Elder Saw Lip Hean
27-09-2020
Psalm 119:1-4
New International Version
Psalm 119
א Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
A. PURPOSE OF HIS WORD (v 1-4)
1. Logic of His Revelation
- if God is God & we are called to be His disciples
2. Reveals the deity (Godness of God), attributes (what God is like) & precepts of God (general spiritual principles which we abide by in our lives) - that we may know Him
- that we may be like Him
- that we may obey Him
Our concept of God is very crucial in the way we conduct ourselves and in the way we live our lives. It is only when we understand who God is that we understand where we stand in relation to God and how we should relate to Him.
When we understand that God is light, love, omnipresent and omniscient, then we relate to Him in that particular manner and we learn to be like Him. God wants us to be creatures of love i.e. not only to love God in return but to love our fellow man.
The crux of being created in the image of God is that, not only can we be like Him but while we are on earth and are separated from Him physically, He reveals Himself and He reveals what we are to do under certain ciscumstances and that's where His precepts and laws come in.
3. A Christian disciple’s chief goal
- as opposed to other types of disciples
Psalm 119:9-12
New International Version
ב Beth
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
B. HIDING HIS WORD IN OUR HEARTS (v 9-12)
1. How to stay pure - to know & obey His word
a) Know & understand His word
- consistent & disciplined study requires time & effort (Jos 1:8)
Joshua 1:8
New International Version
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
- of teachers, books, seminaries & other helps
You may know the Word of God but you may not know the God of the Word. True understanding is given by the Spirit. Head knowledge of the Word of God does not equate with spiritual understanding. It is more important to know the God of the Word than just merely the Word of God.
- making the most of our time & technology
If you seriously want the Word of God to seep into your life, to influence your thinking and to be able to guide you as a light onto your way, we make use of everything, including technology, so that it becomes a blessing to you.
- teach/share as the Lord has taught you
As you learn the Word of God and it becomes part of you and the understanding starts to seep into you, you must teach just as the Lord has taught you.
- His word will speak for itself, don’t self-promote
The Word of God will make alive the souls that It reaches to. The Word goes out with power.
- avoid verbiage & time wasting
What is important is application. When you lay down what the Lord has taught you, apply it to their lives and the issues of the day.
b) Obedience is key & not mere knowledge (puff)
- both understanding of the word & experience go together & neither exclusive
Our fallen nature is we tend to think too much of ourselves and too highly of our knowledge of the Word of God so much so that we think that we know the Word of God and it more than justifies us in the sight of God.
Knowledge does not equate with obedience. In fact, if you have true knowledge, you will understand how disobedient you are. It is not knowledge that counts where the Word of God is concerned; it is our obedience to the Word of God--that when we obey the Word of God, it brings forth the spiritual experience God meant for us to have so that in so doing, we will then truly understand what it is to live the Word of God in our lives.
Psalm 119:25-29
New International Version
ד Daleth
25 I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word.
26 I gave an account of my ways and you answered me;
teach me your decrees.
27 Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,
that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.
28 My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
29 Keep me from deceitful ways;
be gracious to me and teach me your law.
When you are feeling weary, the place that you should run to for comfort is the Word of God. Why? Because our hearts and our minds are extremely deceitful. We tend to love everything else but the Word of God.
Psalm 119:33-37
New International Version
ה He
33 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
In our weariness, we need rest. And rest is found in the Word of God. That is why the Word of God is centre in the lives of disciples.
C. REST FOR THE WEARY (v 28-37)
1. Weariness of life (v 28)
- where do we seek solace & solutions (Mt 11:28)
Matthew 11:28
New International Version
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- we forget; fear; foolish; faithless; fall
We are a forgetful people. We forget all our experiences of God, what the Word of God taught us and how the Spirit has prompted in the past. When we forget, we start to fear that things that may happen or may not happen. When we are gripped by fear, we start to do foolish things. We forget that God is the God that has been looking after us all this time and we start to trust in chariots and we go back to Egypt. From acts of foolishness, we end up being faithless. There is no more an act of faith but an act of faithlessness. And that is what leads us to fall. A Christian doesn't fall overnight. It is a very gradual process.
2. Deceit & Self-deception (v 29)
- our eyes & hearts (Eph 1:18)
Ephesians 1:18
New International Version
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
Jeremiah 17:9
New International Version
9 The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
Matthew 15:19
New International Version
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
We are not honest with ourselves. We do things out of ulterior motives. When things don't turn out, we blame God.
- false prophets & teachers (2 Pt 2:1)
2 Peter 2:1
New International Version
False Teachers and Their Destruction
2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
As disciples, we need to ask the Spirit of the Lord to show us very clearly whether a prophet or a teacher is teaching the correct thing or is he giving a lot of rubbish.
3. Self-check & accountability (v 26)
- need for honesty & humility (Phil 2:3-4)
Philippians 2:3-4
New International Version
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
You must think of others better than ourselves because when we think of ourselves better than others, we tend to justify our own actions, we excuse ourselves of our little sins and we point our fingers at other people's sins. We want to take out the speck from other people's eyes and we can't even see the log in our own eyes.
- discuss, not argue (2 Tim 2:14)
2 Timothy 2:14
New International Version
Dealing With False Teachers
14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
- our comfort & consolation (Gal 6:7-10)
Galatians 6:7-10
New International Version
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Do not become weary. When you are weary, go back to the Word of God. Seek rest, comfort and solace from the Word of God and then you will understand and see where you stand in the greater design of God's plan for your life.
Psalm 119:67
New International Version
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
Psalm 119:71
New International Version
71 It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.
Psalm 119:75
New International Version
75 I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous,
and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
Psalm 119:92
New International Version
92 If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
Psalm 119:153
New International Version
ר Resh
153 Look on my suffering and deliver me,
for I have not forgotten your law.
D. COMFORT FOR THE AFFLICTED
1. Purpose of our afflictions
- to keep from going astray (v 67) (1 Pt 1:6-7)
1 Peter 1:6-7
New International Version
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
- to learn (perceive correctly) His word (v 71)
- to understand God’s faithfulness (v 75) (2 Cor 1:9-10)
2 Corinthians 1:9-10
New International Version
9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
2. His word sheds light on our situation
- like a lamp on our feet & path on our way (v 105)
- gives understanding to the simple (v 130)
Now you understand why we build disciples. A disciple's life that is so centred on the Word of God brings us into a situation which God is pleased with. It leads us to purity and it leads us to living the kind of lives that God has called us to live.
RELATED:
The Core Content of Discipleship (Following the Person and the Way of Christ – Intentionally)
Who Am I? (A Disciple's Identity)
Stop. Look. Go (A Disciple's Life)
A Disciple's Word Centred Life
Plugged In - A Disciple's Life of Power
