[0:00] Well, if you have your Bible, I'm going to encourage you to open it at Psalm 19. Psalm 19. Psalm 19.
[0:14] And it's a wonderful psalm. And we're going to think about it for a little while this afternoon as we're gathered for our Sunday service.
[0:28] We're particularly going to be thinking about verses 7 through 11. And we're also going to just be doing a little application of verses 12 through 14 as well.
[0:42] But Psalm 19, we read these words. The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
[0:55] Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge.
[1:07] There is no speech, nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world.
[1:22] In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber. And like a strong man runs its course with joy.
[1:38] Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
[1:58] The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
[2:14] The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.
[2:28] Moreover, the rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold.
[2:46] Sweeter also than honey and rippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned.
[2:57] In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
[3:10] Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression.
[3:26] Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight.
[3:38] O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. Two other little verses of scripture.
[3:51] Just to have in mind as we look at this text this afternoon. A well-known little verse in 2 Timothy 2, chapter 3 and verse 16.
[4:05] All scripture is breathed out by God. And profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.
[4:23] That the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. And a little one in Colossians chapter 1, verse 28.
[4:39] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And we pray that God would speak to us as we look at his word and seek to apply it to our lives today.
[5:07] You know, it's always interesting when it comes to a little service like this one on a Sunday afternoon. Because normally, in our regular morning services, we would follow a systematic theme.
[5:24] We would be systematically working through different aspects of scripture. But we give ourselves a little bit of freedom here on a Sunday afternoon once a month. Just to alight on one passage of scripture that we want to think about and apply beyond the regular series.
[5:43] And when you're a preacher, that can sometimes present you with real problems. Because there are so many parts of God's word that you would want to actually unpack and open up.
[5:54] But really, the reality of what I'm doing today is I want to exhort us and encourage us to encounter the God of the word.
[6:06] And to allow the God who speaks in his word to keep shaping and molding and changing each one of us into the person that he has called us to be in Christ.
[6:23] Now, the reality, every time we gather, is there are only two types of people. And sometimes we always like to just assume that we're all the first type.
[6:38] But in reality, every time we gather, there are only two types of people. There are those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[6:49] Who know that they are sinners. Who know that they've not got it all together. Who know that they are entirely dependent upon God every single day to be the person God is making them to be every single day.
[7:10] And there are those who don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And have never put their trust in him. And they're not only are they not obedient to God's word and not filled with God's spirit.
[7:24] The truth is they cannot be. They would have no desire to be because they've never encountered or better still, you know, experienced the God of all creation.
[7:37] Encountering them as he's drawn them to himself in repentance and faith. And every time people gather in churches, there are always only two kind of people.
[7:49] Those who know the Lord and those who don't. Those who live for Jesus and those who don't. Those who are seeking to faithfully follow after him and those who are not.
[8:00] And when we open up Psalm 19 and we read what we've just read about the wonder of creation.
[8:13] And particularly a little emphasis on the sun. Which Robert just innocently started the service with just saying, It's there, it's a lovely day.
[8:25] But in actual fact, it's here in the text. You know, the sun may be powerful. But the power of the sun is not even to be compared with the power of the God who calls it into being.
[8:44] The light from the sun we are dependent upon just for our very existence. That's the way God's designed it.
[8:54] But the light from the sun pales into insignificance. When we think about the light of the full revelation of who God is.
[9:09] As he shows us himself in Holy Scripture. And ultimately, as he shows us himself in our Lord Jesus Christ.
[9:20] Now, David the psalmist was given. He had the kind of disposition that was given to meditating and reflecting and thinking about things.
[9:35] Not all of us by nature are like that, by the way. But David was. He was the kind of person who loved nothing better as a shepherd. To reflect upon the glory of the creation that surrounded him.
[9:50] But I think the beauty of this psalm. And the first part is staggering in all that unfolds the opening six verses.
[10:02] The beauty of this psalm is that what he does. Is he moves from just looking at this incredible creation. To focusing his eyes on the revelation of the creator in his word.
[10:24] And the incredible thing is that David, when he talked about the law of the Lord. The testimony of the Lord. The precepts of the Lord. The commandment of the Lord.
[10:34] The rules of the Lord. In actual fact, he only had himself. You know, the first five books of the Bible. And perhaps Joshua and Judges.
[10:48] That was it. And yet when he thought about them. Right? This is what he says. Now my friends.
[11:00] Add to the Pentateuch and Joshua and Judges. Right? All of the prophets. Add all of the wisdom literature. Add the whole of the New Testament.
[11:13] The entire revelation of God. From Genesis to Revelation. Given to us. By God our Father.
[11:24] Our God speaks. Our God has spoken. And how blessed are we.
[11:39] But you know the remarkable thing is. That despite all of that. It's amazing. How many of those.
[11:52] Who would claim. The name of Jesus. Who actually never. Make time. To just.
[12:07] Dwell. Meditate. Read. Reflect. Upon. Scripture.
[12:20] There are some. That the only time. To do that. Is when they gather. In a meeting like this. There are others. Who might. Rush in and rush out. On the basis. Of one little.
[12:31] Verse. But look. But look. What David says. And then let's start.
[12:42] To apply that. To our life. The law. Of the Lord. Is. Perfect. Perfect. I don't know.
[12:54] You. But I mean. You know. It seems to me. That we live. In a world. Where people. Are obsessed. With perfection. Over so many things.
[13:05] And they're trying. To find perfection. And it often. Alludes them. But along comes. You know. David. Inspired by the spirit. Of God. Revealing who God is. And he says.
[13:15] The law of the Lord. Is. Perfect. Perfect. Now that kind of. Sets a bar. Pretty high. Doesn't it? Right. Doesn't get any higher. Than that. Does it? You know.
[13:29] It's interesting. That we do it. So many ways. Don't we. We. You know. The young bride. Preparing for the big day. You know. I can tell you. Right now. That that entourage. Of mothers.
[13:41] And bridesmaids. And makeup. Artists. And you know. Clothes designers. And jewelry advisors. And everything else. That are kind of. Focusing all their attention.
[13:53] They're not sitting there. Saying. Let's just see. If we can make her. Passable. Right. You know. That there's an absolute. Desire. For perfection. And David.
[14:04] Writing about the word. Of God. Says. The law. Of the Lord. Is perfect. The testimony.
[14:15] Of the Lord. Is sure. That is. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Worthy. When God speaks.
[14:29] When God reveals. When God shows us. Who he is. When God. Gives us. A design. For living. That is about. Our safety. Our security. Our stability.
[14:40] When God speaks. His words. Are sure. And we live in a society. That just. Fragrantly.
[14:52] Disregards. The design of God. The plan of God. As if we know better. But the word. Of God. Is sure.
[15:04] Solid. Reliable. Dependable. Every single word. God speaks. Comes. Comes. To pass. And in actual fact.
[15:17] The Bible itself. Is not only a revelation. Of that. But it's also. A witness. To that. Because written.
[15:28] Over 1500 years. We see. You know. The revelation. Of God. In terms of the prophets. Foretelling Christ. And then we see.
[15:38] The coming of Christ. And then we see. The life. Death. Resurrection. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ascension into glory. In order that those. Who do believe.
[15:49] Will be saved. And the pouring out. Of the Holy Spirit. And in the revelation. Of God's word. Itself. There is both. The prophecy. The fulfillment.
[16:00] And. The promise. Of the culmination. Of all things. The word of God. The word of God. Alone. Is trustworthy.
[16:13] And sure. The precepts. Of the Lord. Are right. Well we live in a. A day and an age. In which. People want to debate that.
[16:25] You know. With God. Don't they? And we live in a day and an age. When even Christian people. Want to debate that. With God. You know. We can't point the finger. At one without.
[16:36] Four coming back at us. You know. We. We live in a day and an age. When that's the case. And the revelation. Of God's word. Is that.
[16:46] His words are right. Now the interesting thing. About that. Is we sometimes. We sometimes. Use that argument. With each other. Don't we? Take a little drink today. And the.
[17:00] We sometimes. Use that argument. With one another. You know. We're kind of. In a little bit. Of a debate. Sometimes. A little bit heated. And we're convinced. We're right. And of course.
[17:11] Somebody pushes back. And says. Who says? And the best we've got. Is I say. But when we have. That argument. With God. Kind of. Different playing field. Isn't it?
[17:21] Right? Who says? God does. Oh. We're kind of dealing. In a different dynamic. When it comes to God.
[17:33] God. The commandments. Of the Lord. Is pure. The commandment. Of the Lord. Is pure. That is.
[17:45] It's holy. It is. Holy. As he. Is holy. It is radiant.
[17:56] As he. Is radiant. And it continues. In that vein. By saying. That the fear. Of the Lord. Is clean. And the rules.
[18:07] Of the Lord. Are true. And what you find. Is David. Lifts his eyes. From. Off of the created. Scheme.
[18:18] And plan. Of things. And he looks. At the revelation. Of God. And his word. As he finds. Himself. Beginning. To just sing. Praise. Over the majesty.
[18:30] Of the revelation. Of God. To us. He begins. To use. Language. That say. It is. Beautifully. Poetic. And that it should be.
[18:40] Desired. More than gold. And fine gold. And it's sweeter. Than honey. From the comb. I was a man. I can still remember. Clearly. My first.
[18:51] Encounter. With honey. From the honeycomb. You know. Up until then. The only honey. I'd ever seen. Came out a jar. But I remember.
[19:02] My father. Coming in one day. And he had this big. Square grid. Honey. In the comb. You know. I remember him. Just starting to melt it.
[19:14] And watching this. Just flowing out. And you almost. Just wanted. To get your tongue. And stick it. Underneath it. As it came out. Right. Because it just looks.
[19:25] So good. And he says. Well keep that imagery. Because to drink. Deep. Of the word.
[19:36] Of God. That's good for you. Look at the things. He says it does. Because the law. Of the Lord.
[19:46] Is perfect. It revives. The soul. Revives. The soul. Do you ever get out of sorts.
[19:58] With yourself. Do you ever find. That sometimes. You know. Just. Your mind. Your head. Everything that's going on.
[20:10] You're kind of. You feel as if. You're running way ahead. Of yourself. And you're waiting. For your soul. To catch up. Well spend time. With God's word.
[20:23] Revives. The soul. Just. Revives. The soul. My little. Favorite. Testament of Lord.
[20:34] The sure. It makes wise. The simple. And I love that. Speak about me. Right. It just makes wise. The simple.
[20:48] Because we can. Look into the word of God. And we can learn. Who is the creator. What is man.
[21:03] What is man. That the creator. Is mindful of him. What is man. That the creator. Would stoop. To love him. What is man.
[21:15] That the creator. Would give himself. For the salvation. Of all. Who would call upon him.
[21:26] In repentance. And faith. What a God.
[21:39] Who when we call upon him. In repentance. In faith. In faith. Would delight. To. Speak into our hearts.
[21:50] And to give us. The wisdom. To live by. And the wisdom. To live by. Is to live. In obedience. To him. In every part. There are.
[22:02] Two ways to live. But only one of them. Is wise. And that wisdom. Is in following. After him. With all that we are.
[22:13] Look what that word does. It rejoices. The heart. In other case. I. Am my beloved's.
[22:26] And he. Is. Mine. Rejoicing. The heart. You know. We've been.
[22:37] Coming through. This pandemic. Where people. Have been. Brought. Face to face. With their own. Mortality. We're coming. Through this. Pandemic. Where people.
[22:48] Have been. Separated. From loved ones. And realized. That they're made. For relationship. We're coming.
[22:59] Through. This pandemic. And many. Hearts. Have been. Heavy. But the word. Of the Lord. Rejoices.
[23:10] The heart. Because it says. When our heart. Is fully. Surrendered. To Christ. Then we will know. Joy. Unspeakable.
[23:21] Full of glory. Nothing will pluck us. From his hand. I. Am my beloved's. And he is mine. Rejoicing.
[23:35] Rejoicing. Rejoicing even in the midst of. Sorrow. And loss. And dark. And difficult days. Rejoicing. Rejoicing the heart.
[23:48] Enlightening the eyes. Just. To see things as God sees them.
[24:02] To understand things as God. Would allow us to understand. To see the way.
[24:16] In which God would lead us. And of course. This is an enduring. Lasting. Eternal. Word.
[24:28] The incredible thing is. That David here. In Psalm 19. Speaking about. The. The word. The word. Of God. And basing that.
[24:41] On all that he'd been given. Today. It is also. For you. And I. A little glance. Forward.
[24:52] In David's years. To the time of Christ. Christ. And how does John. Begin. His gospel. In the beginning.
[25:05] Was the. Word. And the word. Was. With God. And the word. Was. God. And suddenly.
[25:18] We see. That this word. Is the word. Of God. Yes. Given to us. One of the reasons. Why I'm so passionate. About teaching people. To read the word.
[25:29] One to one. With those. Who don't yet. Know Jesus. Or are coming. To know Jesus. Or are growing. In their faith. In Jesus. Is that as we read. The word. Of God. You get a wonderful. Double yield.
[25:40] You know. What a double yield is. When you sow. The seed. And it produces. Double the yield. And when we sit. And read the word. One to one.
[25:51] With somebody. Who doesn't know. Jesus Christ. And they come to faith. That's the first yield. But you know. What happens. When you do. Read the word. One to one. With somebody. That doesn't know. The Lord Jesus Christ. You grow.
[26:03] That's a double yield. It's a little thing. Called discipleship. You know. They come to faith. And you grow in faith. And as they come to faith. They start to grow in faith. And they start reading.
[26:14] With somebody else. And somebody comes to faith. And they grow in faith. It's a double yield. Right. Sowing the seed. But what is the seed. Of the word of God. Well it's the gospel. Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[26:24] And as we look at the. The law of the Lord. And then you start to think about the word. That John spoke about. In John's gospel. The word became flesh. And made his dwelling among us. I was with you for your business.
[26:35] Meaning during the week. And I said there. That the word became flesh. And dwelled among us. And so what we find is. We've got the full revelation. Of who God is.
[26:45] In the word of God. And that's why we need to be. In it. And soaking in it. But we get the. The revelation of God. In Christ. In the beginning was the word.
[26:56] The word was with God. The word was God. The word became flesh. And dwelt among us. And so it's all about Jesus. It's always all.
[27:06] About Jesus. But it's not just about knowing about him. It's about knowing him. And so the reason he comes.
[27:17] He comes to dwell with us. But he comes to unite us to God the Father. Through his death and Calvary's cross. And then by his ascension.
[27:28] He pours out the Holy Spirit. That he might dwell in us. So dwelling with us. Uniting us to him. Dwelling in us.
[27:41] Remarkable isn't it? This is the gospel message. That's why Paul can write to Timothy.
[27:52] All scripture is God inspired. And you'll find that everything that David was meditating. And reflecting upon. And saying about the first part of it. Actually holds true. When you think about the coming of Christ.
[28:03] And the last part of it. It's God inspired. God inspired. And so. That little text.
[28:16] In Colossians. Him. We proclaim. Warning everyone. And teaching everyone. With all wisdom.
[28:27] That we may present. Everyone mature. In Christ. Christ. You see. That's the desire. It's not just about coming to faith in Christ. We want.
[28:39] Everyone. Who would hear. Hear the good news of the gospel. You see. The good news of the gospel. Is there's bad news first. You've got to acknowledge. That you're a sinner. You've got to acknowledge. That you're.
[28:49] Not living the way God wants you to. You've got to acknowledge. That no one but Christ. Can forgive your sins. But as we proclaim. The good news of the gospel.
[29:00] That he is. Willing. That he is ready. That he will forgive. Those who come to him. In repentance of faith. That he will. Make them his own. So we want to grow. We want to mature.
[29:12] In these things. We don't just. Make a decision. For Christ. And that's everything. We want to grow. We want to mature. We want to become.
[29:23] Day by day. The people he longs. For us to be. Look at what happened. With David. I love. The little prayer.
[29:34] Almost at the end. Of. Of Psalm 19. Look at what he says. He says.
[29:47] Who can discern. His errors. Where there's a man. Under conviction. Who can declare me.
[29:58] Innocent. From hidden faults. There's a man. In search of forgiveness. Who can keep back. Your servant.
[30:09] Also. From presumptuous sins. Let them not. Have dominion. Over me. Then I shall be. Blameless. And innocent. Of great transgression. There's a man. Looking. For holiness.
[30:21] Is that not your journey. And mine. Conviction. About sinful living. Confession. That leads. To forgiveness.
[30:32] Forgiveness. That leads. To a desire. To grow. In holiness. To be holy. As he is holy. To be Christ like.
[30:44] God. So we see it there. In his confession. His prayer. Let the words of my mouth. The meditation of my heart. Be acceptable.
[30:55] In your sight. Oh Lord. My rock. And my redeemer. And it's that of our.
[31:06] Little service. That little text of Romans. Is up there. Isn't it? May the words of my mouth. The meditation of my heart. Heart. Mind.
[31:16] Actions. They're all. Joined up. In longing. To glorify God. In everything. In longing. To be who God. Is calling us.
[31:28] To be in Christ. Christ. And as he gets towards. The end of the psalm. When he's been considering.
[31:38] The wonders of creation. And the. The incredible. Honeycomb dripping. Of the word of God. Convicted.
[31:50] He's seeking forgiveness. He's longing for holiness. His whole being. Is caught up. In who God is.
[32:01] And his conclusion. Is. Oh Lord. My. Rock. And my redeemer. You know my friends.
[32:12] God has spoken in his word. And he. He speaks into our hearts. And lives. And he says. Building the rock. Building the solid foundation.
[32:25] Of Christ. Your redeemer. Grow. Grow. Grow in the wisdom. Of the word of God. Grow. In the grace.
[32:36] Of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be. Be the one. Who. Makes him known. With a deep desire. In your heart.
[32:46] That everyone. God. And his grace. Would work through. You. To touch. Their lives. And to bring them. To a place. Of reverence.
[32:57] And fear. And worship. And adoration. You know. Go. And with that. God given. Word. With that. Spirit.
[33:08] Empowered. Living. Go. And seek. To present. Everyone. Mature. In Christ. You know. The purpose. Of gathering.
[33:19] Together. And. Our Sunday. Gatherings. Is that we might. Encourage one another. Love one another. Pray for one another. Build one another up. Stir one another up. To love.
[33:31] And good works. It's not just. Good works. For good works sake. The good works. Are for the glory of God. But stir one another up. You know. Sometimes I go to some churches.
[33:42] And I think they. They specialize in. Winding one another up. It doesn't say. Wind one another up. In the scripture. It says. Stir one another up. Stir one another up.
[33:53] To love and good works. Stir one another up. To reflect. The eternal. Love. Of the eternal. Logos.
[34:05] Of the eternal. Word. Stir one another up. To love Jesus. And in stirring one another up. To love Jesus.
[34:15] Then let the overflow. Of that. Be good works. That speak of Jesus. That proclaim him. That demonstrate him. That show him. In the community.
[34:27] In which God has placed us. And the reality is. We're right. To cry out to God. For him to move. In powerful ways. In the midst of our community. community. But God's way.
[34:40] Of doing that. Consistently. Has been through his people. In love with him. In obedience to his word.
[34:52] Making him known. Well. I've been talking today. About just the power. Of the word of God. Speaking into a person's life.
[35:02] And. And I would say to you today. Male or female. If you're not reading. The word of God. As you ought. Then perhaps. What we need to do. Is pair you up. With someone. Who'd love to read with you.
[35:14] The word of God. And all you have to do. Is speak to. Myself. Or some of the elders. Or whatever. In the life of the church. Or somebody you know. In the life of the church. I'd love to read God's word. With someone. And if somebody says that.
[35:25] To you. And you think. Oh my goodness. How am I going to start that. You give me a call. So get the guys. Reading with the guys. The girls. Reading with the girls. We'll call us guys and girls. We'll just keep it at that. We're not old or anything. Right.
[35:36] But the reality is. Get them reading God's word. Get couples reading with couples. But let's still one end up. To love. And good works. Let's pray. Our gracious father.
[35:47] We do thank you. For. For your eternal. Word. We do thank you. That you long. To speak into our hearts. And life. You do long.
[35:58] For us to hear from you. And to share. What we hear with others. And so Lord our God. We pray. We pray. That you would speak into our hearts.
[36:09] Into our lives. This day. We pray Lord God. That we wouldn't just. Go from this place. Thinking we appreciate that. Part of this message. But father. We'd go with your challenge.
[36:21] A challenge. Perhaps. First and foremost. To pray. That you might give us opportunity. To open your word. With someone else. And a challenge. That we'd be willing.
[36:31] To step up. And to take. When you open that door. So father. We pray. That you would move amongst us. In precious. And powerful ways. In Jesus name.
[36:43] The Weirdish. Now. 진행. Then. Let's open it.