Thank you.
Sometimes I just wish that there was an easier way to victory.
Sometimes I just feel so worn down.
I feel so vulnerable to temptation in my battles.
My battles against pride or against anger or bitterness.
Or my battles against worry or doubt or fear.
Sometimes I just wish that I had a secret weapon of some sort that would give me instantaneous victory over sin.
A silver bullet of sorts.
A nuclear option.
An easy button of some sort.
And, you know, I think that all of us can probably relate to that.
And so my question for you is, if the battle against sin seems so hard, if the battle against our sin seems so impossible, then how do we gain victory over sin?
Can we gain victory over sin?
If we look to God's word, if we look for examples within God's word of battling temptation, probably the most common example that may come to your mind is Christ's own temptation.
When he was battling temptation when he was fasting in the wilderness.
We see accounts of that in the Gospels, Matthew 4, Luke 4.
And you're probably familiar with this.
But first off, Satan comes to Jesus and he tempts him.
He tempts Jesus to turn a stone into bread.
Here Jesus was fasting, focusing upon God and prayer.
And Satan tempted him to turn this bread, this stone into bread.
So what did Jesus do?
What was Jesus' response?
Well, Jesus quoted scripture to Satan.
And he said, man shall not live by what?
By bread alone, right?
And yet again, Satan tempts Jesus to worship him, to worship Satan.
And he offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.
And again, Jesus quotes scripture.
He says to Satan, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.
The third and final temptation that Jesus faced, Satan tempted Jesus to leap from the pinnacle of the temple and to be rescued by angels.
And once again, Jesus, well, he quotes scripture.
And he says, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.
So if we look at that particular example, if we look at Jesus' response to temptation,
we may be tempted to wrongly conclude that it's the words that we say that can battle the temptations that we face.
You know, we may misunderstand.
We may get the wrong idea of exactly how is it that we're supposed to use scripture.
God gives us scripture.
And this summer we're doing a sermon series through Psalm 119 upon God's word.
But the question is, how do we use God's word in relation to our sin?
How do we relate God's word to our temptation, to our battle?
And, you know, I'm not trying to be funny or even irreverent by making this analogy.
But, you know, sometimes I think that people, when they read the account of Christ's temptation in the wilderness,
they almost see this as some sort of a Harry Potter-like magical wizard's duel between Satan and Jesus.
And Satan casts his evil spell toward Jesus and Jesus counters it with his scripture spell.
And then Satan again comes at him with another evil spell of temptation.
And Jesus waves the wand of God's word and deflects the temptation.
Sometimes I think we may think that that's what's happening.
But in reality, if we really look at what God's word has to say about God's word and about our temptation and fighting sin,
it's not the words that we say that fight off temptation, but it's the truth behind those words.
You know, if we just think that memorizing scripture, filling our brains with words off of a page,
if we just think that rattling off and quoting scripture in certain circumstances or instances is enough to give us victory over sin,
then we're going to be sadly mistaken.
We can rattle off all the verses we want.
We can fill our brains with all the words of the scripture that we can.
But that in and of itself is not alone to rescue us, to save us from the bondage that we have toward our sin.
It's not knowing God's word.
It's not quoting God's word.
Rather, it's trusting and obeying God's word that is the key to victory over sin.
You know, of course, it is important to know God's truth.
If we don't know God's truth, we can't trust it.
We can't believe it.
If we don't know God's truth, then we can't follow it and obey it.
Of course, it's important to know the truth of God.
That's not at all what I'm saying.
I'm not at all trying to discourage us from memorizing or learning or even quoting scripture.
But we must then, by faith, trust in the truth of God's word.
Trust in the truth that is behind those words.
And by God's grace, we then can step out and obey the instructions, the truths that we find in God's word.
You see, it wasn't simply the words that Jesus quoted that gave Jesus the victory over Satan.
Excuse me.
It was the truth behind those words.
By faith, Jesus believed the truth of those words of God.
And by God's grace, Jesus obeyed the instructions of the words of God.
You see, it's trusting and it's obeying God's word that is the key to victory over sin in our lives.
God's word gives us the truth to believe and to practice.
But God's word is not a magical spell that we can recite to ward off temptation.
God's word is not a magical wand that we can wave to instantly transform difficult circumstances.
No, instead, when we find ourselves in difficult situations, when we find ourselves in the midst of battle, when we look around us and the world appears to be fuzzy and unclear, and we don't know where to go or what to do,
God's word, God's word is the, it's the lens.
It's the lens that brings everything into focus.
It's the lens through which we must view our lives.
It's not just the words in and of themselves.
It is a worldview.
It is a new perspective.
When the world around us is corrupt and dirty and polluted, God's word is the filter that we must funnel our lives through.
When things around us aren't turning out how we expected them to or how we wanted them to, God's word is the standard by which we must measure our lives.
And against which we must judge our expectations.
God's word is our lens, our filter, our standard.
It's a light unto our path.
And so that brings us then to our question.
As we're going through the Psalm 119 series this summer, what does God's word have to say about God's word and our, God's word and our sin?
How is it that we can have victory over sin in our lives?
Well, I can assure you that we are not the first people to ask those types of questions.
So let me invite you, if you would please, to turn in your Bibles to the book of Psalms.
Psalm 119.
If you're using one of the Pew Bibles, I believe it's page 957.
And the book of Psalms, it's located almost exactly in the middle of our Bibles.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter there.
And this morning, we're going to be looking at the second paragraph of this chapter, verses 9 through 16, and especially honing in on verse 11.
We started off this sermon series.
Mike opened up last week, this last month, this series on God's word as our treasure.
Something that we can value above all else.
Something that is more valuable than everything else.
And we looked at God's word and our praise.
And Ben led us in a study through God's word and how that affects and interacts with our praise, our response to God.
Samir led us in a message through God's word and our path.
God's word is a lamp unto our feet.
It's a light unto our path, our lifestyle, our way of living.
And then last week, we were reminded that even if we are children of God, even if you are a believer, affliction is not going to be a stranger.
We looked at the fact that God's word has something to say about our struggles, about our hardships, about our afflictions.
And so the overarching theme, all throughout this longest chapter of the Bible, Psalm 119, and therefore the overarching theme of our summer series, is God's word and how it affects our everyday lives.
God's word and how it affects every aspect of our lives.
And so throughout Psalm 119, the psalm writer uses about eight different words, eight different terms, eight different descriptions to refer to God's word.
We see the word law.
We see the word word.
We see the word laws and statute and command and decrees and precepts and promise.
And notice that not all of these terms referring to God's word are rule-related.
They're not all laws or commands, which we may tend to react to and think, ooh, that sounds negative.
But some of these terms are referring to God's truths and God's promises to his people.
And so we should find great encouragement in the truths of God's word.
God's word is both a rebuke and it is an encouragement at the same time.
And so our main passage today, Psalm 119, verses 9 through 16, and our main verse today is going to be verse 11.
So what does Psalm 119 have to say about God's word and our sin?
How is it that we can have victory over sin in our lives?
What is our relationship to sin?
Well, let's begin reading in verse 9.
Psalm 119, verse 9.
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you.
Let me not wander from your commandments.
I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord.
Teach me your statutes.
With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight, as much as in all riches.
I will meditate upon your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes.
I will not forget your word.
Trusting and obeying God's word is the key to victory over sin in our lives.
And so our plan for the rest of the morning here together is we're just going to look at two simple truths today.
And then we're going to close with a little bit of very practical, down-to-earth application.
How can we take those two truths and apply them to our everyday lives?
So we're going to look at the fact that we need to trust God's word and we need to obey God's word.
So the first truth is that we see here in scripture that by faith we must trust, we must believe, we must put our faith in the truths of God's word.
Now if we look at that opening verse of this paragraph, verse 9, it says,
How can a young man keep his way pure?
So that being said, let me just encourage you, if you don't consider yourself young, this verse still applies to you.
If you are not a man, this verse still applies to you.
So this isn't just for 25% of the people in the room here.
This paragraph, these truths are for all of us.
And we're actually going to be looking at verse 9 in more detail, God's word and our purity, in a couple of weeks here.
We're looking forward to doing that.
But that being said, that verse sets up this paragraph, asks the question,
How can we, we could really understand that phrase, young man, as being, how can we as students of God's word, as apprentices of God, as disciples or followers of God,
how can we learn the lessons that God wants us to learn?
How can we live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God?
And so if you're somebody who's asking the question, what does God's word have to say about my sin?
Then this passage, these truths are for you, whether you're a young man or not.
And so the first reality that we need to keep in mind is that what we, that we trust in the things that we value.
The things that are important to us, those are the things that we value.
The things that we enjoy, those are the things that we put an emphasis upon.
And so let's look here at our key verse today, verse 11.
And the psalmist says,
I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
In other words, the psalmist here recognizes that God's word is vitally important.
He stores it up.
He gathers it like a farmer piling up produce in the barn and in the silo.
He stockpiles it away like somebody would precious metals or jewels in a vault.
The Bible here says, the psalmist here says, that he has stored up God's word in his heart.
He values it.
He recognizes it as being important.
He hid it.
He treasured it.
And therefore, the things that he valued influence the way that he lives.
The things that we, the things that we trust in are the things that we value.
And so what was this psalmist, what was the writer here trusting in,
in order to have victory over the struggles that he had with sin in his life?
He was trusting in, he was relying upon, not simply filling his brain with the words off of a page,
but upon the truths behind those words.
He was filling his life.
He was filtering his perspective.
He was bringing everything into perspective through the lens of God's word.
I've stored your word up in my heart.
Why?
That I might not sin against you.
The truths we must trust in, we must follow, we must put our faith in, by faith,
putting our trust in the truths and the promises of God's word.
Now, when the psalmist was writing this, he wasn't just writing in abstract terms here.
He wasn't just coming up with poetic language about filling up his heart with these words.
But he was referencing back to other well-known passages.
One that comes to mind is Jeremiah 31.
And this is God speaking.
And it says,
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant.
In other words, God says, I am going to make a new covenant, a new promise with my people,
for my people, to my people.
Skipping down a little bit further,
God says, I will put my law within them.
I will write it on their hearts.
I will be their God.
They shall be my people.
And down at the end of that paragraph in Jeremiah 31,
God says, I will forgive their iniquity, their sin,
and I will remember their sin no more.
So what we're started off looking at here is we must trust in the truths of God's word.
And so one of the vital truths here of God's word is,
as we've been looking throughout this summer series,
is that God's word is valuable.
God's word is precious.
God's word is our way of life.
It's our path.
It is the light to our path.
God's word transforms our response to God so that we have a heart of praise.
God's word transforms our perspective when we're facing adversity and difficulty and discouragement.
We must trust in, by faith, put our trust in the truths of God's word.
And God says, I will make a new promise, a new covenant with my people.
I will not just write words on a page, but I will take those truths.
I will write them upon the hearts of my people.
It will be their way of life.
It will transform who they are and what they do and how they live.
And God says, and I will forgive them their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.
So our first point this morning is that by faith we must trust, we must believe the truths of God.
So my question for you is, do you believe that?
Are you a child of God?
And do you believe that if you're a child of God, that God has given you a new heart?
He has done a divine heart transplant.
He has given you his law upon your heart.
He has transformed your perspective.
He has forgiven you already your iniquity.
And he says, I will remember your sin no more.
You know, so often, even those of us that are believers can wallow in our discouragement.
We can be disappointed.
We can become frustrated with our failures and with our struggles.
So let me encourage you to, by faith, trust in the truths of God's word.
And specifically, trust in the fact that God, if you are a child of his,
has forgiven you all of your iniquities.
And he will remember your sin no more.
Two simple truths today.
By faith, we must trust.
We must believe the truths of God.
And by trusting in the truths of God,
that directly leads us to our second truth today.
That by God's grace, we must obey.
We must follow the truths of God's word.
So first, we have to put our faith in, our trust in,
and then we have to step out by God's grace
and act upon the truths of God's word.
The psalmist here says in our text, verse 11,
I have stored up your word in my heart.
Why?
Why did he do that?
So that he'd have a bunch of fun facts to know and share?
So that he could win in his sword drills and things like that in his Sunday school class?
No, the reason that he stored up God's word in his heart
was so that he would not sin against God.
His perspective, his outlook on life,
was transformed by God's word
so that he could live in a way that was pleasing to God.
But here's what I want to remind us of.
And this is a very key point.
This is a very important point.
We obey God's word as a result of our salvation.
We don't obey God's word in any way in order to earn our salvation.
We don't start cleaning up our lives and getting our act together
so that God will save us.
Quite the opposite.
As a result of God's saving work in our lives,
we therefore, in response to that,
step out by God's grace and obey as a result of our salvation.
I'm not just playing word games here and switching around the order of things.
The order is crucially important.
It is a significant difference between us obeying to earn salvation
or us obeying as a result of God's salvation in our lives.
Let's think back to that Jeremiah 31 passage that I referenced a few minutes ago.
And God says,
Here's that wonderful, life-transforming perspective,
that promise that God gives us,
that new promise to his people.
God says,
I will forgive their iniquity,
and I will remember their sin no more.
By faith,
how is it that we're supposed to have victory over sin?
How does God give us victory over sin?
What is the relationship between God's word and our sin?
Well, by faith,
we must trust in,
believe in the truths of God's word.
And by God's grace,
we must step out and obey and follow
and act upon the truths and promises and commands of God's word.
So those are our two teaching points today.
But it may leave you wondering,
what does that mean for me?
How can I take those truths,
trusting in God's word,
obeying God's word?
How can I take those truths and apply them to our everyday lives?
Let me ask you to turn to the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians chapter 4.
Before our summer series in Psalms,
we were studying through the book of Ephesians
and most recently looking in chapter 4.
And so I want to turn once again to the book of Ephesians,
look at chapter 4,
and let's just pull out two examples,
two very practical, real-life applications
of these lessons of trusting,
putting our faith in,
and by God's grace,
obeying the truths of God.
All right, I mentioned in my opening
that oftentimes I become discouraged and frustrated
and feel like I wish I could have greater victory
in a variety of areas that I struggle.
One of those being pride.
And I think that pride is something
that takes different shapes and forms
and has different flavors,
but I think if we're all honest with ourselves,
pride is something that each and every one of us struggle with.
And so let's take that example of one sin of pride
and let's see how can we take those two truths,
trusting in the truth of God's word,
obeying by God's grace the commands of God's word,
how can we apply that to our lives
from the book of Ephesians?
All right, so if we're thinking,
if we're wrongly thinking,
that simply memorizing a verse
and quoting it as needed,
throwing that out at a specific situation,
if we think that that is going to give us victory over our sin,
then we might look at Ephesians chapter 4, verse 2.
And we might say,
oh, that says,
with all humility and gentleness,
with patience,
bear with one another in love.
Okay, so I need to memorize that.
With all humility and gentleness,
with patience,
bear with one another in love.
With all humility and gentleness,
with patience,
bear with one another in love.
And when I become,
when I start to feel pride rising up inside of me,
I may wrongly think that if I can simply memorize
and spit that verse out at that moment in time,
that I will instantaneously have victory.
Got my wand of God's word,
my scripture spell,
in order to give me victory over that temptation.
But the fact of the matter is,
if we just look at verse 2 in and of itself,
we're cutting ourselves off
from the rest of the truth of God's word.
We're cutting ourselves off from the grace
that we so desperately need
in order to fulfill God's word.
And so let's actually look at verses 1 through 5
and see how does verse 2 fit within there.
Yes, we are supposed to be humble.
Yes, we are supposed to be gentle and patient.
And we are supposed to bear with each other in love.
But how can we do that?
Verse 1 of Ephesians chapter 4,
Paul says,
I therefore, a prisoner for God,
urge you to walk,
and here's the key,
in a manner worthy of the calling
to which you have been called.
So Paul here is writing to believers.
Paul here is writing to people
who have had that divine heart transplant.
Paul is writing to people saying,
live out the reality in your lives
that has already occurred in your heart.
Live in a way that reflects
what God has already done in your lives.
So he doesn't just say,
try harder.
He doesn't just say,
keep trying to be better.
But he says,
live out the reality
that has already occurred in your life.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to walk in a manner worthy,
walk in a way
that reflects the calling
to which you've been called.
If you're a child of God,
you have been called,
you have been called from a life of sin
to a life of victory and freedom in Christ.
And then verse two says,
with all humility and gentleness,
with patient,
bearing with one another in love,
eager to maintain the unity of the spirit
and the bond of peace.
Verse four,
why?
What is our motivation?
What is the truth of God's word
that we by faith must cling to
if we're going to have victory
in the area of our pride?
Verse four,
there is one body and one spirit,
just as you were called
to the one hope
that belongs to your call.
One Lord,
one faith,
one baptism,
one God and Father of all,
who's over all
and through all
and in all.
And so if you this morning
came in here
and you were looking around
and you were
battling thoughts of pride,
if you were looking down
upon other people
because they look differently
or act differently
or sing differently
or smell differently
or talk differently
than you do,
if you were looking around here
this morning
and in pride,
looking down upon other people,
scripture here says
the truth that we need
to by faith cling to,
by faith trust in,
says we're all part
of one body.
If we are,
if you are a child of God,
we are all part
of the family of God
and we have all been called
by the same faith,
the same hope.
It's all by God's grace
that we are what we are.
It's by God's grace
that we are who we are.
And so it's connecting
the reality of the gospel
that apart from God's saving faith
in our lives,
apart from that,
we have nothing to be proud of.
We have nothing to think
so highly of ourselves
or to look downly
upon other people.
But it's only the gospel,
that one calling,
that one Lord,
that one faith,
that one baptism,
it's God's saving grace
in our lives
that even gives us
the opportunity
to be who we are
and to do what we do.
So we have absolutely
no reason for pride at all.
So do you see
how much more effective that is?
Do you see how much more
helpful that is?
I hope that's a lot
more encouraging to you
than simply thinking,
I need to memorize this verse
and I need to spit it out
word for word.
I need to memorize this verse
and I need to say it
when I'm being tempted.
Instead,
connect the reality,
connect the truth
that's behind those words
that I'm no longer
in bondage to sin.
God has freed me
from that sin
and God has done that
to everybody else
within the family of God,
within the household of God.
And I'm no better,
I'm no different
than anybody else here.
We're connecting
the reality of the gospel
to the sins
that we are struggling with.
We are trusting
in the truths
of God's word.
And then we are
stepping out
by God's grace
and we are acting
upon the reality
that God has already done
in our lives.
We trust
God's truths
and we step out
by faith
and by God's grace
and we obey
the truths
of God's word.
All right,
so let's take another
very practical example
from the book
of Ephesians here
as we conclude
our lesson this morning.
Anybody ever struggle
with anger
or irritation maybe?
Maybe a little bit
better sounding
of a word, right?
Or frustration.
Oh, I'm just so frustrated.
What about bitterness?
Something that anger
and irritation
and frustration
can lead to.
You know,
I think that if we're honest,
once again,
just like pride
is one of those
universal sins
that affects all of us,
anger and irritation
and frustration
and resulting bitterness
is something
that all of us
struggle with.
So again,
if we're simply looking
for a quick fix approach,
to have victory
over temptation,
we may turn to
verse 26
of Ephesians chapter 4.
Look at verse 26
if you would,
Ephesians chapter 4.
Paul says,
Be angry and do not sin.
Do not let the sun
go down on your anger.
And so we could keep
repeating that
over and over
and over again.
Be angry and do not sin.
Do not let the sun
go down on your anger.
Do not let the sun
go down upon your anger.
But simply saying
those words
in isolation
from the truth
of God's word,
simply filling our minds
and filling our mouths
with these words
is not enough
to give us the victory
that we need.
We need to connect
the reality
of those truths
to our standing
in Christ.
So let's look
at verse 26
and then we'll skip
down a couple of verses
and read verses 30
through 32.
So again,
Paul says,
Be angry and do not sin.
Is that true?
Yes, absolutely it's true.
Is this a good verse
to memorize?
Absolutely it is.
These are wonderful truths.
These are precious truths.
Do not let the sun
go down on your anger.
Is that a valuable,
is that a valuable truth
for us to follow?
Is that a command
that we should put
into place in our lives?
Yes, it is.
But let's connect
those commands
to the gospel.
Let's put our faith,
our trust in the truths
of God's word
and by God's grace,
let's step out
and live in the reality
of those truths.
So look at verse 30.
Ephesians chapter 4,
verse 30.
And do not grieve
the Holy Spirit of God
by whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption.
Again, Paul's writing
to believers here
and he says,
If you are a child of God,
then the Holy Spirit
has put his seal upon you.
The Holy Spirit
has sealed you
and called you
and is preserving you
for the day of redemption.
And therefore,
because of that reality
that has already occurred
in your life,
because God has done
this work of sovereign grace
in your life,
and because the Holy Spirit
is doing the continuing work
of empowering you
and growing you
and enlightening you
to the truths of God's word,
because those things
are a reality,
verse 31.
Now you can
let all bitterness
and wrath
and anger
and clamor
and slander
be put away from you,
along with all malice,
and be kind to one another,
tenderhearted,
forgiving one another.
Well, that first half
of verse 32,
that might be another one
that we're tempted
to just memorize
and use in isolation,
but do not cut yourself off
from the grace of God.
Do not ignore
the second half
of that verse.
Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
as God in Christ
forgave you.
If you are a child of God,
then you have experienced
the transforming grace
of God in your life.
Do not cut yourself off
from the power
of the gospel.
Allow the reality
of that divine heart transplant
to be lived out
in the way that we
interact with those around us.
And so,
why are we kind
to each other?
Why are we tenderhearted?
Why do we forgive others?
Because that's exactly
what God has done for us.
We do it to the extent
that God has done it for us.
God has forgiven us
everything.
If you are a child of God,
you are forgiven,
you are free,
and you no longer
are in bondage to sin.
And so,
first of all,
put your trust in,
your faith in,
the reality of that truth.
You are free
from the bondage of sin.
And then secondly,
by God's grace,
live out the reality
of that truth.
That you are free
from the bondage of sin,
and therefore,
you can live
and interact with others
in a way
that is pleasing to God.
All right,
so there are two people,
two types of people
in this room.
And verse 9
talks about a young man.
I'm not talking about
young people
and not-so-young people.
I'm not talking about
men and women.
But there are really
only two types of people
in this room.
Either you are a Christian,
either you are a child of God,
you've placed your faith in God,
and you've placed your trust
in Christ alone
for the forgiveness
of your sins.
Either that describes you,
or you are not a Christian,
you are not a child of God,
and you're trusting
in something other than,
or you're trusting
in something in addition
to Christ
for the forgiveness
of your sin.
The reality,
the truth of God's word
speaks to both groups of people
in this room today.
And so,
if you are a believer,
if you are a Christian,
let me encourage you
that there is hope
for you today.
You can have victory over sin
by faith,
trusting,
and believing
in the truths
of God's word.
You can,
by God's grace,
obey the truths
of God's word.
By God's grace,
you can have victory
over your sin.
By God's grace,
you have already been forgiven
for your sin.
There's no condemnation.
By God's grace,
live out the reality
of the gospel transformation
that has already happened
in your life.
Obey,
because you have been forgiven
by God.
Be free,
because you have already
been freed
from the slavery of sin.
Be encouraged,
believer,
that God's word
speaks to you
that you can be free,
that you are free,
that you can be forgiven,
that you are forgiven
by God's grace.
Well,
what about for those
that are not Christians?
What about for those
that are not believers?
What about those here?
What if you are
not trusting in Christ alone?
What if the idea
of doing good things
as a result
of your relationship
to God
as opposed to
doing good things
to build
or earn a relationship
with God?
What if that
is a better description
of how you've been
living your life?
Let me tell you
that there is hope
for you today as well.
You, by faith,
can place your trust
in Christ alone
for the forgiveness
of your sins.
And by God's grace,
he will save you.
The Bible promises
that anyone
who calls
on the name
of the Lord
will be saved.
So what does the Bible
have to say
about sin,
about our sin
and God's word?
The Bible says
that we should trust
in the truths
of God's word
and by God's grace,
we should live out
the truths
of God's word.
The psalmist says,
I have stored up
your word in my heart
by faith trusting
in the truths of God
that I might not
sin against you
by God's grace
living out
God's truths.
Trust and obey
the truths
of God's word
and find the victory
and the forgiveness
that you are looking
for today.
Let's pray.
God, we thank you
for your word.
We thank you
for the truths
and the promises
in your word
about our sin.
And we thank you
for the grace
and the forgiveness
in your word
for our sin.
God, I just pray
that you would
encourage our hearts
with these truths today.
I ask that you
by your spirit
would empower us
to trust you
by faith
and to obey you
by grace.
And we ask these things
in Christ's name.
Amen.