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I must begin by asking for your understanding. I need to reduce my blogs to three per week, MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, and FRIDAY. I told you of my plan to write six blogs a week through the time of our being unable to meet onsite as a church family. I had never done a series of blogs before, and I anticipated that I could do each one in a few minutes. Instead, I find each one requires several hours.
I also underestimated the rest of my workload during our shelter in place period. I thought I would have extra time since I would not be teaching on Sunday or Wednesday night. I planned to use that time to write the blogs. As it turns out, my workload has increased, especially now that we are moving toward being Together Again! Staff meetings are longer as we try to carefully plan. Bro. Rick and I continue to work on both insurance settlements and building plans. All of this is progressing, but it requires even more time because doing Zoom Meetings takes about twice as long as a face to face meeting. All of that to say, I am sorry, but I must cut back the number of blogs I am writing. I actually enjoy doing it, and I hope you are being blessed by them. But beginning this week, I will write to publish a blog for MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, and FRIDAY only. Thank you in advance for your understanding and prayers. Bro. Mike Now let´s continue our look at Psalm 119. Psalm 119:25–32 NKJV 25 My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. 26 I have declared my ways, and You answered me; Teach me Your statutes. 27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works. 28 My soul melts from heaviness; Strengthen me according to Your word. 29 Remove from me the way of lying, And grant me Your law graciously. 30 I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. 31 I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame! 32 I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart. To read David´s prayer in these eight verses, you would think he was going through a pandemic!
Spurgeon has been called the “Prince of Preachers” because of his powerful oratory and precise exposition of the Scriptures. In a day when many who claimed to be Christians began the fall into liberalism, Spurgeon stood for the perfection and inerrancy of God´s Word. Of these verses in Psalm 119, Mr. Surgeon said,
The word of the Lord evidently
It is indeed, Mr. Spurgeon. It is indeed!
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Psalm 119:17–24 NKJV
17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. 18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. 19 I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me. 20 My soul breaks with longing For Your judgments at all times. 21 You rebuke the proud—the cursed, Who stray from Your commandments. 22 Remove from me reproach and contempt, For I have kept Your testimonies. 23 Princes also sit and speak against me, But Your servant meditates on Your statutes. 24 Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors. Today I want to focus on just one of the themes found in this stanza. These words are a prayer lifted directly to the Lord. David opens with … Psalm 119:17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. David here asks for a plentiful portion of God´s help. Why? So that David could live and keep God´s Word! To most this seems a narrow focus on life. Was not David to be much more than “one who kept (practiced) the Word of God”?
But David could not be the caring shepherd, noble soldier, godly husband and father, nor a wise and righteous king unless in each of those roles he “kept God´s Word.” And neither can we, no matter the roles to which God calls and leads us or the paths on which He causes us to walk. We only do things correctly and in a way that pleases the Lord by doing them according to His Word. This is why Jesus prayed for us (yes, specifically for us who trust and follow Him after the age of the apostles). Jesus prayed, John 17:17 NKJV Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. Sanctify means to make holy, to make in the likeness of God. Jesus wanted His followers of every historical age to do all God set them to do as He Himself would if He were there! And then Jesus spilled the beans on the secret. He prayed, “Father make them holy as I am through Your truth. Your Word, God, is truth.” So David goes on to pray … Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. He asks God to illumine the Scriptures God has already inspired, so that David might see the wondrous things in the Word of the Lord. My, what wonderful things are to be found in God´s Word.
Psalm 119:9–16 NKJV
9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. I mentioned that Psalm 119 is composed of 22 stanzas of 8 verses each. All 8 verses of a stanza begin with the same letter. So, verses 1 to 8 which we read yesterday, in the Hebrew each begins with the Hebrew letter ALEPH. Each verse of what we just read in verses 9 to 16 begins with BETH. Thus the psalm proceeds to use all 22 of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. You may have noticed yesterday, and even more so today, the multitude of different words used to reference the Word of God. Because each one of them are speaking of the Holy Scriptures, it is easy to slip by them with little thought. If we do so, we miss part of the rich blessings contained for us in this psalm. Let me share with you a summary of ten of these words taken from such Bible scholars as John Phillips, Lawrence O. Richards, and John Walvoord. The number of times they cite the word being used is just its use in Psalm 119! 1. Law (torah) – used 25 times and denotes direction or instruction. This word usually refers to a body of teaching, usually the books of Genesis-Deuteronomy. 2. Word (dabar) – used 20 times and is a general term for God’s revelation. The Ten Commandments are called “Ten Words” (literal Hebrew reading, Deut. 4:13). 3. Sayings (imrath) – used 19 times and may be translated as “words, promises.” 4. Commandments (mitswah) – used 21 times in the plural and once in the singular. It has the idea of a clear, definite, authoritative command. 5. Statutes (huqqim) – used 21 times and means “things inscribed or engraved.” It denotes the permanent, fixed, unchangeable nature of God’s Word. 6. Judgments (mishpot) – used 19 times in the plural and 4 times in the singular. It stands for a legal decision or a ruling from the bench that establishes a precedent. 7. Precepts (piqqudim) – used 21 times and has the idea of taking charge. It refers to God’s edicts, mandates or requirements. 8. Testimonies (edoth) – used 22 times in the plural and once in the singular. It refers to the solemn declarations of God’s standard for human behavior. 9. Ways (derek) – used 5 times in the plural and 6 times in the singular to refer to the pattern of life marked out by God’s Word. 10. Paths (orah) – used 5 times and is similar to “ways.” Let´s read this portion of Psalm 119 again, and I will substitute the more precise meaning of the Hebrew every time we encounter these words. Psalm 119:9–16 NKJV 9 How can a young man cleanse his pattern of life? By taking heed according to Your revelation. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your clear, authoritative commands! 11 Your revelation I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your permanent, unchangeable truth. 13 With my lips I have declared All the lasting decisions of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your solemn declarations, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your divine edicts, And contemplate Your path for me. 16 I will delight myself in Your unchangeable declarations; I will not forget what You have revealed. May this be our prayer and commitment to the Lord today! Psalm 119:1–8 NKJV
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord! 2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! 3 They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways. 4 You have commanded us To keep Your precepts diligently. 5 Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes! 6 Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commandments. 7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments. 8 I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly! The first word of Psalm 119 is “blessed,” in Hebrew “as-re.” Literally it means “oh how blessed” or “oh how happy.” This is the same way our Lord began the beatitudes, “Oh how happy are the ...” This is an interesting beginning because, as we will see, the writer of this psalm indicates some 65 times in 176 verses that he is suffering affliction. He can identify with us, and we with him! These are trying times for us all, each day with surprises and lots of uncertainties. About the time I am encouraged by one pundit sharing some good news, the tube changes to a different speaker who unfolds doom and gloom! But the author of this psalm has found the way to pluck the berries without the cuts and sticks of the briars. He has discovered happiness that flows out of heaven when only sadness and grief blow in the winds upon the earth. We cannot know with certainty who the author is, for he is never named. However, the psalm reads like it came from the hand of one who walked in the valley of the shadow and found God there beside him. The words and phrases resound like they were spoken by a man who has been both sheep and shepherd. I think it is one of the many psalms of David, likely written over a period of years, like a journal or a diary. It is only a point of interest who the human author is for we know that the ultimate author is the Holy Spirit who inspired the words in the heart and hand of a man to record God´s truth for us to be able to read today. So, how can we be blessed? What can anoint us with the oil of gladness in the middle of these troublesome times? He tells us plainly. Happy and blessed are the
Vs. 4 You, Lord, have commanded complete obedience. Vs. 5 I wish that I lived more completely that way. Vs. 6 Because I do not always obey, reading Your commandments makes me feel ashamed. Vs. 7 I renew my commitment to worship You, Lord, and learn more about Your ways. Vs. 8 I will try to do better, just don´t abandon me! Wow! I can really identify with David here. David was a man after God´s own heart, not because he always did what was right or godly, but because when he didn´t he was honest and repentant. And God did not forsake him. Jesus has promised all of us who have trusted Him who paid the penalty for our sin that we might become righteous in Christ, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” I am so grateful. In the past several blogs I have been addressing the HOW of the question HOW does God accomplish His goals and purposes in our lives as we walk through difficult times.
We have already seen the answer from the New Testament and observed an example from the Old. I now want us to go to Psalm 119, which is the longest psalm of the Bible. The subject matter of Psalm 119 is the Word of God, but not just that. It is a collection of poignant statements of truth about HOW the Word of God accomplishes the purposes of God when it is obeyed and practiced. I will offer several examples, but the entirety of the psalm is worth reading with these two truths in mind.
A person cannot cleanse his way of life without the instruction of the Word of God, but just hearing the instruction is not enough. We must hear and do. We must heed the Word!
The Word of God has the counsel we need. But it will only help us as we delight in its counsel and do it.
It is the truth of God´s commandments that offer wisdom, but we must make them a part of our lives. The way to do that is to meditate upon God´s Word so that it pops in our mind the very moment we need it. Then when we recall it, we keep it. That is the way change is accomplished. My friend, knowing and doing this is what will allow us to walk through times of trial with success. This is what will enable us to come to the end of a period of great difficulty and see God´s purposes accomplished and His goals fulfilled in each of our lives. Is that what you want to happen as a consequence of this pandemic in your own life? I do. I do! To that end, I am going to at least begin to walk us through Psalm 119. The psalm is written in twenty two sections, each section being eight verses long. If you could read Hebrew, you would see that each verse in a particular section begins with the same letter. So, the first eight verses of Psalm 119 each begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet – Aleph. This is where we will start tomorrow. Psalm 119:1-8. Each day, we will read the Treasury of Wisdom, meditate upon it, and see how to apply it directly into our lives. Times of hardship and trial are always times of opportunity, because God always has purpose in the things He sends or the things He allows into our lives. The Lord has given us a sure way to cooperate with what He desires to do, a way that always works.
James 1:22 NKJV But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Gideon was a young man in a land in much greater trouble than our own. Every year at the time of the harvest, the Midianites would invade Israel and take all the crops and livestock that the Israelites could not successfully hide. God certainly had plenty of purpose in allowing Midian to “get away with this” year after year. His purpose for Israel was to bring them to repentance. But God also had purpose in the lives of each family and each individual. Gideon was the youngest of his family, but God had a work in this young man´s life He wanted to accomplish. The only portion of the written Word of God in existence at this time were the Books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) and possibly the Book of Job. So when God wanted to give Gideon a word, the Angel of the Lord brought it to him. When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and told him the Lord was with him, Gideon didn´t believe the angel. He said, “If the Lord is with us, why is all of this happening? The nation is impoverished. People are dying.” How many people are asking that same question today? Are you one of them? Then God revealed that He Himself was the Angel of the Lord, and He said to Gideon, “I am going to deliver Israel through your leadership.” But Gideon doubted and demanded a sign. He prepared a meal for Lord. The Angel of the Lord reached out with His staff and touched the food, and flame vaporized it; and then the Lord disappeared. The Lord returned to instruct Gideon later that night. At last Gideon believed he really had talked with the Lord, and the Lord told Gideon to destroy the altar of Baal built in his city. Gideon did! He obeyed the Word of the Lord. God gave Gideon success in tearing down the altar of the pagan god, and Gideon began to exercise the leadership God had called him to do. He began to raise an army, but again battled with doubt, wondering if God could really empower him to defeat the Midianites. So Gideon went through the test of God´s call asking for there to be dew on a fleece in the morning when the ground was dry. When the Lord did this, Gideon reversed the sign to be sure it really was the work of the Almighty. Folks, “putting out a fleece” as a way to get a sign from God is not an act of faith but of doubt! Nevertheless, God was growing Gideon, and He confirmed the sign. But when He did, Gideon again responded in obedience. The next time God gave a command, this one to trim the size of his army from 32,000 to 300, Gideon obeyed without seeking a sign. Do you see the growth?
Israel was set free. Gideon was a changed man! Every time of trial and difficulty is an opportunity for growth in the Lord. The twin keys to unlock God´s wondrous transformation are
We are exploring HOW God uses His Word to accomplish His purposes in us, especially when we are walking through difficult times.
Saturday, we were in the middle of looking at … 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. We noted the magnitude of the promise here that God-breathed instruction would tell us the truth, show us when we err, instruct us how to make correction, and in general train us in being righteous as God is righteous. My, my, what a word from God! But we paused when we noted that the Spirit said that this Holy Word from Holy God MAY make us complete, MAY equip us for every good work. Do I dare be completely honest here?
I have learned across the years, when I am not understanding something well or completely, to read before and after – to get the context. So, let´s back up to verse 14. 2 Timothy 3:14–17 NKJV 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. Paul is speaking to Timothy as his father in the ministry. He tells Timothy…
Timothy, and us by the way, must continue in the Scriptures. What does that mean? The word translated continue means to
HOW does the Word of God cause His purposes to be accomplished in our lives?
I confess: I always loved the TV show “How It Works.” I still watch re-runs when I can. I have just never been fully satisfied to know that something does work, I really want to know how.
When I was in college, my university bought its first computer, primarily for use by the business office. However, they opened up a night class to us math majors in Computer Programming. I hated night classes, and although I was a senior, I had never taken one. I took this one. I wanted to learn how to make that beast work! I loved it. We learned to code in Fortran (I know that dates me, but it´s not like you can´t tell the same thing by looking at my face!). Some years later the first home computers came out, and I bought one of the first offered by Radio Shack. The operating system it came with accepted Basic as its programming language, and I learned it. Again, I wanted to know how to make this brand new, cutting-edge machine work! A friend of mine in the first church I pastored had similar inclinations. Together we wrote programs to computerize the records of the church, more than a decade before commercial church software was available. We digitized our membership records, contribution records, church accounting, and word processing. We did all of that just because we wanted to, out of our desire to know how. Everybody is not built that way, and I attribute no godliness to the characteristic. But maybe you are that way. Maybe you like to know how something works. I find that there are others that do not have that innate curiosity, but learning how something works increases their confidence that something does work and will do so consistently. Perhaps that is the reason why God tells us in His Word why obeying His Word works in accomplishing His goals for us, not just in hard times, but all the time. Look at what He reveals. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. How does reading the Scripture work to accomplish God´s purposes in our lives?
-Reproof – telling us things that are wrong -Correction – Telling us how to make the wrong things right -Instruction in righteousness – practical instruction in how to be who God wants us to be
That is truly wonderful! But I must admit that one word bothers me. “MAY” I want to read “WILL” or “SHALL.” The text says “MAY,” and that is what the Greek text says. Hummmm. There must be more to HOW this works than I have so far explained. We will pick up here tomorrow. When hard times come, God has His reasons. Those reasons are always righteous and good, because that is who God is.
During those times of difficulty and even pain for God´s children, God is very intentional in how He desires to use the season of trial to accomplish goodness and righteousness in the lives of those who belong to Him. But in order to reap the goodness and the righteousness in our lives, we must cooperate with what God is doing. He will not force us to make positive changes. Instead, He enables us to make those changes if we are willing. So, we have been looking at what He teaches us through His Word about how to cooperate with what He wants to accomplish in our lives, especially as He works in and around us in hard times. We saw first that we had to admit that we are inadequate to handle the difficulty or make the changes He desires by ourselves or in our own strength. We were reminded that we need to admit to ourselves and to Him that we cannot live the Christian life on our own. Having declared our inability, then we trust in His super ability. That description seems trite – super ability. Today the world reads and watches movies about all these super heroes with super abilities. But we know they are not real. Sadly, their lack of reality breeds doubt in some people´s minds that there is a real God who has genuine super abilities. But our God is real, and He is all-knowing; He is all-powerful; He is present everywhere. Even those of us who believe this cannot fully comprehend His abilities. Luke 1:37 NKJV For with God nothing will be impossible. Ephesians 3:20 NKJV Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, But we must not stop with just believing in God and His power. Sadly, this is the place many Christians quit! They acknowledge the power of God and really do believe it. But they do not take the next step which is essential in cooperating with God and reaping the blessings that come with having His purposes accomplished in their lives. The fourth and final step of what we are to do is… OBEY HIS WORD! If Paul had not gotten in the basket, his troubles would have greatly multiplied. If the Hebrew children had not obeyed the Word of the Lord, they would not have enjoyed His protection. If the children of Israel had not marched forward according to the command of the Lord, many would have been slain on the shores of the Red Sea. If the leper had not believed in Jesus and asked for His help, the leper would have died in misery. If either Elijah or the widow had not obeyed what God said to do, both would have gone hungry. When trouble comes, what do you do? What are you doing now in this time of trial brought on by the Coronavirus? Are you boasting to yourself or others, “I can handle this”? Are you saying, “Well since I am a Christian, I am confident that I can just walk through this unscathed”? Please! Don´t! Admit your inadequacy. Acknowledge that you cannot live the Christian life in your own strength. Trust in God. Depend upon God. Rely upon God. And obey His Word. Do what He tells you to do and do it immediately! Repent and confess sin. Stop doing that which He says is wrong. Start doing that right thing He has been urging upon you. Just obey what the Word of God says. What do we do in times of trial? How do we cooperate with God´s plans and purposes for us during difficult days?
WE ADMIT THAT WE ARE INADEQUATE TO HANDLE THESE THINGS BY OURSELVES. WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE CANNOT EVEN LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE ON OUR OWN OR IN OUR OWN STRENGTH. The third thing to do is RELY ON GOD WHO IS MORE THAN ADEQUATE TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE. The Bible is filled with the accounts (all 100% true and unexaggerated) of how our God, who spoke the universe into existence in six days, in His glorious power chooses to use that power for the good of His people! When Paul preached in Damascus,
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to the image of Nebuchadnezzar,
A leper whose limbs were decaying on his body,
I am inadequate to handle this alone. I am not able to even do what is pleasing to You in my own power. But Lord, I trust You. You have all the power. You love me. I am Your child. I trust You to get me through this, For my good and Your glory. |
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