E17: Psalm 119: Living Life in the Light of God's Word - Confidence From Gods Word

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learn from God's Word together. If you would like more

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The Lord has given us that privilege in Himself to trust in

Him and to lean on His everlasting arms, and He's

promised in His Word that He will uphold us with His

righteous right hand. Anyone here thankful for that

this morning? What a great hymn to end our

time of singing praise to the Lord and prepare us to go into

looking at the Word of God because that hymn speaks of the

confidence that we have in Christ.

And I want to talk to you a lot this morning about confidence,

specifically confidence from God's Word.

As we continue looking in the 119th Psalm, as we have been

walking this journey for quite some time now, learning to live

life and light of God's Word. Today, what I want us to see and

what I believe that the psalmist properly outlines for us to see

is that we can truly walk in confidence from God's Word.

And we know this, we know in this world is that there are

some things that we just cannot put confidence in, right?

For example, the stock market. The stock market can rise or

fall based on things that. Are completely out of our

control. We can't put confidence in our

four O 1K because of that. How about the weather man?

We can't put a whole lot of confidence in the weather man,

can we? In fact, the weather man has has

cost me mini a fishing trip because the weather man said

that it was going to be windy and raining and lightning and

Thunder. And I said, you know what, I'm

just going to wait. I'll wait to another day.

And and you know what happened, just as it happened at my house

yesterday, the rain and the Thunder and the lightning never

came. And I know you got it here.

I didn't get it where I was, but we can't trust the weather man.

We can't put a whole lot of confidence in him.

In fact, we know this. He's the only man who can get it

wrong most of the time and still keep his job.

What about cell phones and Wi-Fi signal, right?

When you need that the most, that's when you have it the

least. We can't put confidence in these

things. Oh, at the risk of opening

Pandora's box, I'll close it very quickly after our I open

it. But.

We can't put a whole lot of confidence in politicians

closed. Not up for discussion, not here,

not now. But The thing is, we know that.

We've seen time and time again where they say one thing and

then they do the exact opposite of that when they claim to be a

part of one party and then they defect to the other party.

And so we can't really trust in the stock market, weatherman,

cell phones, Wi-Fi signal, weather, I mean politicians and

people. In general, myself included.

I, I can tell you this, you can't put your, your full

confidence in this guy because this guy's going to let you

down. And, and I'm not foolish enough

to think that I can put full confidence in you or any other

human being for that reason, because we're human beings and

we're flawed and, and at times we're going to let even those

people that we love the most down.

So in a world where it's difficult to have confidence in

many things, I want us to learn today that as believers, we can

have full confidence in the Word of God.

We can have full confidence in everything that the God has

declared in His Word, and we can fully trust every single one of

His promises, precepts, statutes, truths that He reveals

in Scripture. In fact, Isaiah understood this

one. He says in Isaiah 55 and verse

10. He says as the rain and the snow

come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering

the earth, and make it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed

for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes

out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty,

says the Lord, but will accomplish what I desire and

achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah had learned to have complete, and in fact is

communicating that complete trust that we should have

confidence that we should have from God's Word and in God's

word. And today as we pick up in the

119th Psalm with the Hebrew letter EIN, the 16th letter of

the Hebrew alphabet, followed by then those subsequent 8 verses,

we're going to see that the psalmist is going to teach us

about confidence from God's Word, what that confidence looks

like, how we can walk in that confidence and all the areas

that we can trust God in concerning His words.

Psalm 119, verse 121. Again under that Hebrew letter

Psalms 119:121

9, it says I've done what is righteous and just do not leave

me to my oppressors. Ensure Your servants well-being.

Let not the arrogant oppress me. My eyes fail looking for Your

salvation, looking for Your righteous promise.

Deal with Your servant according to Your love and teach me your

decrees. I am Your servant.

Give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.

It is time for You to act. O Lord, Your law is being

broken, He says then in 127, because I love your commands

more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all

your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.

That it's kind of stemming from our message last week where we

learned what biblical hatred truly is, what a righteous

hatred looks like biblically. The Psalm is still holding to

that. Theme.

I hate every wrong path, including the paths that he is

prone to take. And so we see here as we examine

these 8 verses, we have much to learn about the confidence that

we can receive and that we can possess from God's Word.

Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we

thank you for your word. Lord, we thank You that as your

word goes out, You were going to accomplish exactly what you

desire to accomplish through Your word.

Lord, we pray that Your will would be done.

We pray that your will would be done.

Not our will, not our desires, but that You would accomplish

exactly what you desire to accomplish this morning.

God, I pray as we learn more. From your word that we would

stand more confidently in the truths that we see in scripture,

That by doing so You would be glorified in our lives, and

others would see their need for Christ and that they would trust

Him. God, I pray for any lost soul

who may be here this morning. Lord, I ask.

That you are merciful and kind to God.

And in your kindness, Lord, you would lead them to repentance

this morning. That you would bring them to a

place of faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

That you would graciously save them from their sin, from the

wrath that is to come upon the center.

And God will be careful to give you all the glory and all the

praise for it. And we pray all of these things

in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

So as the psalmist unfolds this section for us, he is focusing

on and walking in the confidence that he does have and that he

has gleaned from the Word of God.

And isn't it true that the Word of God does give us confidence?

In fact, many people when you preach the Word of God

unapologetically and boldly, they will accuse you of being

arrogant or sometimes even. Cocky in your approach.

I'm here today to tell you this. We need not apologize for the

fact that we trust in the Word of God to a degree that it gives

us great confidence. I am not here today standing

before you saying thus saith Kirk Hall.

What Kirk Hall says does not matter when we open the Word of

God. What we are proclaiming is thus

saith the Lord. So any confidence that you may

see come from me this morning, please know this.

That is confidence and that is trust fully in the Word of God,

which can be fully trusted. So the psalmist understands

this. He understands that we can truly

receive and walk in confidence from God's Word in many.

Areas of our life, and in fact, all areas of our life.

He starts with this one that that the word of God gives us

confidence in verse 121 God's defense he says I have done what

is righteous and just do not leave me to my oppressors.

Ensure your servants well-being. Let not the arrogant oppress me.

He is trusting here fully in the fact that God is going to defend

him against his unrighteous enemies.

And as we learn and study the Word of God, we can't help but

grow in our confidence that God always has and always will

defend the righteous. In fact, it is He who through

Christ has made you righteous. It is He who is making you

righteous, not only positionally, but practically in

your life as you live out the Christian faith.

And He has promised in His Word over and over and over again to

defend the righteous. We see it in the Psalms.

We see it all throughout Scripture.

We see it here today in the 119th Psalm that God has

promised to defend the righteous.

And the Word of God gives us great confidence in knowing

this, that God has truly promised to defend his people

who are right. That's good news for us, isn't

it? And a world who is seemingly

against the believer at every turn.

Have you noticed that everybody in our society can have rights

and be respected except the person who adheres to the Word

of God? When a person begins to adhere

to the word of God, the enemies arise from every direction,

don't they? If you haven't experienced.

This in your life, you're not living loudly enough, because

when we truly live out the word of God before the lives of the

Pagan, in the eyes of the Pagan, they will despise the light that

they see because they know nothing of darkness.

But in all of that, God has promised to defend His people,

the righteous. He's promised this in his word.

The psalmist understanding this and having confidence in it, He

says in Psalm 34 verse 15, the eyes of the Lord are on the

Psalms 34:15

righteous. And his ears are attentive to

their cry. But the face of the Lord is

against those who do evil to blot out their name from the

earth. The righteous cry out, and the

Lord hears them. He delivers them from all their

troubles. That's for all the people who

think that God's on everyone's side.

He's not. Please make this known today.

He is on the side of righteousness because he is a

righteous and a holy God. Therefore he cannot side with

anything else. He will not ever defend the

unrighteous, but he has promised to always defend the righteous.

Just as we saw in our Scripture reading from Psalm 46 this

morning, we can trust in that. We can trust in the fact that He

is the defender. Of the righteous, Proverbs 2

Proverbs 2:7

verse 7 says he holds success in store for the upright.

He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards

the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful

ones. What confidence that we have

from that knowing this, that if I am in Christ and I am doing

and living what Christ has commanded me to do and live

according to His Word, empowered by His Spirit, that God is

defending me all the way. I am thankful that I have

learned this lesson in life because I, like many of you,

unfortunately used to think it was my job to defend myself even

when I was doing the righteous work of God.

For instance, when you. Do teach and preach the word of

God. You are going to have critics

and there are going to be people who say all sorts of ugly things

against you that are not true. And you know that they're not

true because you know your heart.

And God knows that they're not true because God knows your

heart. And I have learned, thankfully,

with years. I pray that you wouldn't wait as

long as I did to get this lesson.

I have learned that God is my defense, that He defends me even

when I don't know it. If I am walking in

righteousness, I can trust that He's a shield who Shields me

from the attacks of the enemy. The psalmist here.

Trusting in that confidently I I've done what is righteous and

just do not leave me to my oppressors.

He knew that the Lord was not going to abandon him to his

enemies. He says ensure your servants

well-being. Let not the arrogant oppress me.

He's the Lord I am trusting in you.

I have done what I am to do. I have walked in righteousness.

I have walked justly. Now I'm confident in you.

And what your word declares that you will be my defense.

Psalm 710. He says it like this.

My shield is God Most High who saves the upright in heart.

I pray today that you would examine yourself and ask

yourself that question. Am I upright in heart?

In the depths of my being is my desire to live a righteous life

before a holy God. For the believer, that will be

the depths of your heart. That will be your desire.

Maybe you're still growing to that point.

You're not yet there. That's OK.

We're all in this process, aren't we?

What is the desire of your heart?

Because that's what God knows. That's what God is concerned

with when our desire is righteousness, doing what is

right. We can trust in the promise of

the Word of God that He'll defend those who desire to do

what is right. Add an old man.

Tell me one time very simply, you can't go wrong doing right.

Isn't that true? You can't go wrong doing right.

Even if people say all sorts of evil things against you.

When you're doing right, God knows you're doing right.

You're doing what would please him to the best of your

knowledge, and God defends you. So we see that the psalmist is

walking in great confidence in God's defense because God has

promised to defend the righteous.

Not only that, God has proven to defend the righteous.

Oh, I love when we see promises in the Word of God that we can

cling to like we've already talked about it.

God being our defense, God being our shield, He being our refuge,

our ever have, our ever present help in our time of need.

But I also love to see when He proves himself to be faithful to

that which He has promised. We see it all throughout

Scripture and all throughout history.

The psalmist is confident in those things.

The fact that God has proven to defend the righteous.

You see examples like Noah, when the wicked and the unrighteous

of this world were destined to die in the deluge.

Noah, a righteous man who found. Favor in the eyes of the Lord,

He and his family were saved, and they were secured in the

ark. That God had instructed him to

build, Then God leading him there, placing him in that ark,

shutting and sealing the door for his safety and salvation

from the flood that would come. So God defends.

Those who are righteous, how about Abraham and Lot?

They're in Sodom and Gomorrah. And yes, Sodom and Gomorrah was

destroyed because of homosexuality, because we can

read the account. And what happened was this,

Contrary to what any liberal theologian wants to tell you,

what happened was this. Two angels were there and they

look like men, and the depraved men of Sodom desire to have

sexual relationships with them. That is homosexuality.

And God destroyed those cities because of that.

But in destroying those cities, what did he do?

He defended Abraham and Lot. And he took those who he

considered righteous, and he removed them from the equation.

Aren't you thankful when God defends you and removes you from

the equation? How about Moses and the

Israelites? At the red.

Sea that day, Speaking of how God is our defense, God parted

the seas of the Israelites and Moses.

All of His people could pass safely through on dry land.

And then when the Egyptians following them, pursuing them,

tried to do the exact same thing, what did the Lord do?

He closed the waters up. We know that it engulfed them

and killed them instantly. Why?

Because He was defending His righteous people.

So we see that God has always been, by example, the defender

of the righteous, proving that he does this constantly.

How about David, as he faced a little guy named Goliath, who

was no little guy at all, And David went out there and what

did he go out there clothed in? Not armor.

Saul's armor wouldn't fit him. He went out there clothed in the

righteousness of God. He went out there to stop a

blasphemer who was blaspheming his God and Father.

And we know that God defended him that day, just as He's

always done and as he continued to do in David's life.

Continued to defend him as Saul tried to take his life.

Oh, you remember the account? Saul hurling a spirit David.

Do you think for a second, Saul, being the warrior that he was,

did not know how to throw a spear accurately?

But someone intervened and defended the righteous.

We know that God intervenes and he defends.

The righteous. And so we see that God has

proven to defend the righteous over and over again.

He's promised in His word to defend the righteous, and we can

have full confidence in the fact that He will defend us just as

Daniel did when he was cast into the lion's den.

You know the story. He refused to stop praying.

He continued to pray because that's what he had always done.

He wasn't staging some kind of coup or rebellion.

He was just praying as commanded by God to pray that morning.

When others arrived, what did they take note of?

There was no harm done to Daniel, and the lions were still

hungry. What happened here?

Our faithful God intervened and defended His servant against the

lions and against the tyranny of his day.

Oh, and we need also to remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

the friends of Daniel. We know this.

And because they refused to bow to the golden image that

Nebuchadnezzar had made, they were thrown into the fiery

furnace that was heated 7 times hotter than usual.

Yet when all the onlookers took note, they saw something

interesting. That there is another there in

the furnace with them who looks like a son of God.

That's the only way they knew how to describe the preincarnate

Christ, that he doesn't look like it normal folk.

There's something powerful about Him.

There's something going on here. They're dancing in the fire.

They are celebrating the fact that nothing is happening to

these men. And even when they pulled them

from the fire, what did it say? Their clothes didn't even smell

burned. Why?

Because God is always there with His righteous people, defending

them. We see he's faithful to do that.

We can have great confidence. And then how can we have great

confidence? Because it's declared in his

word, through his promises, and through the proof that he gives,

through the defense that he has given to his people throughout

the ages. Aren't you thankful that you

serve the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?

Aren't you thankful that you serve the God of Daniel?

Aren't you thankful that you serve the God of David and of

Moses? Aren't you thankful that you

serve the one true God through the Lord Jesus Christ?

Aren't you thankful for that this morning?

That you can have great confidence from God's Word, that

that same God who said he'll never leave you and he'll never

forsake you is defending you right now even without you

knowing it. So we can't have that confidence

from God's Word in regard to God's defense.

God always has, He always will be the defender of the

righteous. So if you err in life, err

toward righteousness, err toward holiness, and you'll find that

that is no error at all. Lean on the everlasting arms, as

we sang about a moment ago. Trust in His ability to defend

you and to uphold you. Secondly, we see this from this

text. The Word of God gives us

confidence in God's defense, but it also gives us confidence in

God's declarations. Look at verse 123.

He says, my eyes fell looking for your salvation, looking for

your righteous promise. He says, I'm waiting for the

salvation that you have promised to bring to me.

And then he says in verse 124, deal with your servant according

to your love, and teach me your decrees.

Here we have the psalmist again. Longing as he confidently trust

in God's promises according to his Word, he is looking intently

toward the salvation that God has promised that he will

receive. So what is he?

Doing He's longing for what has been declared, promised.

God has promised to save him. How many of you here today say,

yes, God has promised to save me in Christ Jesus?

Are you longing for that? Are your eyes fainting for that?

Do you look toward the eastern sky daily and say, Lord, and let

today be that day that you deliver the salvation that you

have promised to deliver to all who believe and trust in you?

Lord, let. Today be the day, the psalmist

here, he's trusting in God's declarations to save as if they

are today, he says. My eyes, they're growing tired

from looking for your salvation all the time.

You know what's upsetting about the church in America?

We don't look for His salvation all the time.

We think things like this. Lord, would you just delay so

that my children can graduate high school?

Would you just delay so that I can see them graduate college

and get married and have a fun? Would you just delay till I get

that promotion and that raise? Would you just delay so I can I

can retire and enjoy life? Yes.

We have no sense of confidence in that which God has promised

to those who has promised to save.

Lamentations chapter 3 says this verse 25.

Lamentations 3 · chapter mention

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who

seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for

the salvation of the Lord. Are you waiting quietly for that

which you have been promised in Christ Jesus?

Because God has. Promised to bring salvation to

all who by faith trust in Him according to His Word.

You trust in that. You trust in Philippians 16.

Being confident is that he who began the good work and you will

carry it on to completion. Do you long for that?

The day you were glorified and you were in the presence of God

forever because of what Jesus Christ did for you at the cross,

Are you clinging to those promises?

Are you yearning for that day and longing for that day?

Because we ought to have confident trust, shouldn't we?

And everything that God has declared about salvation will

come to pass. He's made declarations that he

will save. You said, well, I already am

saved. You are positionally, but please

know that you have not seen the full fruition of salvation yet.

Until He returns, until you are glorified and can actually

really experience everything that He has promised you in

Christ Jesus. The sad part of the American

church is we don't long for that.

We're OK with living life in this world as long as we get to

go to heaven in the end. No, I am not OK until I see my

Savior face to face, until I see the scars in His hands and His

feet and I know He's the one who bled and who died for me.

He is the reason that I exist, the reason that I am forgiven,

the reason that I have eternal life.

That's what I'm longing for. That's confidence and salvation.

The psalmist, you're confident in that My eyes fell looking for

your salvation, looking for your righteous promise.

God has promised to bring salvation to all of us who trust

in Christ. In that manner, you can

confidently take that to the bank, and everything that he has

said about salvation that will be delivered to His people will

be delivered on that day. The Saints of old longed.

For this. Romans 822 We see this, even the

earth longs for this. It says, We know that the whole

creation has been groaning, as in the pains of childbirth,

right up until the present time. Why is creation groaning?

Because creation was made susceptible to sin.

When man fell in the garden. Creation fell with man, he says

in verse 23. Not only so, but we ourselves,

who have the first fruits of the Spirit, indwelling Holy Spirit

in US, guaranteeing the inheritance that he has promised

us, the eternal life that he has promised us, He said.

Those of us who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we also

groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our.

Adoption, the sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

Anyone here eagerly awaiting the redemption of your body because

you can look at yourself, you can look at me.

We're we're not saved bodily yet we still have on corruptible.

But just like Paul, he said one day I shall put on

incorruptible. He knew that he would be

transformed as he said in the moment and in the twinkling of

an eye. Then he would be ushered into

the presence of God, where he would dwell forever.

What a promise are you longing for that are you resting?

In that Psalm 63 verse one says this.

It says you God are my God. Earnestly I seek you.

I thirst for you. My whole being longs for you in

a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Where are the Christians who are longing for the salvation that

He has promised, confidently knowing that He who has made

these promises to us is faithful yearning?

For that day. Hebrews 928 says this.

So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many, and

he will appear a second time. Not to bear sin, but to bring

salvation to those who are waiting for him.

A church that is not waiting for him is not a church.

He is bringing salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

What is He talking about? Who are waiting for the promises

that He has made to glorify those who He has?

Justified and fellowshipping with them for all eternity.

What great confidence we can have when we dive into the Word

of God and we see God's declaration of these things,

knowing that one day we will be delivered from the filth and the

mess of this world. And because of God's Word, we

long for that longing to be delivered so that we can bow and

kiss the feet of the Savior who bled and who died for us.

Are there any believers who are longing for that?

Because all professing believers should they should be, they

should be like the apostle Paul in second Timothy chapter 4

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

where he says there in verse seven, I fought the good fight,

I finished the race, I've kept the faith.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness with the

which of the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that

day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for

his appearing. What is he saying?

Those who have received imputed righteousness from Christ will

be longing for His appearing until the day that that

righteousness is filled, when that crown of righteousness is

placed on your head, and you can kindly take it off and lay it at

the feet of Jesus, thanking Him for the righteousness that He

gave for you. But the Word is where we find

confidence in God's declarations, His declaration to

save. This also speaks of His

declaration to sanctify. He says my eyes fell looking for

your salvation, looking for your righteous promises.

He then says, deal with your servant according to your love

and teach me your decrees. Isn't it true that as we wait

for those promises of ultimate salvation, there is something

else going on known as sanctification?

He is making us more like Christ.

He is conforming us to His image and so we have to trust

confidently in those promises that He has made us, that if we

are in Christ we will be sanctified and set apart for.

Christ Romans 622 says this. But now that you have been set

free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you

reap leads to holiness and the result is eternal life.

So as we are waiting for the end result, eternal life.

We in the sanctification process are being led to holiness.

How? By the Word of God.

Jesus, we know in John 17 says sanctify them by truth.

Your Word is truth. And so we can have confidence in

God's declarations concerning salvation, but we can also have

confidence in His declaration to sanctify us, those declarations

concerning sanctification, that He who has begun this good work

in us will carry it unto completion.

We can go back to John 17 and we can read that high priestly

prayer there. Go ahead with me in your Bible,

turn to the Gospel of John, and let us read that together in

John 17 verse 19. Excuse me, verse 11.

John 17:19

We're going to read to 19. I love the sound of pages

turning. How about you guys?

I'll wait for you, he says in 11 I will remain in the world no

longer. But they are still in the world

Speaking of his followers. And I am coming to you, Holy

Father, Protect them by the power of your name.

Is he not the defender who protects us?

Of course, He is the name you gave me so that they may be one

as we are one. He's setting them apart.

They may be one as he and the Father are one.

What fellowship? What communion?

He says while I was with them, I protected them and kept them

safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the

one doomed to destruction so that scripture would be

fulfilled. He's saying Judas Iscariot's the

only one he's lost was scripture said he was going to be.

He goes on and he says this. I am coming to you now, but I

say these things while I'm still in the world, so that they may

have the full measure of my joy within them.

I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them, for

they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that

you protect them from the evil one.

They are not of the world even as I am not of it.

He says this in verse 17. Sanctify them by the truth.

Your word is truth as you sent me into the world.

I have sent them into the world for them.

I sanctify myself that they too may be truly sanctified.

May we see there what Christ did for us, setting himself apart by

going to the cross and bearing the sin and the wrath that

belong to us, so that we then could by God be set apart for

His. Glory.

And for his purposes God has declared to sanctify and to set

apart all those who trust in Christ.

And so the psalmist here saying, deal with your servant according

to your love, and teach me your decrees.

Aren't you glad that those of us who are in Christ, God deals

with us according to His love? There are many who think that

God will deal with everyone forever according to His love.

But I have news for all of you. The ungodly will be dealt the

indignation and the wrath of God for all eternity as we

experience His love according to His promises, just as we are

experiencing that now, as we are being sanctified by His Word.

Let us rest. And confidence in the things

that he has declared, his declarations to save and his

declaration to sanctify, knowing this, that one day, because he

has started this, the author and the perfector of my faith will

finish this rest in that with great confidence.

We move thirdly to psalmist next area for discussion, which is

the Word of God gives confidence not only in God's defense and

God's declaration, but also in God's discernment.

I like points like this because they're very helpful to the

preacher who likes to use alliteration.

God gave me the D for my alliteration here.

I don't have to think about it. I don't have to.

Consult at the source here, he says plainly, I am your servant.

Give me discernment. That I may understand your

statutes. You know what a privilege it is

to be able to trust confidently in God's discernment, His

insight, his wisdom that He gives from His Word.

If you've walked as God long enough and you've walked in His

Word long enough, you know the Word of God gives us that

insight and that discernment that we would otherwise not

have. So we just as a psalmist is

doing here, we should confidently trust in the

discernment that he gives us from His Word, the insight that

we received directly from the Scriptures, in fact.

Second Peter. Chapter one, verse 3, it says

this his divine power has given us everything we need for godly

life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own

glory and goodness. And where do we find the

everything's that we need? We find them in the pages of

Scripture. He.

Gives us this powerful insight, this powerful discernment in the

pages of His eternal Word. And so we see as we look at

God's discernment and how we can have full confidence in that as

we trust in the discernment from His Word.

Note some things here that the psalmist mentioned, and I want

you to write it down first. We see that it's supplied to

God's servants. God knows that the psalmist

belongs to him. But the psalmist reiterates

this. I am your what servant.

I belong to you. Now, news flash, everyone here,

You don't have to tell God in order for him to know something.

He's omniscient. He already knows all things.

What the psalmist is declaring is his right as a servant of God

because he knows that God's discernment is reserved for

those who truly belong to him, that this discernment is

supplied to God's servants and God's servants.

Alone because God's Word promises insight to those who

belong to God. Proverbs chapter 2 verse 6, it

Proverbs 2:6

says for the Lord, it gives wisdom from his mouth come

knowledge and understanding, all wisdom and knowledge and

understanding, true wisdom, knowledge and understanding that

which is from God and not from man or man's own intellect, his

own devices. It comes directly from God.

To his servants, in fact, James, in first chapter of the Epistle

of James in verse 5, what does he tell us to do?

He says if any of you lack wisdom, that's me.

How many of you here lack wisdom?

All of you, because he's talking about godly wisdom.

He says if any of you lack wisdom, you should do what?

Ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and

it will be given to you. Now when you ask God, here's

where you need to go and find it in the pages of scripture.

Why? Because it's God and His word,

as we saw in Proverbs 26, that gives us insight and knowledge

into the things of God. It doesn't work like this.

God, give me wisdom. And then you just stand there

staring at the wall and all of a sudden, sudden wisdoms going to

be imparted to you. No wisdom comes as you study the

Word of God, as you dive into the depths and the insight and

the knowledge of Scripture, as you glean wisdom from the all

wise, all knowing God. He supplies that to his

servants. And this insight is not for

everyone. That's why the psalmist declares

I am. Your servant.

It's reserved for only those who belong to God.

This insight is not understood. By everyone, but only those who

are are being directly taught by the Holy Spirit of God who lives

in you. That's why the psalmist declared

just a few weeks ago ago, I have more insight than all my

teachers. Why?

Because he was receiving direct insight from God as God led him

and as God taught him through. The Scriptures, So the psalmist

here standing in great confidence in God's discernment,

knowing that he will be supplied with all the discernment, all

the wisdom and all the insight that he needs from the Word of

God. Because he belongs to God and.

He also knew that those who do not belong to God do not have

access to these things. First Corinthians chapter 2

1 Corinthians 2:14

verse 14 you should know this. It says the person without the

Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit

of God, but considers them a foolishness.

And cannot understand them because they are discerned only

through the Spirit. What is he saying here?

Well, he's saying just this. We know that the the the word of

God breathed by the Spirit of God as he carried the men of old

along. Now if this is spiritual and its

birth, it remains spiritual for all eternity.

And the natural man can't understand the Word of God

without discernment from God. And the interesting thing is

that discernment from God comes from the Word of God, as the

Spirit of God gives you insight and wisdom concerning the very

things of God that flow. Off of these pages and you have

to understand that that those who are not servants of God

don't have inside on anything concerning God.

That's why we see them and they're walking around as if it

seems in total ignorance Yes, it is ignorance.

In fact, scripture says they're walking around in darkness and

you're walking around in the. Light.

What is light? Light is truth, and you were

brought to the truth. And how are you brought to the

truth? Through the preaching and

teaching of the Word of God. God use that to open your eyes

to see your darkness, exposing it with His light.

Now you understand those things because the Holy Spirit lives in

you, give you that direct insight and knowledge into the

things of God that you knew not of prior to your conversion.

In fact, Ephesians 4 says this about the lost verse 18.

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from

the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to

the hardening of their hearts. A person with a hard heart can't

understand the Word of God. That's why you must first be

regenerated where you receive a new heart.

That heart of stone is taken from you and it is replaced,

according to Ezekiel and the promise there, with that heart

of flesh. And then when that heart of

flesh is then transplanted into you, you can now understand the

things that are flowing from the pages of Scripture as the Holy

Spirit moves in. And He is that guide, and He is

that teacher in your life, that interpreter of the very Word of

God as you read it. And so we see that we can have

and should have great confidence in.

The word of. God in regard to God's

discernment, the insight that he does give us, Isaiah speaks of

this and Isaiah 11 verse two, he says the Spirit of the Lord will

rest on him, referencing Christ, the Spirit of wisdom and

understanding, the spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit

of the knowledge and the fear of the Lord Spirit resting on

Christ, same Spirit living in US, the third person of the

triune Godhead and dwelling us so that we can then confidently

take the scriptures and we can confidently receive discernment

and insight and wisdom and knowledge from the word of God

as we learn and as we study it. But it's supplied to God's

servants, and it's supplied so that we can understand God's

Scriptures. He gives us wisdom from His Word

so that we can then understand greater wisdom from His Word.

Those of you who have walked with Christ long enough, you

know this. When one door is opened, you go

into another room and you learn all that is in that room.

And then when that is done, the Spirit takes you through another

place and you learn more. And we see that building block

after building block is produced.

As you grow in your understanding of the Word of

God, as you grow in your depth of insight and knowledge.

And the Scripture supplies that for us, and God has promised to

give us that insight that we need that insight for living

this Christian life. It's all found here in God's

Word where we can confidently rest in the discernment that he

gives us. Richard Sid said this.

He said those that care not for the Word are strangers to the

Spirit. And they that care not for the

Spirit never make a right use of the word.

What is he saying here? He's letting us know that yes,

Scripture supplies for us knowledge, but the indwelling

Spirit has to interpret and has to grow that knowledge in US.

And He is more than capable of doing that.

The sad and misfortune thing is, most Christians these days are

so carnal in their approach to everything.

They approach the Word of God through their flesh.

They want to understand this like they understand poetry.

They want to understand this like you understand.

Shakespeare. It is an entirely different

animal because the things of God are spiritually discerned, and

if the Holy Spirit does not live in you, dwelling in you, you

cannot understand the Word of God.

If you are a Christian and the Holy Spirit is indwelling you

and you are not yielding to him as you study the Word of God,

right, Because this should be our approach, not just Lord.

Let me check the box of reading Scripture today so that I can

feel like I did the right thing. But this Holy Spirit revealed to

me exactly what it is that You want to give me today in Your

Word, the insight and the discernment and the knowledge

and the wisdom that I need for today.

Thank you, Lord, for being faithful to doing that.

That's having confidence in God's discernment that the

Spirit lives in those who are in Christ and the Spirit lives in

those who are in Christ so that they can discern the Word of

God, the things of God. Have confidence in that.

Trust in that. God reveals wisdom to you from

His Scriptures as the Holy Spirit teaches you, as He guides

our steps. Aren't you thankful that He

guides our steps? Psalm 32, verse 8, He says, I

Psalms 32:8

will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.

I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Well, I'm thankful that God never takes His eye off of me,

that He's always dwelling in me and that He's leading me and

He's instructing me and He's in and He's teaching me His word.

I can have confidence in that discernment.

I sit down week after week after week.

I open the Word of God and I say, Lord, I need Your help to

teach me what this says. Is that not what the psalmist

says? Give me discernment that I may

understand your statutes every week.

Lord, give me discernment that I may understand your statute.

Show me what it is that You want me to see so that I can teach

Your people the Word of God as a spirit in them confirms, Yes,

this is true. Follow after it guides your

steps. Psalm 25.

Verse four, he says, show me your ways, Lord, teach me your

paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are my

God, my Savior. My hope is in you all day long.

Or as we know by now, Psalm 119, what does it say?

Your word is a lamp into my feet and a light into my fat path.

And Psalm 119 one O 5. Hopefully by now you've

memorized that in the series. And what light He gives to our

life, what insight, what wisdom that we glean from walking in

the Word of God, trusting in the Spirit to show us those things

that we need to know. He guides our steps through His

Word, empowered by His Spirit. Not only that, He governs our

lives as we fully and confidently trust in His

discernment. I'm thankful that He governs my

life. He knows what lies ahead and

through discernment from His Word, He is actively

participating in governing my life, leading my every step

along the way, governing, guiding, just as he says that he

will. Second Timothy chapter 3 Paul

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

speaking to Timothy says this in verse 16.

He says all scriptures God breathed and is useful for

teaching, rebuking, correcting and training and righteousness.

He is constantly by His Word, governing our lives as we study

the Word of God, teaching us, even rebuking us, correcting us,

and training us. We can have full confidence in

that. That is His desire as He's

molding and as He's shaping us into the image of Christ.

He's governing our lives just as Joshua prayed that the people

would understand when he said this and Joshua 1/8.

It's just keep this book of the law always on your lips.

Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do

everything written in it and then you will be prosperous and

successful. What was he saying?

Trust in the discernment from the Word of God to what govern

your life, to lead your life, to bring you success.

Not success as the world measure it, to bring you prosperity, not

as the world measures it, but success and prosperity in the

eyes of God. Trust in the Word.

Be confident in God's discernment.

The believer can have that great confidence from the Word of God.

You ever been in a situation where you didn't know what to

do? Anyone here?

Ever been there? All of us?

You know what the best thing to do when you don't know what to

do? Be overwhelmed with anxiety,

freak out, worry and fret. I've found that to be rather

productive in one's life. Those of you who are spiritually

discerning, you just picked up that I have the spiritual gift

of sarcasm. What I'm saying is this.

No, that shouldn't be how we react, should it?

No, you know what? We don't know what to do.

You know what we should do? We should seek advice from the

One who knows what to do in every situation and who governs

our lives through His Word. And we should go to His Word,

and we should say, Lord, I don't know what to do, but You know

what to do. Show me through Your Word.

Give me that discernment. Empower me with Your Spirit to

understand what it is that I'm seeing so that I can walk in

confidence. Trust in Your discernment from

Your Word. He says I'm your servant, give

me discernment that I may understand your statutes.

He didn't want to understand his statues then blatantly disobey

him. Psalmist wanted to do what was

right. He's proven that over and over

again. So we see the word of God gives

us confidence in God's discernment.

And lastly we see this, the word of God gives us confidence in

God's dealings. God is constantly dealing with

mankind, and He will eternally. Deal.

With mankind and we can be confident in these dealings.

Watch what he says here in 1/26 He said.

It's time for you to act O Lord, Your law is being broken because

I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and

because I consider all your precepts right.

I hate every wrong path the psalmist here is having.

Full confidence from God's Word that God will deal with mankind

exactly as He has declared. Please know He's not being

forceful here. He's not telling God what to do.

I can understand where you would think that when He says it is

time for you to act, O Lord, your laws being broken, like

he's telling God what it is that God needs to do.

And I hope everyone don't make that mistake.

You know what he's simply doing. He's simply understanding how

God deals with the unrighteous. He's looking around and he's

seeing wickedness and sin. He's seeing his oppressors.

He's seeing evil men trying to. Dismantle him.

And he says, OK, Lord, you have promised to deal with the

ungodly, and I know that you are going to do this, that you are

going to deal with the ungodly, exactly how you said.

That you will. He knows this with great

confidence, that God has promised to deal with the

ungodly and the unbelieving, that God has promised to execute

His justice on all wickedness and all evil and all unbelief.

How do we know this from the Word of God?

Has that changed? Has it been a race?

I know in the minds of the American church, perhaps it has.

But it hasn't been changed and it hasn't been erased.

God is still going to deal with the unbelieving, wicked,

unrepentant sinners of this world.

We can quickly look at all the things around us and we can

quickly get on the bandwagon. Oh, man, oh, this world's

falling apart around us. It is.

That's true, just like you said. But watch this.

He's going to deal with it all. He is going to deal with the

ungodly. God is going to execute justice

on them, eternally punishing all unrepentant lawbreakers.

I know, not popular in today's church culture, is it?

But it's still biblical. The Psalm is here, resting in

that. It's time for you to act.

Oh Lord, your law is being broken.

People are blatantly spitting in your face.

You know what he's saying, Lord, I know you're going to do

something about it. I know you're going to avenge

Your holy name. I know You're going to take care

of everything that You promised concerning the wicked and the

unrepentant. He's simply trusting in that.

He has confidence in that. Let me just tell you this, I

have confidence in this. Are you ready?

It's going to sound old fashioned.

It's going to even sound Hellfire and brimstone stonish.

I have confidence of this because the Word of God declares

it that all unrepentant, unbelieving sinners who do not

turn to Jesus Christ in this last lifetime will experience

the lake of fire, which is the second death for all eternity.

You will face the wrath and the judgment of God in hell.

Why? Because I think that's a fun

thing to believe in. No, because that's what

Scripture declares. Now will not go against the

Scripture for your comfort. I'll confidently stand there and

say that God has promised to deal with the ungodly, and He is

going to deal with the ungodly. And your only hope of escape is

to repent of your sin and to turn to Jesus Christ as your

Lord and Savior and to trust in Him according to the Word of God

and according to the true gospel that we see in Scriptures.

And in doing that, God then has mercy upon your soul.

He rescues you from that judgment that you deserve.

He adopts you into his Kingdom as a son and as a daughter.

You're welcomed into his family to commune with him.

Not just to commune with him spiritually speaking in this

lifetime, but to commune with Him for all eternity.

And so the world Word of God gives us great confidence in

God's dealings that He's promised to deal with the

ungodly. That would make things urgent

for us if we understood. That wouldn't it that loved one

who does not know Christ, we would be eager to tell them

about Christ. That total stranger does not

know Christ, We wouldn't make us eager to tell them about Christ.

Why is it he's the only hope that anyone has?

But you have to really believe that he's going to deal with the

ungodly, just as he's promised that he will, executing his

justice upon the wicked and the unbelieving, punishing them for

all. Eternity under his wrath and

judgement, you say? When, pastor, I don't like that

kind of preaching. You like unbiblical preaching,

my friend, and I can tell you this.

There's much of it to be had. There are lots of places that

you can go where they won't even touch the topic.

And I grieve for you if you have a desire to be there.

But since we are here at a place who preaches the full counsel of

the Word of God and who has confidence in the full counsel

of the Word of God, I will tell you this.

Just as the psalmist has declared, God will, as promised,

deal with thee ungodly. He will deal with him forever

and an eternal fire with a worm never dies, and the fire is

never quenched according to the words of Christ, Romans chapter

Romans 2:5

2, verse 5, for the unbeliever know this.

It says because of your stubbornness and your

unrepentant heart, you were storing up wrath against

yourself for the day of God's wrath when his righteous

judgment will be revealed. There's a warning for you in the

word of God, His dealings with unbelieving men.

He says right now, because you have not turned to Christ, you

are storing up for yourself wrath.

Every day that you spit in the face of God and you blasphemy

him with your life, you were storing up more and more wrath.

That will ultimately, unless God has mercy on your soul allowing

you to repent, and I pray that he will.

I pray that he does this very day because you're at his mercy

unless you do repent and believe in Christ.

Every day of your life is the storing of wrath for that moment

that you face God in judgment, and rightfully so.

Nahum chapter 1. Don't turn there because you

Nahum 1 · chapter mention

probably can't find it, but Nahum 1-2 says this.

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God.

The Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.

The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vinces wrath against

his enemies. This is for all of you who

thought God was just this teddy bear in the sky.

He's not a weak and he's not an impotent God.

He is a God who will deal with all the unbelieving justice he's

promised to do. Have confidence in that.

He goes on. He says the Lord is slow to

anger but great in power. Thank you.

Lord that you're slow to anger the great in power.

And the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.

His way is in the whirlwind, in the storm clouds are the dust of

his feet. Oh, he'll not leave the guilty.

Unpunished. I know what the question is

next. Well, Kirk, are you saying that

you're not guilty? Absolutely.

I'm guilty, but I can claim not guilty.

And you know why I can claim not guilty.

I can claim not guilty because Jesus Christ more the guilt of

my sin on a cross 2000 years ago, where he bore the wrath of

God in the judgement of God in my stead, in my place.

And I can tell you this, I am a guilty man who can claim not

guilty. Why?

Because his righteousness was imputed to me.

My sin was imputed to him. He bore my sin.

I bear his righteousness now I'm thankful for that, that he who

knew no sin became sin, so that I might become the righteousness

of God. But those without Christ have no

hope. Those without Christ, you are

condemned already according to John chapter 3, in the words of

John 3 · chapter mention

Jesus Christ. And unless you believe on the

Son of God and trust in him as your Lord and Savior, you will

face the promised judgment that will come upon all the wicked

and the unbelieving. The psalmist here understanding

that, confident in that, in God's dealings.

The dealings that are promised to the ungodly, but also this.

He's confident that God has promised to deliver the godly.

Aren't you? Thankful if you're in Christ,

that He has promised to deliver us from the judgement and the

wrath that we do rightfully deserve.

And He will do this eternally, rescuing those who believe the

Word of God in regard to Jesus Christ and submitting to Him,

truly surrendering to Him, denying yourself and taking up

your cross and following Him. His promise to deliver all who

obey the Word of God in regard to this repenting of their sin,

repenting of the evil in their life, Trusting in Christ, not

according to your opinion or pop culture, but believing in Jesus

Christ according to the very word of God.

Trusting in Him for who He is and how He says that we must

trust in Him. Proverbs 11 verse 21 says this.

Proverbs 11:21

Be sure of this. The wicked will not go

unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.

Thank you Lord, that You have imputed righteousness to all of

us who by faith have trusted in Jesus.

Lord, I pray for those who have not.

Because when you read things in the Word like that, be sure of

this. You ought to go on and highlight

them and underline them. There's no way around it, he

says. Be sure of this.

The wicked will not go unpunished.

I'm thankful that God does not count me among the wicked

anymore, because I was once counted among the wicked.

Deserving of the wrath of God. But instead, because of Christ,

I'm forgiven and I'm cleansed. I'm now counted among the

righteous. I will forevermore be counted

among the righteous because of Jesus and what He did for me at

the cross. Can you say the same thing?

Because he's promised to deliver the godly.

He's promised to deal with the ungodly.

You have one of two. Sides of the fence to stand on,

don't you? You stand with the unbelieving

and the ungodly, and you are promised to face the judgment of

God. You stand on the opposite side

in Christ. And God has promised to deliver

you eternally, rescuing those who believe and who trust in

Jesus Christ according to God's holy word.

Oh, be warned, Sir. Be warned, ma'am, this morning

of what the word of God says, Psalm one, verse 5.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor

sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous.

But the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

There will be destruction for the wicked, and there will be

deliverance for the righteous. Paul says this in Romans 10.

He says in verse 11 as Scripture says, anyone who believes in him

will never be put to shame. But there is no difference

between Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord of all,

and richly blesses all who call on him. 13 says, For everyone

who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And why would we call upon the name of the Lord?

Because a preacher has just told you that those who do not trust

in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and as their Savior

will face the promised destruction and judgment that

awaits the ungodly and the unbelieving in hell.

That same preacher has implored you this morning.

To have confidence in the promises of God, to deliver the

godly. And how can you be godly?

You can't be godly on your own. You've proven that there's

nothing righteous. No, not one.

No one seeks after him. The making of a godly man in the

making of a godly woman begins with God.

His grace extended to you in Christ, for it is by grace you

were saved through faith. It's not of yourself.

It's the gift of God, not of works so that no man can boast.

It is a work of God. And I pray for you this morning

that God do a work in your life even now, ushering you out of

the sight of darkness, ushering you into His marvelous light,

moving you to. Call.

Upon the name of the Lord, Because all who call upon the

name of the Lord will be saved. Surely He's moving in lives this

morning, calling you, drawing you, leading you to a place

where you in desperation see the judgment that awaits for you,

and you cry out to him for mercy and deliverance.

And know this, He is faithful to deliver all who call on him.

He's brought you to this point not so that you can get mad at

me, a preacher who still talks about hell, so that you can cry

out to him that he might rescue you and bring you.

Into eternal heaven, eternal life in Christ.

What great confidence we have in God's dealing with men.

I'm confident 100% God is going to deal with mankind one of two

ways. He's going to sentence the

unbelieving, the unrepentant to hell.

And he's going to welcome, welcome those who have

surrendered to Christ into his presence for all eternity

because they have been cleansed by the precious blood of the

Lamb. Which side of the fence are you

on? As we prepare to close this

morning, let us ask that question.

Let us ask. Ourselves many questions as we

contemplate and meditate on the word that we have seen this

morning. Believer, ask yourself this

question. Are you walking in the

confidence that comes from knowing knowing God's word?

Are you walking in that? Do you know enough of God's word

to be confident in it If not, herein lies the problem.

Those of us who. We devote ourselves to learning

the Word of God. We can rest assured of this,

that we can have confidence in God's defense that He is

defending the righteous all of the time, night and day, never

sleeping, never slumbering. We can confidently trust in His

declarations. Everything that He said will

come to pass, and everything that He said is true.

We can confidently trust in His discernment, the insight and the

knowledge that He gives us, the wisdom that does not come from

this world, that comes from God directly, and we can have

confidence in His dealings. Do you have that?

Are you walking in that? To the unbeliever who may have

slipped in this morning, God is going to deal with the

unrepentant sinners justly. And I wish I could paint a

different picture for you, but I can't and I won't.

And unless you repent, you will perish for all eternity under

the wrath and the judgment of God.

And we've seen that in His Word. Let me declare for you one last

time today. He will have mercy upon all and

deliver all who by faith trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord

and Savior. And I would encourage you with

all the strength that a man has to encourage another man to

encourage another woman. I would encourage you today

because tomorrow is never a guarantee and Scripture is very

clear that today is the day of salvation.

I would encourage you to today repent of your sin.

I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ crying out to Him to

rescue you and save you and to confidently know that according

to His Word, He will, just as He's promised.

Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we

thank you so much for your word. Oh, the truth and the insight

and the depths of your knowledge.

Lord, thank you for giving us a glimpse into those things today,

but I pray that your Spirit move and hearts now that you would

through this message, encourage the believer leading them where

it is that you purchased them to be.

God, I pray for those who are here in an unbelieving state.

Lord, I pray that through the regenerative power of Your Holy

Spirit, even now You would quicken them to life, birth in

them faith and power to repent of their sin and turn from their

wickedness and turn to Christ, showering them with Your mercy

and Your grace, giving them the direction and the insight and

the wisdom to call on the name of Jesus and be saved this

morning. And we'll give you all the glory

for it. We pray these things in Christ

name, Amen. You've been listening to Key

Life Fellowships Pulpit Ministry podcast.

Join us each week for more teaching from God's Word.