Love His Word: Delight In His Word… - Psalm 119

So Psalm 119 is where we're going to be sitting

for all of our service today. I'll have one verse

from Deuteronomy. If you ever get a chance, like

Psalm 119 is all about the Word of God. Like

why would God dedicate... one entire psalm, and

it's 174 verses to the word, it's because it

is crucial. It's the one psalm that was given

for parents to teach their kids the Hebrew alphabet.

So when you see, when they would read Psalm 119

Psalms 119:1–8

verses 1 through 8, and each letter has eight

verses, each of those verses would start with

the letter of the alphabet, Aleph. So we, in

English, you know, kind of like English isn't

great when it comes to translation. So I wish

we had a rhyme and we could sing them with that,

but we don't. So I want us to really pay attention

to the importance of the word of God. As you

know, we are on a mission to really talk about

our purpose as a church. Why does God have us

as a church? Why has God brought you into his

family? Why does God do anything? Well, it's

for his glory. But he calls us, commands us,

and causes us. Calls, commands, and calls. C

-A -U -S -E. Causes, commands, and calls us to

love him. So we are going to love God, love his

word, love his ways, love his things. And that

is really looking at the reality of the broadness

of the Christian life, what we're to be doing.

So we talked about loving God, and we talked

about loving God last week from the perspective

of where our treasure is. And that expression

of that treasure is the least value of the thing

that you have. We talked about that money really

has no real true intrinsic value in reality.

You are born without it. You die without it.

There is nothing within reality of money. But

why do we hold on to it so tightly and not willing

to give it away? So we deal with that issue last

week. Now we're going to talk about loving his

word because we can't really learn to give away

our treasure until we understand God and his

character and what he commands for us and the

ways that we should live. So he tells us those

things through his word. Love his word. Delight

in his word. It is impossible to know God unless

he has been pleased to make himself known to

man. I want you to think about that. So if God

had created all of us, which he has, placed us

on the earth, the only reason why you know about

him is because he was pleased to tell you about

himself. God didn't have to say a single word

to you about who he was. He could let us as ants

just live our lives and die and not even think

about us. But that's not what God intended for

us to be when he communes. So it's impossible

to know God unless he has been pleased to make

himself known to man. He recognizes the force

of Zophar's question in Job 11 .7. Can you, by

searching, find out God? Can you, in your own

purpose, drive, ever really find out God by your

own desire? It seems utterly impossible to him

that man, by his unaided reason, should discover

God, and he therefore considers the question,

has God spoken? Numbers 23, 19. As one of the

utmost importance. Lewis Berkhoff, 1942. Really?

Why does man seek God? Because God was pleased

to reveal himself. Why would man, after God is

pleased to reveal himself, even have the desire

to go and seek after him because God has placed

it there? What is the Word of God? There are

many answers that I could give that would describe

biblically and scripturally what the Word of

God is, really well for itself in its own definition.

And he clarifies this definition pretty revealing

throughout the scripture of what his word is.

So we're going to answer that question. The revealing

of God by inspiration given through men as he

led them to accurately record and communicate

his character and message is known as inspiration

of scripture. and the revealing of God in his

incarnation through the virgin birth by the power

of the Holy Spirit, he is called the Logos, known

as the living word. 2 Timothy 3 .16, John 1 .1.

The word of God is living and active, sharper

than a two -edged sword, piercing to the division

of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow,

and discerning the thoughts and intentions of

the heart. Hebrews 4. The word is the sustainer

and giver of life. The very word of God sustains

you and gives you life. Matthew 4, 4. But he

answered, it is written, man shall not live but

by bread alone, but by every word that comes

from the mouth of God. Psalm 119, 93. I will

never forget your precepts, for by them you have

given me. So what is the word of God? Jesus the

Christ. He is the word of God. And he was pleased

to put his character and his message on display

for us to read and to know him. And it's only

enough for life and godliness. All the answers

that you will ever desire to be answered by God,

not all of them, are written. Example, the Trinity.

Is there anything in all of Scripture, in all

of creation, that can clearly give us a full

understanding of the triune, the triuneness of

God? That God in his wisdom as Yahweh Elohim

has represented himself as the three in one,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Knowing

that the only way to fulfill the promise he made

to Adam and Eve when he cursed the snake, I will

put an enmity between you and the woman, between

your seed and her seed, could only come by the

God -man himself. That the purpose of the triune

God in his wisdom and in his foreknowledge That

through the very plan of the Father, the fulfillment

in the Son, and the guarantee of the Holy Spirit,

that salvation is an impossibility without the

Trinity of God. How would we know that? Ephesians

1. Because the Word of God tells us so. You cannot

have salvation without the Father planning it.

You cannot have the fullness of salvation without

the Son fulfilling it. And you can't have the

guarantee of your inheritance without the Holy

Spirit being your guarantee as a deposit. It's

an impossibility. That's the importance of the

Trinity. To go any further than that, I would

really do it in injustice to try to explain why

God is triune. but communion. God has caused

and commands us to love his word. John 14, 15

said this to you last week. If you love me, you

will keep my commandments. Psalm 119, 97. Oh,

how I love your law. It is my meditation all

the day. Do you love God's word where you are

willing to drive in your car, sit in your house?

And just listen to the word of God spoken to

you. Go home when you have the time. Sit down

and open it and read it and let him speak to

you. Are you willing to listen to his word through

the music that he's provided? Are you saturating

your life with the logos? Or is Christian life

just a means to an end where you can come and

do your ritual responsibility on a Sunday morning

and say, I've done my job. Listen to this psalmist

says, oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation

all the day. It's all he thinks about. You'd

be like, that's a little crazy. That man doesn't

get involved with the craziness that's going

on in our world today because his mind is where

it needs to be. Set your mind on things above,

not on things of the earth. Oh, Psalm 119, 113.

I hate the double -minded, but I love your law.

I hate those who are wavering all the time, that

never really can make a final decision. They

just one minute here, next minute there. Why?

Because they have nothing to stand on. There

is nothing that their feet is steady on. But

this man loves God's law. Psalm 119, verse 119.

Psalms 119:119

Therefore, I love your testimonies. I love your

testimonies. I love your words. Psalm 119 verse

Psalms 119:32

32, I will run in the way of your commandments

when you enlarge my heart. God is busy sanctifying

and enlarging your heart and your love for his

word. Do you hunger and thirst for his word?

As a deer pants after the water, so my soul longs

after you. God commands us to obey his word.

1 John 2, 4 -6. Whoever says I know him but does

not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth

is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, in

him truly the love of God is perfected. By this

we may know that we are in him. Whoever says

he abides in him ought to walk in the same way

in which he walked. Do we live like the Logos?

Psalm 119, verse 1 through 4. Blessed are those

Psalms 119:1–4

whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of

the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,

who seek him with their whole heart, who also

do no wrong, but walk in his ways. You have commanded

your precepts to be kept diligently. You hear

that? Not an option. Psalm 119 verse 44 through

Psalms 119:44–45

45. I will keep your law continually forever

and ever and I shall walk in a wide place for

I sought your precepts. Now I want you to get

that. For those of us who walk according to the

law and the word of God, we have a broadness

to our ability to live within the confines of

the world that he's placed us in. I'm not confined

to the way of the world. Where Christ is in my

life, I have the freedom now to go outside of

that and to touch and to preach and to teach

and to walk with and to love and to serve those

outside of that little narrow way. Which in reality,

that little narrow way that the world says is

narrow because it's their way or the highway.

God's way is... Really, narrower, if that's a

word. My English is terrible, so I don't really

care. But my ability to live outside of the lines

is much more greater. You have any questions

about that? Look at Jesus' life. What did he

do? Hey, Matt, I'm going to your house to have

dinner. I'm a tax collector. Hey, don't stop

her from anointing my head. What? She's a prostitute.

Writes in the sand. He who is without sin cast

the first stone. Where are your accusers? Then

neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.

That's a really broad way of living, don't you

think? Why? Because he lives narrow. He lives

according to the word. Because he lives here,

he can serve here. That's the idea here. I shall

walk in a wide place, for I have sought your...

God commands us to teach his word. Colossians

3 .16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs

and with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Do you see that? That not only are we teaching

and preaching, we are teaching and preaching

through music. Every opportunity we have. By

every means that God has provided, we can teach

and preach and richly bless those who need to

hear the word of God. Psalm 119, verse 13. This

Psalms 119:13

is the only verse outside of Psalm 119 I told

you I was going to give you. Well, that's not

true. I gave you some Johns and stuff, but this

is specifically one that I'm using. Deuteronomy

6, 4 through 9. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our

God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord

your God with all your heart and with all your

soul and with all your might. And these words

that I command to you today shall be on your

heart. You shall teach them diligently. You shall

teach them diligently. You shall teach them diligently

to your children. and shall talk with them when

you sit in your house and when you walk by the

way and when you lie down and when you rise.

You shall bind them as signs on your forehead,

on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets

between your eyes, and you shall write them on

the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Can you imagine that? Where you walk into someone's

house and the only thing that you see is Scripture

everywhere. I want you to notice something here.

I think this is one of the things that parents

have a difficult time understanding. You don't

schedule time teaching your kids. You teach your

kids throughout the day. You teach them when

you're sitting in your house. You teach them

when you're walking down the road. You teach

them when they go to bed and when they get back

up. You teach them when you go to Walmart or

Weiss. You teach them about Christ everywhere.

It's not just, you know, hey, I'm going to schedule

my time with you today. It's in your daily walk

and driving that you talk about Jesus all the

time. That doesn't mean that you don't set apart

time for family worship or family reading. That's

okay too. But notice it says here, when you lie

down and when you sit and when you walk and when

you rise. It's in your everyday moment. Give

Christ richly in their lives. Do you delight

in God's word? How important is God's word to

you? Psalm 119, verse 14 and 16. In the way of

Psalms 119:14

your testimonies, I delight as much as in all

riches. Verse 16, I will delight in your statutes.

I will not forget your word. Verse 20. My soul

is consumed with longing for your rules at all

times. Verse 24, your testimonies are my delight.

They are my counselors. 34, give me understanding

that I may keep your law and observe it with

all my whole heart. Verse 35, lead me in the

path of your commandments for I delight in it.

Verse 47, I'll read verse 46 first. I will also

speak of your testimonies before kings and shall

not be put to shame for I find my delight in

your commandments which I love. Verse 77, let

your mercy come to me. That I may live for your

law is my delight. Verse 89. Forever, O Lord,

your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Verse

92. In your law, if your law had not been my

delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

Verse 143. Trouble and anguish have found me

out, but your commandments are my. delight. Even

he has to continue to walk in the commandments

of God. Why? Because your sin will find you out.

And the only way he gets through his sin is the

fact that he delights in the word of God. Do

you see that? Delight in the word of God and

you will live. I rise before dawn and cry for

help. I hope in your words. That's 147 and 174.

I long for your salvation, O Lord, for your law

is my delight. Do you get the point? How important

is the word of God to you? Or do you just let

it go throughout your days and weeks or months

and it really has no means to you? Your very

existence, you live because God says you do.

Psalm 119 verse 151 and 152. I want you to hear

Psalms 119:151

these last few verses. But you are near, O Lord,

and all your commandments are true. Hear that?

This is true. Fox News is not true. CNN, not

true. MSNBC, not true. What's true? God's word

is true. It has always been true. They can say

whatever they want to say. It's not true. There's

only one thing that's true. It's called the word

of God. We live in the days of lies. Walk in

his truth. So you can see the lie. Psalm 119

Psalms 119:60

verse 60. Let me keep reading. I'm sorry, I forgot.

152, I forgot. Long have I known your testimonies

that you have founded them forever. Do you know

why God's word is true? Because it is everlasting.

Psalm 119, 116. The sum of your word is truth.

And every one of your righteous rules endures

forever. The world's going to tell you this isn't

true. It doesn't matter. I really don't care

what they say. I know it's true. I'm a listening

testimony of his truth. He's changed my life.

If you knew what I was before you ever knew me

here, I was a dog. Men are dogs. I was a dog,

man. Thank God I'm not no more. You got an entire

room full of testimonies of God's word. active

in their lives where Christ has used his word

to instill, deposit, and grow faith. The sum

of your word is truth, and every one of your

righteous rules endures forever. Psalm 119 verse

Psalms 119:172

172. My tongue will sing of your word, for all

your commandments are right. I'm sharing these

things with you. So that you love his word. When

you love his word, you will obey his word. When

you obey his word, there is nothing you won't

do to honor and please him. You won't listen

to those around you who listen to his word because

his word is true. His word is life. You won't

be paying attention to the narratives and the

nonsense because the word of God is true. It

is life. I'm so glad that we talked about this

today. I think we live in such a rich, overwhelming

time where all the information that you could

ever want and desire is at your fingertips, literally.

And the one place we don't go to, because we

know it's true, at least we hope, is His Word.

I'd rather listen to the morning show for truth.

And every day, we're disappointed. It's sad,

but I should have expected it, right? That justice

for the children who have been mistreated, abused,

neglected, sold, will one day come under the

wrath of a mighty God. Because the malarkey that

we're being fed today, how do I know that? Scripture

says, Vince's mind says, Lord, I will repay.

Every evil deed that man covers, God will expose

on his day. On his day. Because God is true.

We must be different. We must shine differently.

We must be different than any movement. We must

be different. We must be a light on a hill. A

shining city on a hill. We must not put our light

under a bowl. We must walk. In the word. Thy

word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto

my path. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and

a light unto my path. Father, I want to thank

you so much that your word is true. It has been

established forever that you have, as the Logos,

have put on flesh and have shown us the word

in action, in living. And then in your wisdom,

through thousands of years, through 40 men, 66

books, you have given us your... canon, your

word, that declares and proclaims the goodness

of our God, the fulfillment of his promise in

the redemption of mankind through the Son. We

praise you and thank you. And we are reminded

in the same way that Jesus had mentioned to the

men on the road to Emmaus, have you not read

all that Moses and the prophets have said about

me? We thank you that you are the living To you

be honor and glory. And may we read the inspired

word to see our God and to know you better. In

Jesus' name, amen.