the glory of His name, upholding the testimony of His 1199 01:11:11,080 --> 01:11:15,440 people, then ultimately upholding the life of His 1200 01:11:15,440 --> 01:11:17,160 people. I'll finish this and I'm done. 1201 01:11:17,160 --> 01:11:20,640 But I told you in the beginning, there was a lot to look at this 1202 01:11:20,640 --> 01:11:22,840 morning. This is a lot that can be very 1203 01:11:22,840 --> 01:11:24,160 helpful to every single one of us. 1204 01:11:24,200 --> 01:11:28,160 As a Christian, I'm thankful for all of you who have endured this 1205 01:11:28,160 --> 01:11:30,080 teaching, and you won't be sorry that you did. 1206 01:11:31,880 --> 01:11:34,200 We see him. Upholding the life of His 1207 01:11:34,200 --> 01:11:35,760 people. That was the psalmist's request 1208 01:11:35,760 --> 01:11:37,120 in this section. Preserve my life. 1209 01:11:37,800 --> 01:11:39,080 Preserve my life according to your word. 1210 01:11:39,080 --> 01:11:41,360 He ends with this. Preserve my life. 1211 01:11:42,240 --> 01:11:45,920 Watch this in your righteousness. 1212 01:11:48,120 --> 01:11:52,480 Preserve my life in your righteousness. 1213 01:11:53,920 --> 01:11:55,960 When we look at that, we're not careful. 1214 01:11:55,960 --> 01:12:01,080 We can miss it. The psalmist is saying my only 1215 01:12:01,080 --> 01:12:04,560 hope of preservation in this life and in the life to come is 1216 01:12:04,560 --> 01:12:08,680 a righteousness that comes from God, not a righteousness for me 1217 01:12:08,800 --> 01:12:10,680 because I'm not righteous. He's already blown it. 1218 01:12:10,680 --> 01:12:13,040 He's admitted it. I'm not righteous. 1219 01:12:13,400 --> 01:12:16,480 I can't be righteous and he calls on God and he says 1220 01:12:16,480 --> 01:12:20,480 preserve my life. Watch this in your 1221 01:12:21,000 --> 01:12:23,280 righteousness. Now we go to Romans chapter 3 1222 01:12:23,280 --> 01:12:25,360 very quickly. I hope in our minds and we know 1223 01:12:25,360 --> 01:12:27,840 this. Paul says this in verse 21 and 1224 01:12:27,840 --> 01:12:30,160 chapter 3. But now a righteousness from God 1225 01:12:30,160 --> 01:12:32,640 apart from the law has been made known to which the law and the 1226 01:12:32,640 --> 01:12:37,440 prophets testify. This is one of the Psalmist 1227 01:12:37,440 --> 01:12:41,520 testifying of the righteousness of God that preserves us. 1228 01:12:41,680 --> 01:12:44,720 He goes on and he says this righteousness from God comes 1229 01:12:44,720 --> 01:12:47,360 through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. 1230 01:12:47,360 --> 01:12:50,160 There is no difference, for all of sin falls short of the glory 1231 01:12:50,160 --> 01:12:52,920 of God and are justified freely by his grace through the 1232 01:12:52,920 --> 01:12:55,040 redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 1233 01:12:56,320 --> 01:13:02,240 What the Psalmist is praying for, we in Christ have. 1234 01:13:03,560 --> 01:13:09,160 We have been placed in the righteousness of God, that 1235 01:13:09,160 --> 01:13:14,240 righteousness of Christ being imputed to us, us being 1236 01:13:14,240 --> 01:13:19,240 justified by that righteousness alone in faith in Christ, and. 1237 01:13:19,240 --> 01:13:26,840 His sacrifice and it's that righteousness that preserves his 1238 01:13:26,840 --> 01:13:31,000 people upholding. The life of his people upholding 1239 01:13:31,000 --> 01:13:33,920 the abundant life that Jesus promised did he not promise that 1240 01:13:34,400 --> 01:13:37,440 did he not promise you life he said I came that you may have 1241 01:13:37,440 --> 01:13:41,440 life and have it to the fool and he also promised not just life 1242 01:13:41,440 --> 01:13:43,720 to the. Fool on this earth, He promised 1243 01:13:43,720 --> 01:13:47,680 eternal life after this time on this earth. 1244 01:13:49,880 --> 01:13:55,160 He's upholding that promise, preserving that life for us in 1245 01:13:55,160 --> 01:13:59,520 Christ constantly. Psalmist says preserve my life 1246 01:13:59,520 --> 01:14:02,240 and your righteousness, Cover me with it, wrap it around me. 1247 01:14:04,680 --> 01:14:07,480 And those of you who are in Christ, He has covered you with 1248 01:14:07,480 --> 01:14:11,680 his righteousness in Christ. You were covered with that 1249 01:14:11,680 --> 01:14:13,520 righteousness that comes from God. 1250 01:14:13,520 --> 01:14:16,200 And it is because of that righteousness that you have been 1251 01:14:16,560 --> 01:14:19,880 preserved eternally. And for those who are not in 1252 01:14:19,880 --> 01:14:23,720 Christ, you have no eternal preservation. 1253 01:14:24,320 --> 01:14:28,440 You have no eternal preserver. There is no righteousness for 1254 01:14:28,440 --> 01:14:30,200 you to be in. Accept the righteousness that 1255 01:14:30,200 --> 01:14:32,920 you have in and of yourself, which is that of filthy rags in 1256 01:14:32,920 --> 01:14:37,040 the eyes of the Lord. And so I would encourage you 1257 01:14:37,040 --> 01:14:42,040 today to turn to Christ, the righteousness that comes from 1258 01:14:42,040 --> 01:14:46,600 God as the preserver of your life, your only hope of 1259 01:14:46,600 --> 01:14:48,320 forgiveness of sin and eternal life. 1260 01:14:49,760 --> 01:14:53,760 So the Psalmist ends this section talking about our 1261 01:14:53,760 --> 01:14:57,160 preserver. I know what a blessing to know 1262 01:14:57,160 --> 01:15:03,680 and to trust that God does preserve his people, that I can 1263 01:15:03,680 --> 01:15:08,000 lay my head on a pillow tonight and know that He will preserve 1264 01:15:08,000 --> 01:15:10,720 me if this was my last day on this earth for all eternity 1265 01:15:10,720 --> 01:15:14,560 because of Jesus Christ and what he did at the cross through his 1266 01:15:14,560 --> 01:15:16,120 death, His burial, and his resurrection. 1267 01:15:16,120 --> 01:15:18,120 Is he your preserver? I pray that He is today. 1268 01:15:19,440 --> 01:15:22,080 So we've seen the psalmist today unfold this and unpack this for 1269 01:15:22,080 --> 01:15:29,800 us, learning to trust God as our instructor, our director, and 1270 01:15:29,800 --> 01:15:33,400 our preserver. Oh, believer, I pray that you 1271 01:15:33,400 --> 01:15:37,360 are doing that in your life. I pray that you are now aware of 1272 01:15:37,360 --> 01:15:41,440 the importance of that in your life, that you are from this 1273 01:15:41,440 --> 01:15:45,680 point forward, trusting God even more deeply as your teacher, as 1274 01:15:45,680 --> 01:15:50,040 your director and leader and master, thanking him that he is 1275 01:15:50,040 --> 01:15:53,000 the one who preserves us even when we don't get it. 1276 01:15:53,000 --> 01:15:57,120 All right, well, I told you they all go hand in hand. 1277 01:15:57,120 --> 01:16:00,240 But where would we be if he wasn't our instructor? 1278 01:16:00,240 --> 01:16:01,960 And where would we be if he wasn't our director? 1279 01:16:01,960 --> 01:16:04,120 And where would we be if he did not preserve us? 1280 01:16:05,600 --> 01:16:09,200 But he is all those things. He's all those things to his 1281 01:16:09,200 --> 01:16:10,840 children. Let us rejoice in that. 1282 01:16:10,840 --> 01:16:14,760 Let us thank Him for that. Let us confess to him. 1283 01:16:14,760 --> 01:16:18,760 And we don't acknowledge that. We don't take advantage of that. 1284 01:16:19,080 --> 01:16:22,680 We don't walk in that. The unbeliever this morning, my 1285 01:16:22,680 --> 01:16:28,800 prayer for you is this, that you would trust in God today that 1286 01:16:28,800 --> 01:16:31,680 perhaps he is instructing you for the very first time in your 1287 01:16:31,680 --> 01:16:35,640 heart, even now that you are a Sinner, that you are alienated 1288 01:16:35,640 --> 01:16:37,240 from him and you are in need of a Savior. 1289 01:16:37,240 --> 01:16:39,800 And he's teaching you that the only Savior that has ever been 1290 01:16:39,800 --> 01:16:43,040 provided for sinners is the Lord Jesus Christ himself who came 1291 01:16:43,040 --> 01:16:46,960 2000 years ago. God here on this. 1292 01:16:47,000 --> 01:16:50,560 Earth Incarnate. Who came and who offered Himself 1293 01:16:50,560 --> 01:16:53,960 as a perfect sacrifice for imperfect sinners, and that if 1294 01:16:53,960 --> 01:16:57,120 you would just trust in Him as your Lord and Savior today, He 1295 01:16:57,120 --> 01:16:59,760 would wash you of all of your sin and He would grant to you 1296 01:16:59,840 --> 01:17:02,640 eternal life, and He will preserve you forever. 1297 01:17:03,360 --> 01:17:06,320 I pray today that instruction from God would begin for you, 1298 01:17:07,440 --> 01:17:10,280 that He would, by His Spirit, open your eyes to see the truth 1299 01:17:10,280 --> 01:17:12,960 for the very first time. You need a Savior, and that 1300 01:17:12,960 --> 01:17:18,120 Savior is Christ, and by His Spirit He would instruct you 1301 01:17:18,120 --> 01:17:22,080 internally to call on the name of Jesus to save you desperately 1302 01:17:22,080 --> 01:17:25,560 today, knowing that His promises are true. 1303 01:17:26,440 --> 01:17:29,280 And for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, they 1304 01:17:29,280 --> 01:17:32,440 will be saved. Would you call upon the name of 1305 01:17:32,440 --> 01:17:35,200 the Lord today, repenting of your sin, trusting in Christ? 1306 01:17:35,200 --> 01:17:36,760 Let's pray together, Father, in the name of Jesus. 1307 01:17:36,760 --> 01:17:41,280 We thank you for Your word. Lord, Let us not tire of looking 1308 01:17:41,280 --> 01:17:45,640 at the truths that we see in Scripture that are able to make 1309 01:17:45,640 --> 01:17:48,520 us wise and to make us wise unto salvation. 1310 01:17:48,520 --> 01:17:51,200 Lord, I pray today that you would make someone here wise 1311 01:17:51,200 --> 01:17:55,440 unto salvation, giving them the knowledge of the truth that they 1312 01:17:55,440 --> 01:17:59,600 would repent and turn to Christ. God, I pray for each believer 1313 01:17:59,600 --> 01:18:04,520 who's here today. Perhaps as they've evaluated 1314 01:18:04,520 --> 01:18:08,120 their lives, they've evaluated their Christian walk. 1315 01:18:08,120 --> 01:18:12,160 They see deficiencies and trusting You in these areas, and 1316 01:18:12,160 --> 01:18:16,400 I pray that you would give them the grace today to confess that 1317 01:18:17,840 --> 01:18:21,360 and to count on Your Spirit to empower them in the future to 1318 01:18:21,360 --> 01:18:23,480 trust You all the more according to Your Word. 1319 01:18:24,600 --> 01:18:26,520 And we'll be careful to give you all the glory for it. 1320 01:18:27,360 --> 01:18:30,120 We pray all these things in Christ's name, Amen. 1321 01:18:30,680 --> 01:18:34,080 You have been listening to Key Life Fellowships Pulpit Ministry 1322 01:18:34,080 --> 01:18:36,640 podcast. Join us each week for more 1323 01:18:36,640 --> 01:18:39,680 teaching from God's Word. If you would like to speak with 1324 01:18:39,680 --> 01:18:42,600 one of our pastors, please visit us on the web at 1325 01:18:42,600 --> 01:18:46,720 keylifefellow-ship.com. Thank you again for joining us 1326 01:18:46,720 --> 01:18:47,120 today.