E15: Psalm 119: Living Life in the Light of God's Word - The Perspicuity of Scripture

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podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we

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

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pastors, please visit us at keylifefellow-ship.com.

As you open your Bibles this morning, turn with me to Psalm

119. We'll be looking at verses 105

all the way to 112 this morning in our text.

And the topic that we will be discussing today is one that

unfortunately is not the subject of many of the modern self help,

success driven, human psychology based messages or so-called

sermons that people are receiving from the pulpits in

our country and across Christianity Today.

However, to the men of God of yesteryear, the subject that we

are going to be talking about was a very important aspect not

only to their theology, but also to the entirety of their

Christian lives, their Christian walks.

And the topic that I'm referring to is what the Puritans called

and the Reformers called the perspicuity of Scripture.

Now, I know that perspicuity is not a word that we today use

very often at all. But I think when we revisit what

they meant by this, what, what it really means to be

perspicuous, it means to be clear or to offer a clarity.

And when we talk about the perspicuity of Scripture, we

talk about the Scripture being clearly written, clearly

inspired and clearly understood, especially in regard to the

gospel that has been made so. Clear in God's word and I bring

this topic to you today because I want you to know that God is

not hiding his truth and in some kind of secret code book where

you have to have your own and thumb and.

Glasses to see what it says. He's not hiding it or veiling it

in some mysterious or hidden formula or numerical code that

you have to figure out. That's cereal that used to buy

when you were a kid and you would receive those glasses so

you can read the messages. That's not the word of God.

The word of God, as we were going to see.

Has been made clear and He wants us to clearly understand that

which He has revealed to us in His Word.

I hear often from people I don't understand the Word of God.

Then I asked him, are you spending time in His Word?

Well, I listen to you preach on Sunday morning.

That's not enough because on Sunday morning I am going to buy

the gifts that I have been given, give you clarity on that

topic. And what you're going to have to

learn to do is when you're studying the Word of God on your

own, you're going to have to trust and the perspicuity of

Scripture meaningless that God is clearly given Scripture so

that you can clearly understand it.

He is not hiding anything from you.

He wants you to know. He has preserved His word

throughout the ages so that you can know.

It's given it to you in a language that you speak so that

it will be clear, it will be understood the way that he

intends for you to understand it.

The Westminster Confession of Faith, along with the London

Baptist Confession of Faith, that would be the second one,

the 1689, the one that we adhere to as a church.

It says it's exactly the same in both of those confessions.

It says all things in Scripture are not alike plain in

themselves, meaning not everything is equally clear.

But it says this. Nor alike clear unto all,

meaning not everyone will understand everything he says.

Those things which are necessary to be known, believed and

observed for salvation are so clearly propounded and open in

some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned

but the unlearned may attain unto a sufficient understanding

of them. Both of those confessions

guaranteeing this standing on this, that God's Word has been

made clear enough for even someone who is uneducated to

understand. That means this.

If you are a PhD it is clear enough, but if you are a GED it

is as equally clear to those who will read and study the word of

God, especially in regard to knowing and believing the

Gospel. Richard Baxter in a book called

The Reformed Pastor, he says this.

He says God hath not written his laws in such obscure characters

or delivered them in such ambiguous terms as that men

might not know them. Baxter simply saying this God

has delivered his word in a way that you can know it.

Not keeping it from you, making it known.

John Owens said this. He said the word of God is a

light and a lamp. Wonder where he borrowed that

from. We'll see you in just a moment.

He said the word of God is a light and a lamp, and it is able

to make us wise unto salvation and to instruct the man of God

in all things necessary unto his being.

So he's saying the word of God is a lamp for us, revealing to

us what it is clearly that we need to know from the

Scriptures. William Perkins in a book called

The Art of Prophesying, which has been used by God to help me

to really understand preaching and why I do what I do and how I

do what I do. Perkins said this.

He said the Scriptures are playing in themselves and and do

interpret themselves. They are a light unto our feet.

Again, Perkins, borrowing from the Psalmist here in Psalm 119,

one O 5, as we'll see in a moment.

Showing us that the scriptures are playing in themselves and do

interpret themselves. You say.

What do you mean by that? It's called the analogy of

Scripture meaningless. If you come to something in

scripture that you say to yourself it is unclear, you feel

that is unclear to you, go to something pertaining to the same

topic elsewhere in Scripture that is clear.

And then you interpret the unclear based on the clear, and

then you have clarity on both. You see how that works?

Many people refuse to do that. And that's where you have people

saying scripture could possibly contradict itself.

That's not the case. The contradiction that is

involved in this is you and not the Scriptures.

And so when we look at what these men of old stood for, they

stood for again, the perspicuity of Scripture, the fact that it

has been and is made clear to us.

Thomas Watson. Says it like this rather tongue

in cheek. I believe he said the word is

plain to the sincere. It is a lamp to the feet and not

a puzzle for the brain. I love that it's a lamp to our

feet, not a puzzle to the brain. This is not something that we

have to rack our brains to try to figure out.

God has made His word and the things that have been revealed

that He desires that we know. Now granted, there are some

things that God does not desire for us to know.

In fact, Deuteronomy tells us that fact that the revealed

things belong to man, and that the secret things belong to God.

And there are just some things that we will not know.

But the things that He desires for us to know, He makes those

ever so clear through the perspicuity.

Of the Scriptures. So not only is the Word clear,

as these men testify to in regard to salvation and the

gospel. And that is?

Made that way by design gives us such clarity and.

Isn't it true the gospel pretty cut and dried?

Pretty simple. That unless you repent of your

sin and your unbelief, and you turn to Jesus Christ as your

Lord and Savior, receiving the forgiveness that He alone

purchased for man to have at the cross.

That unless you repent and turn to Christ, you will perish for

all eternity under the judgment and wrath of God in hell.

That is the truth and the clear teaching of the gospel, that God

sent His Son to display His love for all who would trust in him.

And he demonstrates that love for us, and that while we were

still sinners, Christ died for us.

Even a child can understand that clearly.

But it goes on beyond even the gospel and salvation.

As the psalmist is going to demonstrate and teach us today,

the perspicuity of Scripture overflows into our Christian

lives, and he's. Actually going to give us.

Five areas that the perspicuity of scripture gives us clarity in

as we live our life for Christ daily so.

Here under the Hebrew letter None.

As we come to the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet, we see the

8 subsequent verses starting with 105.

And he says this. Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path. Many of you say, I think we've

heard this before, and you're right.

In the introduction to this series, this is where we began.

That is why this series is entitled Living Life in the

Light of God's Word. Because that is exactly what God

desires, that we who are followers of Christ do, that we

live our lives as if His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light

unto our path. He goes on, and he says this in

the next verse. I have taken an oath and

confirmed it that I will follow Your righteous laws.

I have suffered much. Preserve my life, O Lord,

according to Your word. Accept, O Lord, the willing

praise of my mouth, and teach me Your laws.

Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget

Your law. The.

Wicked haven't set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from

your precepts. Your statutes are MyHeritage

Forever they. Are the joy of my heart.

My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.

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

come to you now. Thanking you so much for the

perspicuity of Scripture, the fact that Your Word truly is a

lamp into our feet and alive and to our path, that You are

clearly showing us how to live the Christian life that you have

called us to live. And for the believer here who

says that that's unclear simply because they do not consult the

Word, they have no excuse. What I pray that we would in our

heart determine today and be resolved to go to Your Word for

clarity in every aspect of our lives as we see the Psalmist

giving us example after example of the clarity that your word

brings into our lives, that we would walk in that and we would

we would bring you a glory and honor by doing so.

And God, I also pray for the unbeliever who's here today, but

I pray that today your word for the first time would be a lamp

into their feet and a light into their path that you would.

Shine. Into their lives, exposing their

unbelief, exposing their sin through your word.

Pointing. Them to the narrow way of the

Lord Jesus Christ, the only way to the Father, the only way to

heaven, the only way to forgiveness and the only way to

eternal life. And I pray that you make that

known so clearly to them today that they can do nothing but

surrender in faith and repentance to the Lord Jesus

Christ and Lord, we know you will be faithful to your word to

save them as they call on you for salvation.

But as we yield to you now in your spirit.

Teach us, encourage US, strengthen us by your word and

we pray these things in the mighty name of Jesus and all

God's people said Amen. And so we come to the topic of

the perspicuity of Scripture, the fact that the Word gives

clarity. Anyone here thankful for the

clarity that the Word gives in your life?

I'll just go on and tell you this.

If you're already thankful, you're going to be tenfold

thankful by the time that we're done, because we're going to see

once again how powerful God uses His Word in our lives as

believers. The first.

Thing that I want you to. See is this and the Psalmist, he

definitely declares this with his words and with his life that

the word of God gives us clarity for first of all, living.

Psalm. One O 5 says that your word is a

lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

He's speaking here of a walk, that we are walking on a certain

path. He says I have taken an oath and

confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.

Here we see the perspicuity of scriptures giving clarity for

living the Christian life. Isn't that a question that we

ask ourselves many times? How am I to live this new life

that I have received? In fact, I get this from from

nearly every new convert to Christianity that I talk to.

Their next question is how do I learn to live this new life?

I'm thankful that they understand you have a new life

and just as with your own life, you were born and to this world

naturally and you had to learn and you had to grow, didn't you?

It is the same with your new life in Christ.

The fact. That you have been.

Born again to this new life. Now there is this process of

learning and growing and living, and I can tell you this, it can

be rather hazy at first, right? Knowing what to do.

I'm thankful that when I was saved, I had a man who made it

very simple and clear to me. I knew I was saved.

I knew the Lord had saved me there at my seat.

I went back to the little room as we would and I went in there

and the man was talking to me about what was going on and I, I

really wasn't listening. I knew what had just transpired.

God called this wicked Sinner out of the darkness of my sin

and He awakened me. He quickened me to new life.

Now I couldn't explain it like that then, but I knew in that

moment that just took place. So when he got through talking

to me about all the things that he had been trained to talk to

young men about, I asked him this question.

I wanted clarity. You know what I wanted clarity

on how do I live this new life? I know I have a new life.

I heard the preacher saying that if I call into Jesus, He's going

to give me a new life. And I know how wretched I am and

I am in need of a new life. And how did I know that?

His Spirit revealed that to me through the preaching of His

Word. And then I asked him, man, So

what do I do next? He kept it simple for me.

He said you need to get baptized.

Pretty clear. Why did I need to get baptized?

Why I didn't need to get baptized to get saved?

Because I was already saved. I needed to get baptized because

I had been saved, confirmed by scripture.

Later on as I study and I learned that topic, that man

said go get baptized. I said, OK, when can I do it?

He said tonight we're having baptism.

I said I'm in. You want.

To check with your family? No, I'm in.

So what next? Right.

I want a clarity. What do I do next?

How do I live this life? He said you have a Bible.

You know what I believe? I believe if I'd have said no, I

don't have a Bible, I believe that man would have given me his

Bible right then or he would have found me.

One, I said, yes Sir, I do have a Bible.

My grandmother gave me a Bible. Many of you have heard this

story, but you've never heard it in light of God giving us

clarity in how to live this life.

He said, you have a Bible. I said, yes Sir, I do have a

Bible. He said, read it, will do again.

I've been reading it ever since and you know what?

It gives me clarity on how to live this life over and over and

over again. Every crossword that I've ever

come to, I turn to the word of God and it teaches me how to

take the next step. So what next?

He says. Tell everybody what Jesus has

done for you. I've had the privilege of

telling everybody. Not only.

In this country, not only in this state, other states, other

countries, I've been blessed with the privilege of telling

everyone I come in contact exactly what Jesus Christ has

done for this Sinner that was. According to the word of God,

right clarity that this man stole all those things from the

scriptures. Here's what I'm supposed to do

Supposed to. Be baptized.

Why? According to the scriptures,

Give me clarity, right? That's the next thing to do.

What am I going to do next? Read the word, live it, tell

everybody else, make disciples, go on, tell people about Jesus

Christ, evangelizing them with the truth of the gospel.

Word of God tells us how to live this life that so many times we

we often forget to go to the Word of God for clarity on what

do we do as Christians. What do we do now that we're

Christians? Yes, I'm saved.

I'm on my way to heaven. I'm forgiven all my sin.

Now what? You've got a life to live and

you've got a life to live until he brings you home.

And you need to resolve. To live this life the way that

the Word of God teaches us to live this life.

Look at the. Insight from the psalmist here.

He's trusting in God's light. He's not trusting in any light

from any outside source. He's not trusting in any light

from within himself. He's not trusting.

In. The light of philosophy or

ideology. Even in his day, he's trusting

in the Word of God. Your word is a lamp to my feet

and the light from my path. Why is his word a lamp to our

feet and a light to our path? Because Jesus is the light.

And we? Know that he is the light and He

is the Word. John said in the beginning was

the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14

says the Word became flesh and dwelt us, dwelt among us.

So we see that Jesus Christ is the light of this lamp, shining

into his Word, so that we may understand it.

A lamp without a flame is just a fixture.

But this is Christ. Who is this flaming?

We can trust in God's light, and we can trust in God's light to

do the same thing that it did for us at salvation our entire

Christian life. And what is that?

To dispel the darkness. Darkness doesn't go away just

because you're saved, does it? No, there's darkness all around

us. There's darkness in this world.

There's darkness in our old sin nature that we still battle with

constantly our flesh. We have to trust in God's light

to dispel this darkness. Don't you?

Thankful that that light dispels darkness.

You know this to be true. If you don't know this to be

true, I'll give you a kind of fun experiment.

Go home, shut yourself in a closet and turn out the lights.

Now, moms, don't stay in there too long.

The kids need you. Some moms I can see.

Them going to turn off the lights and say, oh, I'm just

going to stay here for six weeks.

Shut the door. Turn off the light and then flip

the switch on and immediately. At the speed of light, darkness

is dispelled completely, and that's the word of God.

It dispels the darkness in our lives.

Psalm 19, verse 8, you just read a portion of it a moment ago.

Psalms 19:8

I'll read another verse here. It says the precepts of the Lord

are right. Verse 8, giving joy to the

heart. The commands of the Lord are

radiant, giving light to the eyes.

Thank you, Lord, let You give light to our eyes so that we can

see the truth and we can see the truth clearly.

So the perspicuity of Scripture gives us clarity for living as

we trust in God's light to dispel the darkness, but not

only that, to direct our steps. He says, Your word is a lamp

unto my feet, and a light from my path.

We see a walk here. He is trotting and walking on a

path. Isn't it interesting that the

word of God over and over and over again, calls our Christian

life a walk? It speaks of the fact that

we're. On a path.

Jesus himself talked about us walking on a narrow road.

And here we are walking on a narrow road and we know this.

It's a narrow Rd. on the side of of a mini treacherous cliffs,

isn't it? And if we're not careful,

trusting in the word of God to clearly light every step on our

path, we will succumb to one of those cliffs.

Psalm 32 verse. 8 says this says I will instruct you and teach

you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch

over you. Aren't you thankful that the

Lord has promised to do that? And he has accomplished.

That promise, and kept that promise in His word.

Preserving it so that we can have it, so that every step that

we take, He protects us and He directs our steps.

He has shown us how to live this Christian life.

Why we are trusting in Him and His Word?

For light along this path, Micah 6-8 says this.

He has showed you. Oh man, what is good and.

What does the Lord require of you?

Right. God's not hiding from us what it

is that He desires for us to do. What is that to act?

Justly and love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Now the Word of God has revealed that to us over and over and

over and even in the life of Jesus Christ.

Did Christ not live and walk and act, just as Micah 6-8 says that

He is, To live, walk and act justly, full of love and mercy,

walking humbly before God the Father?

Did Christ Himself not do that? Of course Christ did, and His

Word gives us clarity in the fact that that is how we are to

live our lives. It's a sad day when the church

looks to other Christians and says, well I'm not going to do

it. So and so is not going to do it.

Instead of looking to Christ and saying this is.

The image that I am being conformed to.

Why? Because He walked in perfect

obedience to what? The Word of God.

And as we walk this walk, as we are living this Christian life,

it is God's word that He uses to direct our every step as He is

dispelling the darkness that is ever before us.

Thomas Manton said this. We clearly understand our duty

by the Word of God. We know what to do as Christians

because the Word of God has told us He hasn't.

He hasn't hidden this from you if you are not doing that which

God wants you to do as a believer.

If you're not doing it, you're simply ignoring what God's Word

has already declared and that He has been precisely clear about

for our Christian lives. He tells us clearly what our

duty, our duties are as Christians in the Word of God.

We have to trust the word. We have to trust it the fact

that it has been clear. We can't compromise on what has

been made clear. So we're going.

To live this Christian life with the clarity from the Word if the

trust in God's light, but we also have to determine to trod

in God's light. We have to walk in this light.

No, I hate to say this, but I'll be honest with you, even as a

believer, there have been times in my life where I did not

utilize his word as a lamp unto my feet and the light unto my

path. I chose to go my own way.

I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand before you get

nervous. If you've ever gone and done

that, if you you've been a Christian, any mountain time,

you've gone and done that. And in that you see the value of

the Word of God, that when I stay in the Word of God, and I

walk with the Word of God as a lamp unto my feet and a light

unto my path, He directs my steps, and those steps are steps

of righteousness for His name's sake.

However, when I try. To do it on my own, outside of

the Word of God. There's little or no clarity at

all in my life. And before you know what I'm

walking. I'm trotting places that I

believe or ought not trod, before I even recognize that I'm

there. Why?

Because I stepped out from the security and the safety of

living in the light of His Word. So we have to trust in God's

Word as light, but we have to trod in God's light.

We have to walk there. We have to live there.

In fact, Proverbs 3 verse 5 says trust in the Lord with all your

Proverbs 3:5

heart and lean not on your own understanding and all your

waves. Acknowledge Him and he will make

your paths straight. There's that walk again and He's

making our paths straight. How?

By all of our infinite wisdom and knowledge.

No, our so-called infinite wisdom and knowledge is going to

lead us down the wrong path. But it is His wisdom and

knowledge, as revealed in His Word, that He has made ever so

clear to us that will lead us in the path that He desires for us

to go. He then.

Making our paths straight. And so the Word of God gives us

clarity for living and living the Christian life devoted to

God's path. That.

Path that He's laid out for us, and He promises to lead us into

obedience down that path, to bring Himself glory, to walk us

in safety. So as we trod in God's light,

let us be devoted to God's path, as the psalmist is here.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light into my path, he

says. I've taken an oath and confirmed

it. He's saying I'm devoted to this.

I've taken an oath. An oath to do what?

Walk in the light of God's Word, and to walk in His path as His

Word illuminates that path for me.

We see him devoted to God's path, promising to walk.

In obedience I would to God that he would raise up a group of

people who would promise God, oh God, I'm going to walk in

obedience to your word really mean that with all our heart to

really mean it as the psalmist did here saying I've taken an

oath, I've confirmed it. How did he confirm it By

actually doing it. He was devoted to God's path,

but then he was determined to obey.

Look at his heart here, the determination, he says, and I

confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.

He was determined to be obedient, determined to know

God's law and to know that it is right.

That's what he's saying here when he calls it God's righteous

law, his right law. He says, God, everything that

you say is right and everything that I say and do is wrong in

and of myself and it leads me down wrong path.

But your word and the clarity of your word, it leads me down the

right path because your law is right and we know His law is

right, don't we? Did you know even the lost man

knows that the 10 commandments are right?

You don't believe me? I encourage you to do this.

You can get it online. Just pull up the Texas Penal

Code. You can pull up the fact that

the Texas Penal Code understands and honors that God's law is

right. We know this, right?

If we steal from someone, where are we going?

Jail, We murder someone. Where are we going, Joe?

Where do you think that they got these things from?

They got these things from God's righteous law and his righteous

law meaning this it is right. The psalmist understanding is

says I'm devoting myself and I'm determined to obey that which

is. Right as I live.

And God has made that ever so clear, hasn't he?

What right living looks like. Many.

Times we forget that the fact that God gave us His law to show

us what His righteous standard is, and yes, to show us what His

righteous standard is, to remind us that we fail at every one of

our feeble attempts in our humanity.

However, when we failed, Christ came, and he obeyed the law

completely on our behalf, and he then imputes his righteousness

unto us. Not so that.

We can now live any way that we want to live so that we can

live, as the psalmist is saying here, following his righteous

laws. We now live in obedience to the

Word of God that has been made ever so clear to us through the

doctrine that we are looking at today.

We live this life now out of appreciation for what Christ has

done for us. And so everything that's needed

to live a God honoring life, everything.

That's needed for your Christian life is found in the Word of

God. The Word of God gives us clarity

for living. Secondly, the Word of God gives

us clarity for another topic that the Psalmist addresses for

US, one that we don't like to talk about much, but that

Scripture talks about quite often.

That is the fact that the Word of God gives us clarity for

suffering. He says in one O 7 I have

suffered much, preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word.

He goes back to the Word again. He says I'm suffering much and I

might not understand why I'm suffering so much, but I'm going

back to your word and I'm going back to your word because there

I have understanding. There I have clarity and the.

Perspicuity of Scripture gives us clarity even into our

sufferings as Christians. The Bible clearly teaches us

about suffering. First, the Bible teaches us

about the reason for suffering. Did you?

Know that we can understand from the Bible why we might be

suffering in our life, right when we ask that question.

Why me? You ought to be asking, why not

me? Every Christian throughout the

course of time has had to suffer trials of many kinds.

Why? Because Jesus said that we

would, and He himself did. But the Word of God teaches us

with clarity how to do that. It tells us the whole reason for

our suffering, so that we can have some understanding into

this. The word makes it clear that our

sufferings in this life are never in vain.

They're they they they are are joined together with a sovereign

purpose. We might not know what that

purpose. Is.

But we. Can't know the reason for our

suffering. How about?

This Sometimes we suffer so that God can bring us to himself.

Anyone. Here suffer prior to your

Christianity, because little did you know that God for ordained

before the foundations of the earth to rescue you, and he

allowed you to suffer and and put you flat on your back so

that you would look to Him and call unto Him to save you.

Anyone here ever? Suffered in that way.

I can tell you this, if you're in Christ at this point in time,

you're grateful for that suffering.

You're grateful for the fact that God let you suffer so that

He could, through His Word, make it so clear that I have a plan

for your life and the plan that I have for your life.

It's not that you die in your sin, but that I rescue you by my

grace, and I bring you into fellowship with me.

When we understand that clearly from Scripture, we can rejoice

in that kind of suffering. What about this?

What about suffering as a part of the growth process?

Oh, so many times we forget that suffering is a part of our

Christian growth process. I can remember being a little

boy laying there in bed in the middle of the night, growing

right? And you know when your kids are

doing this, you can't keep them in blue jeans.

And your. Legs are being stretched, your

bones are growing, your, your tendons, your muscles, they're

all being stretched. And the doctor would tell you

what you're having growing pains.

You're suffering, but you're growing and that's a good thing.

It's it's part of life and it's a part of our Christian life.

We suffer, but in our suffering, God uses that.

So we will grow. So we we will become what it is

that he desires for us to be. In fact, Paul gives us insight

in this. In Romans chapter 5 verse three,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

he says not only so, but. We also rejoice in our

sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance,

perseverance, character, character, hope.

And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His

love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.

What's Paul saying here? That suffering is a part of the

Christian life, But suffering has a purpose many times for the

believer, and he wants us to have clarity on this.

It could be that you're suffering in your Christian life

because God is stretching you. God is causing you to grow, and

you are growing for His glory so that you will persevere and so

that you will. Bring.

Him glory in every aspect of your life.

So perhaps the Word gives us clarity in the fact that we're

suffering because it's just a part of the growth process.

Doesn't the Word teach that? What about this?

What about the fact that we might be suffering in order to

simply share in Christ's suffering?

I know that the American church doesn't consider this an honor.

But. Thankfully, the American church

is not the extent of the entire bride of Christ.

There are those around the globe who are suffering for Christ

right now who consider it an honor because they get to suffer

as Christ suffered for them. Peter says this about this kind

of suffering. He says in first Peter chapter 4

1 Peter 4:12

verse 12. Dear friends, do not be

surprised at the painful trial. You are suffering as as though

something strange were happening to you, but rejoice that you

participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be

overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Think about that for a second. What he's saying.

He's saying as you are going through the this, this suffering

and this trial in your life. In every ounce of your flesh

wants to just cry out, whine and complain.

Peter says rejoice and rejoice because you participate in the

sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when His glory

is revealed. I want you to think about that

for a second, seeing suffering clearly in Scripture as a

privilege that only belongs to those that Christ desires to

reveal Himself to. And isn't it true that sometimes

in our darkest hours, in our most intense suffering, we can

relate to Christ the most who suffered in our place and

suffered agony and death in our stead?

And we can also know this, that because of the clarity that we

see in Scripture, not only will we share in His suffering and

have that privilege, but we will also share eternally in the

privilege of sharing in His glory.

Oh, would you even stop for a moment and begin to fathom that

to? Share in the glory of Christ,

the infinite, eternal glory of Christ, and we will share in

that with Him for all eternity. That gives us reason to.

To rejoice even in our sufferings.

And to suffer with joy in our heart.

Does the Scripture not give us clarity on that?

Of course it does. Because the perspicuity of the

Word of God gives us clarity into our suffering, suffering

and God uses to bring us to Him suffering that is a part of our

growth process, suffering that is in order for us to share in

Christ suffering, to know Him more.

Is that not what Paul said? I want to know him more, even

annoy him in his suffering. It is agony to know that.

That's true love for Christ. How about this suffering due to

the Lord's discipline? Knowing what Hebrews chapter 12

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

says, that whom the Lord loves, he disciplines and he chastens

with rod. And if you're without that kind

of discipline, if God doesn't cause you to suffer when you

rebel, it's confirmation. That you don't belong to Him.

Now let that sink in for a second.

If you're going to live any way that you want to live, and

there's no suffering there, you have clear clarity from

Scripture. You don't know Him.

You're not His. Because my Heavenly Father is

not going to allow one of His children to continually bring

reproach upon His name. He will discipline you until you

get it. He will even take you home so

that you do see the seriousness of that.

See the fact that Scripture gives us clarity into all those

things, clarity into our suffering, why we may be

suffering. How about suffering just simply

because the world hates us? Have you?

Ever thought about that? Seems like I always have to

suffer in this life. Count it as joy.

Everybody else gets the raise. Everybody else gets the

promotion. Everybody else seemingly gets

everything else of this world be.

Thankful that you don't belong to this world anymore, and

praise God in the midst of it. And know this.

And sometimes we suffer simply because the world hates us.

Is that not the reason that Jesus suffered?

Light came Into Darkness, but they hated the light because

they loved their sin. And they proved their hatred,

didn't they, by causing Christ to suffer.

And Jesus himself said this. If they hate you, they're also

going to hate. I mean, if they hate me, they're

also going to hate you because you follow me.

And so see that suffering just a part of the Christian life.

The world is going to hate you right when you come to Christ

your old friends. Begin.

To talk bad about you. They don't want anything to do

with you. They say mean things like you've

changed and you're different. You are changed and you are

different. You need to tell them I'm a new

creation. All the old things are gone.

Behold, all things have been made new.

You're. Absolutely right.

Thank you for noticing sometimes that brings suffering into our

lives through the form of persecution.

But Jesus in his Word and the perspectuity of His Word gives

us clarity, doesn't he? Matthew chapter 5, verse 10.

Matthew 5:10

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of

righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and

falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

He says this. This is our response to it.

Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven.

From the same way they persecuted the prophets who were

before you, the same way they persecuted the prophets who were

before you. Jesus being also a part of that

group, He's letting them know it is a part of the Christian life.

It is suffering because the world and the people of this

world hate us. The Scripture gives us clarity

on that. And so when you find yourself in

a season of suffering, go to the Word of God For clarity, go to

the Word of God and ask yourself this question.

Why am I suffering? Am I suffering because God is

drawing me unto himself? Am I suffering as a part of this

growth process as God is stretching me and God is growing

me my suffering, simply so that I can know to share and learn

what it means to share in Christ's suffering.

Am I suffering due to the Lord's discipline in my life?

Is there unconfessed and unrepentant of sin in my life

and the Lord is causing me to suffer as a form of discipline?

That's real church. Am I suffering just simply

because the Word world hates me because they hate Christ?

Scripture gives us clarity on that, doesn't it?

This is where we learn to value that clarity.

In the midst of our suffering, we turn to the Word of God and

we find the answers. We see the reason for our

suffering, but also we see this as we're learning to suffer.

According to the person perspicuity of Scripture.

We see this not only the reason for our suffering, but the

response to our suffering. How does Scripture teach us to

clearly respond in the midst of our suffering?

I think this is important, isn't it?

Because I can tell you this, I've blown in a time or two.

Well, I. Didn't go to the scriptures and

learn how to respond. In my suffering, I might have

complained, I might have. Bellyache I might have.

Whined. A little bit.

I know none of you have ever done that, but I'll be honest

because I also know that the Scripture's clear on lying.

He gives us the response to suffering.

What he says here, He says I've taken an oath and confirmed it,

that I will follow. Oh, excuse me, He says, I

haven't suffered much, preserved my life.

Oh, Lord, according to your word, He's crying out in that

word. Oh Lord, in desperation, he's

calling out to the Lord to help him.

He needs rescue. And our response to suffering is

this, we need to turn to God as our rescuer, as our salvation,

not just salvation for eternal life and forgiveness of sin.

We know that to be true. He is that, but He's our

constant salvation. He is our constant and ever

present help in our time of need, Is He not?

Is that not why Scripture says that we can boldly come before

His stone of grace and our time of need?

And there we can find the mercy and the grace that we need for

whatever situation that we are going on that is going on in our

life that we are going through. We have to cry out to God to

rescue us, according. To His word, knowing and what He

has promised, he will deliver, not doubting that, trusting that

He will deliver us from our suffering.

Did you know that there is not a Christian who will suffer

forever? The lost man cannot make that

claim. The lost man, though he may not

suffer in this life, he will. Suffer for all eternity but the

save man, though may, he may suffer every day of this life.

When this life is over, he will suffer no more, and he will

suffer never again according to the promises of the word of God.

Let us cry out to our deliver as a psalmist does there.

In Psalm 34 verse 17 it says this.

Psalms 34:17

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them.

He delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are

crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many

troubles, but the Lord delivers him from some of those.

If your Bible says that, get a new one.

He will deliver Him from the mall when I long for the day

that our Savior and our salvation delivers us from all

of our troubles some of. You who are in Christ to you,

you say, I testify to that as well.

And I know that His word is clear that one day He will.

Some of you have had to suffer something your entire Christian

life, and perhaps you will continue to suffer in that your

entire life. But in the end, God, who is

faithful will deliver exactly what He has.

Promised, and that is utter and complete deliverance for those

who are in Christ. No more sickness, no more sin,

no more tears, no more sorrow, standing in the presence and in

the glory of God for all eternity free from the suffering

of this world according to the word of God.

Psalm 91, verse 14, the psalmist says because he loves me, says

Psalms 91:14

the Lord, I will rescue him and I will protect him, for he

acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will

answer him, and I will be with him in trouble, and I will

deliver him and honor him. All the Scripture is so clear

that no matter what kind of suffering that we are going

through as a believer, it is only temporary.

It is limited to this life. And let me just give you the

good news about this life. According to the Word of God, it

is but a mist, a vapour. It's here one second and it's

gone the next. And so know this, that our

sufferings are light and momentary, and they shrink in

comparison to the glory that will be revealed for those of us

who are in Christ. So we must have the proper

biblical response to suffering. Scripture is very clear on what

that is. Cry out to God to rescue you and

then to consider God's word in your suffering, holding on to

the very promises of Scripture as you continue to endure in

whatever it is that you are enduring through fact.

The author of Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23 says, let us hold

Hebrews 10:23

unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is

faithful in the midst of your suffering.

Hold on to the promises of the word of God without compromise,

unswervingly. The psalmist here doing just

that, He said, Oh Lord, according to your word, he says

I've suffered much, preserved my life according to what you have

promised, knowing full well, having full confidence that

God's going to bring him through his suffering.

He is responding in the proper manner, crying out to God for

help, considering God's word in the midst of his suffering.

He says, oh Lord, according to your word, he doesn't want

anything to happen that's not in accordance with his word.

Lord, if it is that I suffer for a long season, you'll give me

strength to to endure and you'll give me deliverance.

If it is that I suffer in a short season, you'll give me

strength to endure and you will deliver me in the end.

So we see the Word of God gives clarity for living, for

suffering. Thirdly, the Word of God gives

clarity for worshiping. 10. Eight, he says, Accept, O Lord

the willing. Praise of my mouth.

He wants His worship and His praise to be biblical.

Watch, he says, and teach me your laws, He says.

I want you to accept my willing praise.

I want to worship you properly. Did you know the perspicuity of

Scripture? Gives.

Us clarity into how we are to truly worship.

I know some of you are saying, oh finally, please tell them

that that we're to seeing hymns and some of you are saying, oh,

please tell them finally that that we're to sing choruses.

Then there are those of you in the middle.

Please tell them to do a little mixture of both.

We're not talking about music. The music is a part of our

worship. It is a part of our praise.

That is why when we sing songs, we sing songs that are based on

the perspicuity of Scripture, the clear teachings of

Scripture. Why?

So that in those songs your heart is turned to God.

Not to your emotions, not to your feelings, not to some warm

fuzzy that you like or your preferences.

Your hearts are turned to God in true, acceptable worship and

praise. And the Scriptures clearly teach

us how to worship God rightfully because the Scriptures give us

clarity and things that are important in our worship, one

that is often forgotten and unfortunately replaced with so

many humanistic things, and that is this, the worth of God.

It is in the Scriptures that we see the worth of God, who He is

and His true worth, His attributes, His characteristics.

Who he is in? Fact.

We go back to Exodus chapter 20, verse 2 as the Lord gives the 10

Exodus 20:2

commandments. He says this in the second

verse. There he says I am the Lord your

God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of

slavery. Why is he saying this?

He's saying this so they can know exactly who he is and he

was worth something to them because they knew what it was

like to be under the yoke of slavery.

And he's teaching them about his worth, who he is, and he reveals

that to them. He then gives them commands that

we know as the 10 Commandments. And he starts like this.

You shall have no other gods before me.

Why? Because I'm the God who rescued

you from the Egyptians. You shall not make for yourself

any idol in the form of anything in heaven above, or on the earth

beneath or in its waters below. Why?

Because no man made thing rescued you from the tyranny of

Egypt and from Pharaoh he. Goes on and he says this, You

shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I the Lord

your God am a jealous God. Why is he saying this?

He's saying don't bow down and worship them because they are

not worth it. I ought to be worth it.

And shouldn't the one who has redeemed us from the slave balk

of sin worth it? Shouldn't he be?

God giving this lesson in the 10 commandments that often we read

right past, he said. By showing love to 1000

generations of those who love me and keep my commands.

Then he reiterates, you shall not misuse the name of the Lord

your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who

misuses his name. What is he saying here in these

first commandments? He's saying I have worth and I

want you to recognize my worth. Church's time that we recognize

the worth of God as defined by Scripture, not what you think

about God. I get so tired of relative

thinking in our culture telling me all the time what they think

about God. Well, what I think about God is

this. And the next person says, well

what I think about God is this. And they contradict each other.

It does not matter what you think about God.

It doesn't matter what you feel about God.

What matters is what does the Word clearly say about God?

Who do the scriptures say that He is?

That's who He is. And in that we will see the

words of God. And when we see the words of

God, we can't help but praise Him.

We can't help but worship Him. We can't help but sing songs

that bring glory to Him and song that that magnify His name.

That's what worship is. Sing the worth of God.

And where do we see the worth of God?

We see it in Scripture clearly. Again, the perspicuity of the

word of. God is designed so that you will

see his worth. Many of you want to talk about

trivial things that have to do with worship, but you don't want

to talk about the worth of God That brings us to a place of

worship. And I, I grieve for you, I pray

that God would, through the Scriptures, reveal clearly to

you his worth, and then in seeing his worth, you would

properly worship the way that Scripture teaches us we should

worship. Well, the scriptures clearly

teach us to worship God based on the worth of God.

But also. On the written teachings of God,

let us preserve these things so that we can see them.

God Himself has taught us in His Word concerning worship.

He's done this by declaring what he does and doesn't accept as

obedient worship and. Shouldn't that be our heart as

it is for the psalmist here? He says, Accept, O Lord, the

willing praise in my mouth. He's saying, Lord, may what I

say and what Ioffer back to you be acceptable to you.

And how is He ever going to have clarity on that?

How are you ever going to have clarity on that?

We go to the Word of God and we find clarity very quickly.

Psalm 51. Verse 16 it says you do not

delight in sacrifice or I would bring it.

You do not take pleasure and burnt offerings. 17 says the

sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite

heart. O God, you will not despise.

Oh, the Scriptures speak clearly on acceptable worship,

acceptable declaration of praise to him, praise that he accepts.

What is it? Praise that comes not from our

ritualistic works or acts. The praise that comes from a

broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.

He says, Oh God, you will not despise these who have

brokenness. Humility.

God teaches us in His Word that our worship is not about

anything other than our brokenness before His worth.

Because when we see His worth in comparison to who we are, they

are to cause us, as it did the men of old, to fall on our face

in dust and ashes, repenting before a holy God, broken and

contrite before Him, in awe of who He truly is as revealed in

His Word. He declares this kind of worship

is right, in fact, Jesus while He was here on this earth.

And John chapter 4 gives us more clarity into worship.

John 4 · chapter mention

In John chapter 4, verse 23 is he's having that conversation

John 4:23

with the Samaritan woman. She wanted to change the subject

to worship. Bad idea.

And he gave her a lesson. He said.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when true worshippers will

worship the Father in spirit and truth.

And they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.

God is spirit, and His worshippers must worship in

spirit and in truth. You.

Cannot worship in spirit, in truth, if your spirit is not

first crushed and broken before the worth of God, your worship

is not true and it's not acceptable.

The psalmist here is saying, accept, O Lord, the willing

praise of my mouth. Yes, it's willing, but I want it

to be acceptable. And the Word of God gives us

clarity into our worship. What is acceptable?

What is right? It's acceptable when it's from

brokenness and spirit and truth. Paul says this Romans chapter

Romans 12 · chapter mention

12. Therefore, I urge you, brothers,

in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living

sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.

This is your spiritual act of worship.

What is he saying? In view of the fact that you

have received mercy from God through the Lord Jesus Christ,

lay yourselves down, broken and humble before God.

This is acceptable worship. I wish that the church would get

back to a place of acceptable worship.

Well, we see clearly that Scripture says we must be broken

and that we would submit to that brokenness and humility.

The Word of God clearly instructs us in the area of

worshiping God, just as it clearly instructed us in the

areas of living and suffering. But fourthly, we see this, the

word of God gives us clarity for trusting and trusting God, he

says in 109. Though I constantly take my life

in my hands. I will.

Not forget your law. The wicked have set a snare for

me, but I have not strayed from your precepts.

You see the psalmist here always going back to the word of God,

which he stated in the beginning was a lamp into his feet, and a

light into his path. Numbers 23 verse 19 declares for

Numbers 23:19

us God is not man that He should lie, nor Son of Man that He

should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act?

Does He promise and not fulfill? What is Numbers teaching us?

That everything that God says is true and we can have confidence

in that. And the perspicuity of Scripture

gives us clarity in the fact that God cannot and does not

lie, that He is faithful to everything that He has promised.

He is trustworthy. Aren't you thankful that you

have a trustworthy God? I feel for all of the people who

follow false religion and false gods and goddesses of this

world. Their gods are lies, therefore

everything that they have supposedly said is a lie.

But our God is the one true God, the God who let his people out

of Israel just as he said, the God who parted the waters for

them to pass, the God who sent his only begotten Son to this

earth to redeem those who are under the curse of sin.

I'm thankful that our God is trustworthy.

Now we can see that very clearly in Scripture that we can trust

in God. He's given us plain.

Insight so that we can trust in Him, we can trust in God's

Providence, we can rest in His sovereign rule according to His

sovereign word. We can take His word and we can

say, because His word says this, I will rest my head upon the

word of God and what He says. To his children resting in his

sovereign rule, sovereign reign, and his sovereign word, Psalm

one O 3 verse 19, it says the Lord has established his throne

in heaven and his Kingdom rules over all.

O we can rest in the sovereign rule of God, that He is in

control of every single situation.

There is nothing that we face in this life where we have any

reason not to trust in his sovereign Providence.

It doesn't matter what that is. He's in control of all of it.

He's working all of that, as Scripture says, to the good of

those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.

According to Romans. 828 We all know what that says, but let's

just stop. We know that in all things God

works. Don't even read it all.

Get to that first part and rejoice.

He's working, He said, but I don't see it.

He's working. Why?

Scripture gives me clarity on that.

I don't feel it. He's working.

How do you know Scripture says that He is.

I don't yet see it. I can't touch it.

I can't feel it. He's working.

Aren't you thankful that scripture gives us clarity into

the Providence of God that though we may not understand it

fully, we can know that He is working and He's working for the

goods of those who love Him and who are called according to His

purpose? I don't even know how a

Christian, a non Christian makes it in this world because I don't

know where I would be without having the the Providence of God

to cling to constantly. Just like what?

I don't know what tomorrow has in store, but I know you do full

well because your word declares that you do that.

All my days have been written since before the foundation of

the earth, and you know exactly what tomorrow.

Is going to look like your word has given me clarity into that

and I trust in that. I trust in your Providence,

Lord, I trust in your sovereignty.

I rest in your rule, not only in my life, Your rule over

everything, everything recognizing God has full and

complete control in every situation.

Isaiah the 46th chapter says this in verse 9.

Remember the former things, those of long ago.

I'm God and there is no other. I'm God and there's no one like

me. I make known the end from the

beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please owe.

It is so good to hear those things so clearly in the Word of

God, and to just rest in thee, and to say thus saith the Lord,

I can trust in my trustworthy God and His sovereign Providence

over all things. Not only that, I can trust in

God's protection and He gives me clarity into that in the

Scriptures. The.

Word gives us clarity for trusting in God, trusting in his

Providence, but also his protection.

Look at the psalmist here. Though I constantly take my life

in my hands, I will not forget your law.

He says the only hope that I have and all the things that I

have to do because the psalmist understood what it means.

Every time he went somewhere, he had a new enemy.

He goes on in 110 and he says the wicked have set a snare for

me, but I have not strayed from your precepts.

He says everywhere that I step in my life there is a danger,

there is a snare. But God, I'm trusting in you as

my salvation to deliver me from every one of those snares.

Now let's talk about snares briefly.

Snares come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, don't they?

Many of you have never trapped an animal in your life, and

that's OK. I myself have and I understand

the concept of a snare. So this speaks volumes to me.

We don't put out a. Snare where we want an animal to

go, we put out a snare where the animal is already going.

And the. Animal in the darkness of night

walks into the snare on his normal path, and it's the end of

his life because his path was not lit up.

There was no lamp unto his feet, there was no light unto his

path. It was either a trap or snare

that was set for him. The Psalmist.

Is saying there's snares in my life, but yet I'm trusting God's

word. It gives me clarity to see those

things. Gives me clarity to not stop in

the middle of that trap, but to walk around it in the safety and

the security that God has provided for me.

Well, there are many snares in our life.

Snares in this world. How about the snare of sin that

is constantly trying to beset us?

How? About the snare of Satan, our

enemy. Who's?

Constantly setting traps for us to fall into along the path that

we're walking. How about the snare of the

system of this world? That's.

Constantly nagging at us. You know what we can learn from

the word of God, that God has given us clarity for any snares

that we face. Psalm 91, verse 3, the psalmist

Psalms 91:3

says, surely he will save you from the deadly fowler's snare

and from the deadly pestilence. Surely he will deliver you.

Aren't you thankful that our God is a God who delivers us?

He says, surely he will deliver you.

Psalm 124. It says if the Lord had not been

on our side, let Israel say if the Lord had not been on our

side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us,

they would have swallowed us alive.

The flood would have engulfed us.

The torrent would have swept over us.

The raging waters would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord who has not let us be torn by their

teeth. We have escaped like a bird out

of the Fowler's snare. The snare has been broken and we

have escaped. Watch what he says in verse 8.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and

earth. Aren't you thankful this

morning, if you're in Christ, that He has, by the light of His

Word, freed you from the snare of Satan and the snare of sin

and the snare of this sinful world?

May we rejoice in that. May we trust in God's protection

for all of the snares that we might face along the waist.

Proverbs 325 says, Have No Fear of sudden disaster of the ruin

that overtakes the wicked. He says, for the Lord will be

your confidence. It will keep your foot from

being snared. Well, how does this happen?

By the light of God's Word. It's God's Word who reveals to

you that is another snare set by the enemy, that is another snare

set by your own sin. That is another snare of this

sinful, wicked world. These are snares and God's Word

shows us what they are. We don't preach legalism to you

when we say avoid those things. We say avoid those things

because the Word of God is spoken clearly on these things.

They will drag you down and they will kill you, because the wages

of sin is death. Sin is nothing to play around

with. Rely on God's protection,

trusting in Him to do as His Word says that He will do, save

us and deliver us from pestilence and from snares.

He has promised to deliver and to save all who trust in Him by

faith, according to His Word. Romans 10/13 For everyone who

calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Call on Him, trusting in Him to save you.

He's faithful to save. Psalm 14518.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him

in truth, that sincerity of heart for all who call on Him

with a sincere heart. And you know how you call on Him

with a sincere heart. He gives you a new heart that is

sincere, and that heart calls on Him in desperation, trusting in

the clarity of His Word and what He has said to rescue all who

call on His name. So the Word gives us clear

reason to trust in God, doesn't it?

To trust in His Providence, to trust in His promises.

But fifthly, is it OK if I finish the fifth point this

morning? Is anyone still here?

Are you OK with that? I don't really care.

But I ask with insincere courtesy.

Because we're going to look at the 5th part because it's part

of this text. The Word of God gives us clarity

for fifthly persevering because many have forgotten in this

messed up world that we live in where we call apostatizing from

the faith, simply deconstructing, lightening the

load and softening it up a bit. They forget that we are called

to persevere, and it is through the Word that we clearly learn

how we are to persevere in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is His Word that teaches us, and so let.

Us. Look at that, he says.

In verse 111, your statues are MyHeritage forever.

They are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your

decrees to the very end. You know what you call a person

who was once a Christian and is no longer a Christian?

A person. Who was never a Christian.

Don't dare give them the compliment of telling them that

they just deconstructed in their faith.

We hear this all the time. Well I want my child, this is a

parent, to have faith of their own.

They encourage the kid to go out and get faith of their own.

The kid goes out and gets faith of their own and it's Buddhism

or it's Islam or some other false ideology.

Nothing at all, just relative truth.

No, if your father and your mother taught you about the

faith, the faith in Christ, the real faith that comes through

the gospel, if they have taught you about that, please do not

depart from your mother and your father's faith.

Be thankful that God allowed you to be raised in a home where

they taught you the truth and stand in that truth.

And how do you do this? How do you stand in this truth?

How do you persevere? Through the perspicuity of

Scripture, you go back to Scripture and Scripture teaches,

teaches you exactly how to do this.

He says your statutes are MyHeritage forever, my eternal

heritage, the things you have promised God.

That's what I hold on to. That's what I cling to.

He says those things are forever.

And he says this, they're the joy of my heart.

Christian, we are to persevere according to Scripture with

rejoicing. Rejoicing.

Not Oh. Man, I'm still fighting the good

fight sounds. Fun.

No, we're to persevere with joy in our heart according to the

word. Is that not what Paul said in

Philippians chapter 4, verse 4? Rejoice in the Lord always.

Philippians 4:4

I will say it again. Rejoice now where he was.

He was actually at the Ritz Carlton, out by the pool.

And he was enjoying the sun and and and and and the warm weather

and everything was nice. No, that's not where he was when

Paul wrote this. He was, as we learned when we

walked through Philippians verse by verse and we saw his heart,

he was chained to a Roman guard 24 hours a day, seven days a

week. And even then that he learned to

rejoice while he was imprisoned. He rejoiced in the Lord always.

And he even reiterated again, I say rejoice, oh Christian, the

Scriptures teach us to rejoice even in the midst of everything

that we have to persevere through, to rejoice according to

the word of God, to persevere with joy as we.

Conceive God's clear and eternal promises.

That's how we're going to have joy.

We keep going back to the Word. You say one day.

One day this will all be passed. One day this will all be over.

One day this will all be worth it.

One day we will see him face to face.

One day he will embrace me with his nail scar hands.

And he will, He will kiss the cheek, my Savior, kiss the cheek

of this once wretched Sinner welcomed me into his fellowship

for all eternity. One day I can trust in that, and

so can all of you in Christ. Rejoice.

Rejoice that though we have to persevere for a little while,

help is on the way. Our deliverer will return just

as he's promised. Oh, it's clear in Scripture.

Oh, rejoice as you persevere, conceiving God's clear and

eternal promises. Rejoice as you persevere,

convinced that every promise of God is true.

How many of you understand every single one of them?

All. Of God's promises are yes and

Amen to those of us who are in. Christ Jesus, when you read a

promise in the Old Testament and you're in Christ, say this.

That's for me the redemption that's promised, the forgiveness

that's promised, the Messiah that's promised for me.

Thank You, Lord, that You promised me such clear things in

Your Word. Let me hold on to them with

rejoicing in my heart and rejoicing from my lives.

For the psalmist is here today. Your statues are MyHeritage.

They are the joy of my heart. He's rejoicing, clinging to

God's Word constantly. Or may we cling to His Word

constantly, knowing that the clear truth of Scripture Trump's

every other thing, our feelings, our thoughts, our anxieties.

May we trust His word as we persevere rejoicing in Him.

Not only is He teaching us, and does the Lord teach us in His

word to persevere rejoicing, but He teaches us, as the Psalmist

gives an example here, to persevere resolved.

Look how resolved he is. I admire this greatly.

He says. My heart is set on keeping your

decrees to the very end. What resolve?

He says. I have set my heart to obey you

all the way to the end. No matter what I have to

persevere through, I'm going to rejoice and I'm going to obey

you all the way to the end. He's resolved setting our hearts

on persevering obediently in the faith until our life on earth is

finished so that we can share with the apostle Paul when he

says things like this. Second Timothy, chapter 4 for.

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

Seven. I have fought the good fight, I

have finished the race. I have kept the faith.

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

Lord, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to

me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have

longed for his appearing. Oh, keep pressing on.

Keep fighting the good fight so that one day you can rejoice.

As the apostle Paul is rejoicing here, he's not fretting because

he's about to enter into the presence of the Lord.

He's been longing for this day. He's been longing to see him

since the day that he saved him. And he says with great

confidence and great hope, because his whole life as a

Christian, he was resolved to obey the mission that God had

laid out in his word through his Spirit in his life.

And finally he gets to say, I fought the good fight.

I finished the course. I've kept the faith.

Many of you. Know that John MacArthur passed

away this week and I can't help but think of him.

If you know Pastor John MacArthur, he is no longer with

us and I can promise this. He don't want to come back here,

but he fought the good fight. He finished his course and he

kept the faith. What encouragement to us we

ought to be that encouragement to other believers resolved in

our Christianity to do what it is that God in his word has

clearly defined for us to do as we persevere, as we bring him

glory until the day that we get to hear those words of Matthew

25. For Jesus says, well done, good

and faithful servant. Oh, what a day that will be for

those of us who resolved to walk in obedience to the Word of God.

What a day that will be when we get to hear that knowing full

well we deserve none of that, that He acknowledges the work

that He did in us that allowed us to persevere with resolve.

And we get to think Him laying our crowns at His feet and

worshiping Him for all eternity for what He has done for us.

Well, the Word of God gives us clarity for persevering.

Rejoice, be resolved, fight the good fight, press on in the

faith. Hebrews chapter 12 tells us

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

this. Therefore, since we are

surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off

everything that hinders and the sin that easily entangles, and

let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

He says, Then let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and

Perfector of our faith. For the joy set before him

endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right

hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such

opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and

lose heart right there in His word.

Clarity on how do we persevere to Christ, We fix our eyes upon

him. We say thank you Lord, and you

did not quit on me. And as the psalmist says here, I

will not quit on you. My heart is set on keeping your

decrees to the very end. Thank you Lord for the work that

you have done in me. Setting our hearts on

persevering obediently in the faith, resolved to do that,

Resolved. Surrendered to God and to His

word all of our days without compromise.

Listen, this is not a one time thing.

It's sad that Christianity in our culture has been reduced to

A1 time thing. Say this little prayer and ask

Jesus in your heart and then you go to heaven.

Oh, Christianity is so much more than that.

Christianity is persevering in the faith.

Your entire life surrendered to God because of what Jesus Christ

clearly has done for us according to his word.

John 831 as we prepare to close it says to the Jews who had

believed him, they had had knowledge, had belief, no true

life changing hard knowledge. Jesus said if you hold to my

teaching, you are really my disciples.

If you hold to my teaching, if you resolve to do what my word

clearly says, he says, then you can know this be really one of

my disciples, Matthew 24 verse 13.

Matthew 24:13

He says he who stands firm to the end will be saved well.

That's for all the people who have ignored the Word of God in

the clarity and scripture. In.

Regard to persevering in the faith, saying that they've

deconstructed. Listen, my friend, you have not

deconstructed. You have apostatized from the

faith. You are as guilty as Judas

Iscariot. I pray that God would have mercy

on your soul. We must persevere and the Word

of God has given us all the clarity we need to know what

that looks like. All the perspicuity of Scripture

has shown us clarity for these areas of our life.

Oh, do you see it? Do you walk in it?

Clarity for living, Clarity for suffering.

Clarity for worshiping. Clarity for trusting.

Clarity for persevering. I'll speak for myself on this.

I'm thankful for his clarity in all those areas of my life so

that I'm not confused by the faults of men.

So I. Asked the Christian today, if

you're here with us today and you claim to know Christ, are

you looking to the perspicuity of Scripture?

It's clear teachings. Are you looking to those clear

teachings to lead you and guide you in your Christian life?

You're not going to find clarity in how to live the Christian

life anywhere else. His Word as He began, this is a

lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths.

He just word that to you, giving you clarity to your entire life,

to the unbeliever. May you see that God has been

equally clear to you who are not in Christ in regard to the

gospel, in regard to what the Word says.

It's true and the word is spoken that all men ascend and fall

short of the glory of God, that there is none righteous.

No, not one, no one seeks after him.

John in the 3rd chapter the Lord himself says if we don't

believe, we are condemned all ready.

The thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ.

John chapter 3 also says that God so loved the world that he

John 3 · chapter mention

gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him will

not perish, but have everlasting life.

A promise from the word of God. Just as much as a promise to

those who don't believe, there's a promise to those who do

believe. Those who don't believe are

condemned already. They will spend an eternity

under the wrath of God in hell. And that's clear in Scripture.

Oh, I know it's not clear in culture.

We're not talking about the perspicuity of culture.

The culture is not clear at all. We're talking about the clarity

of Scripture. The Scripture has spoken if

you're not in Christ, you will spend an eternal death in hell.

But today that can change for you.

Today you can believe and you can trust in Jesus Christ as

your Lord and Savior. You can cry out to Him as God

opens your heart to see the truth as He regenerates your

dead heart to believe. You can't experience all the

promises of God in regard to salvation, forgiveness of sin,

and eternal life by turning to Jesus Christ as your Lord and

Savior today. My prayer for you is that you

would repent and turn to Christ while there's still time.

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

come to you thinking for Your word and the clarity that you

bring from Your Word. God, I pray today that clarity

has come to many. I pray to the believer that they

see the importance of Your word in their life as they walk this

path, as they walk the Christian life.

Lord, may they receive clarity in every aspect of your life

from Scripture. Lord, I pray for the lost soul

who's here today, that today it's been made clear to them

that unless they repent and turn to Christ, there is no eternal

hope for them in heaven, in your presence communing with you,

there is no hope of forgiveness, no hope of eternal life apart

from Jesus Christ. That today, Lord, you would turn

their hearts to see the truth and they would surrender to

Christ as Lord and Savior. Make that clear to them now.

And we pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.

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