Our Heart Toward God’s Word

[00:00:00] A few months ago, I jokingly told Pastor that I would preach. I asked him to preach and he took me up on it. So I just have something I want to share with you tonight. We're going to be in Psalm 119. If you would turn to Psalm 119. [00:00:22] I appreciate everyone being here. [00:00:24] Some of my family who doesn't normally come, brother in law and sister and another sister who's in town. [00:00:33] So I'm thankful for them being here tonight as well. [00:00:37] We're going to be basically in Psalm 119 and we're going to be launching out of there to other passages, but focusing on this psalm for the majority of it. [00:00:51] Let's. [00:00:54] Well, if you're still turning there, I'm just going to read something here. So according to the Pew Research center, from this is a study back February of 26 sorry, February of 2025. [00:01:06] It says overall 44% of U.S. adults say the Bible is extremely important or very important in their lives, while 19% say the Bible is somewhat important and 37% say the Bible is not too important or not at all important. [00:01:21] That's in the US and then a Gallup poll from 2022, it says a record low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God, down from 24% the last time the question was asked in 2017. [00:01:36] And half of what it was at its high points in 1980 and 1984. [00:01:41] Meanwhile, a new high of 29% say the Bible is a collection of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man. [00:01:52] So the majority of Christians, 58%, this is nominal Christianity. Across the United States, 58% say the Bible is the inspired word of God, but not everything in it is to be taken literally, while 25% say it should be interpreted literally. And 16% say it is an ancient book of fables. And these are professing Christians. [00:02:12] What's more significant is Americans who identify as evangelical or born again are much more likely than others to view the Bible as literally true. Although even among this group, the percentage believing in a literal Bible is well less than 50%. And that's born again Christians who call themselves Christians. [00:02:31] We're going to get into the word of God, but let me just pray before we do that. [00:02:35] Dear Heavenly Father God, we thank you for bringing us together tonight. Thank you for your word, Lord, as we're going to delve into it. Thank you for everyone who's here. Lord, I pray that you would just help me as I bring the message. I Pray that you would just clear my thoughts, help it to speak to everyone's heart, Lord, not what I say Lord, but what you say. And Lord, I just pray that you would help us to glorify you and edify the saints. [00:02:59] And we ask you to help us as we go out of here tonight to apply the Word of God even better than when we came in and we ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen. [00:03:13] So we know a lot about the Word of God. [00:03:16] A lot of people across the nation and across the world know a lot about God's Word. The Bible self proclaims these a few truths that I'm going to point out. The Bible is a sword. So it says in Ephesians, you don't have to turn there. If you want to you can. But I'm going to be going through a lot of these pretty quickly so you can just stay in Psalm 119. [00:03:34] But the Bible, Jesus, the Bible itself calls the word of God a sword. Ephesians 6:17 says, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [00:03:47] In Hebrews 4:12 it says, for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. [00:04:00] The Word of God is described as a fire and a hammer. In Jeremiah 23:29 it says, is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. [00:04:11] It's also described as the truth. Jesus said in John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy Word is truth. [00:04:19] And last but not least, God's Word is eternal. It says in Psalm 119:89 which we'll probably turn there but it says, forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. So those things are objectively based on God's Word. They're objectively, those are objective truths. You know that's across. [00:04:38] Doesn't matter who you talk to. Of course the Bible is going to be what it's going to be. [00:04:44] But for all these things, however, these characteristics of God's Word do not demonstrate our heart's attitude towards God's Word as we just as I just went through those polling, the Word of God is eternal. It says he's settled in the heavens. But that doesn't mean that everybody believes it. That doesn't mean everybody lives it. [00:05:07] We don't know who wrote Psalm 119, it was possibly David, probably David. I think it was David based on some of the wording that he uses. [00:05:16] But Daniel could have wrote it Ezra or Jeremiah. From different scholars, they say that. [00:05:21] But we do understand the psalmist disposition to it, and we should have the same heart. [00:05:27] I want to point out seven unique qualities about Psalm 119. [00:05:31] I'm just going to go over these kind of quickly, but it's the longest chapter in the Bible. Just food for thought. It's the longest chapter in the Bible, at least in the verses. There's 176 verses that. That's longer than any other chapter in the Bible. [00:05:49] God's Word is it. [00:05:51] Throughout the whole. The whole psalm, God's law is described as the law testimonies his ways, his precepts, his statutes. So as we're looking through these, it all is pointing to the word of God in general. [00:06:05] The psalmist uses at least one of these words in every verse, except verses 122 and 132. So there's a reference to God's Word in almost every verse of this psalm. [00:06:17] And something that's really interesting is, if you'll notice in your Bible, it should say Aleph at the top of the first section and it'll say Beth Gimel. A lot of you may know this already, but that's the Alphabet. It's the Hebrew Alphabet. And in the Hebrew Bible, it's not reflected in our English Bible, but in the Hebrew Bible, the each verse in each section, it starts with the letter of that section. So, like Aleph would be blessed, or however it starts in the Hebrew, it's going to reflect the same Alphabet. That's just an interesting thought. But I'm saying that to say this, it's so structured that way that I think is a reason for it. [00:07:09] I was researching and I came across something that said basically this psalm could be looked at as instruction for all of life. [00:07:20] Maybe it was specifically structured that way in alphabetical order to help us remember that, almost as an instruction manual for the Hebrews or a celebration of importance to God's Word throughout all life from Alpha to Omega. You know, in that way, Jesus said, Revelation 22:13, I'm Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. So in that way, I just wanted to point that out. It's an interesting thought, but I think what the Bible is teaching is that, you know, of course, all of life is supposed to be ordered by the word of God. [00:07:52] So based on. Based on what we know about God's Word objectively. [00:07:56] I want to focus on. Focus on how the psalmist describes the specific ways in which God's word should influence us. [00:08:06] The Bible says that he gives us life. [00:08:10] Of course, in the Psalms, I could find a specific verse, but it says that quicken me in thy word. [00:08:16] And quicken means to make alive. But if you look at 2 Peter 1:3, you can turn there if you'd like. But it says, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. And then Matthew 4, 4 says, but he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. So we see that, you know, it's not just. [00:08:41] It's not just knowing that the Word of God is what it is, but it's applying it to us. It also says in John 6:63, says, Jesus said, it is the Spirit that quickeneth the flesh, profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. [00:08:59] You say, well, the word of God is life. That's great. But it says in Proverbs 4:20, it says, My son, attend to my words. Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine heart. For and this is the key, for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. So the Word of God is not life to people who don't accept it, who don't find it. [00:09:23] It's only life to those who find it, and health to their flesh. So this is why I want to point out that the psalmist is trying to get us to see how we're supposed to be viewing the Word of God. [00:09:35] What I'm trying to bring to your attention is, is our attitude towards the Word of God. [00:09:43] When you're reading your Bible in the mornings or at evening, whatever time you read it, don't just read it as a textbook. Don't just read it just because you have a duty to read it or you are on some sort of Bible plan, think about how it actually applies to your life and think about your attitude towards it. It's really interesting. And we'll get to some of these other ideas here in a minute. But it's really interesting because a lot of these verses, these ideas, there's exclamatory verses. So like, you know, it says in verse Five it says, oh, that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes with an exclamation point. You know, it's not just, you know, a nonchalant kind of attitude towards the word of God. This is like the psalmist is expressing his emotions, his heart towards it. And so. So the next I want to point to is the fear of the Lord. [00:10:38] So it says in Psalm 119, 1, 20 it says, My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments. [00:10:46] I want to read in Exodus 9:20, it says, he that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses. And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field. [00:10:59] So you see, the reason we fear the word of God is because we believe the word of God. If you don't believe the word of God, you're not going to fear it. And the people who left these were the servants of Pharaoh. These weren't Hebrews. These people feared the word of the Lord and made their servants flee out of the field. [00:11:19] And those who left them died. [00:11:22] And Isaiah 66:1 5. [00:11:26] This is what I want to. I want to get to. Here is. The Bible says, thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things hath been, saith the Lord, and this is it. But to this man will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. So of course we fear the Lord in a reverential trust, but in the same way we should be fearing the word of God. I was thinking about this. I was like, when's the last time that when I was reading my Bible or when the preacher was preaching, I actually started trembling or, you know, got a lump in my throat or something. You know what I mean? Think about that. I mean, the Bible says that's something that God wants us to feel. It's not just, you know, kind of coming to church and sitting like a lump on a log. [00:12:19] It's feeling like this is working in my life, you know, and God and fearing the Lord. It's interesting because our society urges us to assert ourselves and affirm our own way to live and throw off the chains of oppressive religious strictness. That's what they'll say. But the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 8:12. Though a sinner do an evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him, but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he feareth not before God. [00:12:51] You know, I was thinking of, you know, just the fact of creation, you know, and it talks about that in Isaiah. [00:12:58] Think of the fact that God made all creation. The sun, the moon, and the stars and the galaxy. [00:13:04] You know, y' all are about to go up to the Ark. Encounter in the Creation Museum. [00:13:08] I've been there to the Creation Museum, and there's a planetarium there, which you'll all probably experience. But you walk in and there's this pretty big room around, I guess, and everybody sits in these seats. They're kind of like, reclined. [00:13:25] And then all of a sudden, the lights go out, and you're sitting there in blackness. And then it shows up. Like the spot, I guess where. I guess that's Cincinnati somewhere over there. [00:13:36] It shows where that's at. And then it zooms out to the world, the globe, you know, our world. And then further and further and further. So it shows a Milky Way, and it shows that all the galaxies. And literally you feel like nothing. You feel like less than nothing, you know, but. And this is what God's saying in Isaiah 66. He's saying, Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. [00:13:59] But for all those things that. For all those things hath made mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord, but to this man will I look. [00:14:07] Oh, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth not my word. So, you know, you think about how important it is to God that we fear the Lord, that it's not just, you know, we're a little teeny speck, but God focuses on us. Of all the vastness of creation, he's focusing on us who fear the Lord. And that's just. You know, that's just an amazing thought. It really is. [00:14:30] God's heart is toward those who fear before him, and he will respect them. [00:14:36] There's an encouragement here in Philippians 2, 12, 13. It says, Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed. Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do. Of his good pleasure. So as you're fearing the Lord, make sure you're following. [00:14:56] You don't have to worry. I guess if you're fearing the Lord, God will help you work out your own salvation according to his pleasure. [00:15:04] That's one thing. If you're taking notes, I have quite a few. But fear of the Lord is one aspect of how we want the Word of God to work in our lives. [00:15:14] God also wants us to love His Word. It says in Psalm 119, 16, it says, I will delight myself in thy statutes. I will not forget thy word. [00:15:22] Verse 20 says, My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. [00:15:27] If you think about that again, that's like an exclamatory. It's like, my soul longeth for, you know, My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath under thy judgments at all times. Is that how we feel towards God's Word? Like, think about it. If you wake up in the morning, you know, you get your coffee, I get mine. [00:15:43] But how often do I think? Do I actually think about the Word of God? Am I longing for the Word of God? [00:15:49] That's the heart of the psalmist. He's saying, this is how we're supposed to be viewing the Word of God. [00:15:55] It says, verse 47, and I will delight myself in thy commandments which I have loved. [00:16:02] Verse 24. Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselor. So all throughout, there's just so many references to each of these you think about. It says in Psalm 97, it says, oh, how love I thy law. It is my meditation all the day. Like, are we meditating on God's Word? Are we actually thinking about it? Or do we just, you know, we're busy with life and we just forget about God's Word? [00:16:25] That shouldn't be. [00:16:27] It says, 162. It says, I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil. [00:16:35] Isaiah, I'll pick on you. [00:16:37] If I gave you $1,000 right now, what would you say? You'd probably be like, jumping up and down, probably delighted. [00:16:48] If you don't have something and you find this great thing, that's what gets you excited. [00:16:57] And so the idea is that we should be always trying to look at God's Word and finding new things out of the Word of God. Not new in the sense of an idea, but new to us. [00:17:11] It says Psalm 1, 2, 3. It says, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate day and night. [00:17:17] And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. [00:17:25] Again, it's just. You delight in the Word of God and you meditate. That's kind of seems to go hand in hand. [00:17:31] The next one is comfort. You know, the Bible says in Psalm 119, verse 49, it says, Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. [00:17:41] This is my comfort in my affliction, for thy word hath quickened me so again. You know, these are all aspects of how God wants us to view His Word. You know, have you been through something hard recently that you've had to go to the Word of God about? [00:17:58] Just, you know, you find comfort in the Word of God as a believer, you know, you. [00:18:04] God's Word is definitely going to take care of you. [00:18:09] If you're seeking his path and you're trying to find the answers, God will comfort you. You know, for a while, I wish I had brought it. I left it at the house, but it was a. It was a canvas that someone had painted for me when I was back in. When I was in high school. [00:18:24] Is a math teacher at the church. And she. I was going through a bad case of doubt about my salvation. And she actually, she knew it, and she painted a whole. She painted Psalm 42 on it, which is as the heart panteth after the water brooks. And it talks about how God comforts our hearts. And I wish I had brought it, but that's just a good comfort. And that was a comfort to me. You know, we need to follow, find solace in the Word of God. [00:18:53] God also wants us to have the right attitude towards our sin. It says Psalm 119, verse 9. It says, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word. [00:19:04] Verse 11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. [00:19:11] It says verse 104. It says, through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. [00:19:18] Is that true of us? Do we. Everything that we think about, think about all the, you know, the way the world influences us, you know, the way our flesh wants to go. [00:19:28] Do we hate every false way? Everything that's false, everything that's against the word of God? [00:19:33] That's sobering to me. I mean, honestly, I was convicted as I was studying. You know, it's. Do we hate every false way I mean, think about it. I mean, whoever the psalmist is, if it's David, if it's Jeremiah, whoever it is, if he was standing right here, you know, what would he say about, like, how he viewed the word of God? I mean, but that's just a sobering thought. We need to make sure that we're repenting of our sin. We're seeking God's face, asking for forgiveness, getting right with those we've wronged. [00:20:04] We don't want any sin in our lives. It says, I'm trying to remember the verse, but it says, order my steps in thy Word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. [00:20:16] Interesting. But the Bible also talks in this psalm about friends picking the right friends. Psalm 119, verse 63, it says, I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. Verse 74 says, they that fear thee will be glad when they see me, because I have hoped in thy word. Verse 79 says, Let those that fear thee turn unto me and those that have known thy testimony. So it's interesting. He's saying, I am a companion of all them that fear you. God, you know, are you a companion of some people who don't fear the Lord? [00:20:47] What kind of friends do you have? Do they love God and his Word like you do? [00:20:51] If they don't love God, is that a reflection on your relationship to God's Word yourself? [00:20:59] It was just interesting. That's kind of a neat thing I found. I didn't even realize that Psalm 119 talked about that, but that was a good truth. [00:21:07] God talks about illumination, our understanding. And Psalm 119, verse 8, it says, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. [00:21:18] It says, verse 130. The entrance of thy words giveth light. It giveth understanding unto the simple. [00:21:24] You know, there's so many things that we don't know, we don't understand about life. God says that he gives us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. We need to be seeking God's face because we don't know what we don't know. And we gotta keep asking God. Show us. Show me wondrous things out of there law. There's so much stuff packed in the Word of God that we haven't even scratched the surface on. [00:21:44] You know, we got to dig deep. You know, we got to ask God. And this is something that's interesting. I'm going to read in 1st Corinthians 2, 1st Corinthians 2, 13, 14. If you want to turn there, you can. That's 1 Corinthians 2, 13, 14. [00:21:59] But it says, which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. [00:22:17] So my question for you is, do you know the Lord? [00:22:19] Does the Bible seem really complicated to you? [00:22:22] Do you find yourself having a difficult time understanding what it's saying? [00:22:26] And that's not to say, you know, I'm going to get to another verse. That's not to say that we don't have things we don't understand. That's okay. You know, as a believer, I mean, I've had plenty of things that I don't quite understand. [00:22:38] But is it overbearingly complicated to you? Do you not quite understand it? Because the Bible says the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them. He doesn't even know it because they are spiritually discerned. [00:22:52] You won't see it. Your eyes will not be illuminated if you don't see it. [00:22:57] The Bible says the word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. But that's the psalmist. He already knows the Lord. [00:23:03] You know, a lot of people flounder around in darkness because they don't know where they're going. [00:23:09] It says in Hebrews 5, 12, 14, it says, this is for believers. It says, for when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. [00:23:38] As a believer, are there areas in your Bible reading and meditation where you know you need to grow? [00:23:42] We should be reading God's Word and understanding it sufficiently to be able to teach others. You know, it's not just enough to read it for yourself, but you really, you should be growing. You know, if you're any years in the Lord, I'm how many years? [00:23:58] 15 or 16, I think. [00:24:00] You know, I Ought to be able to teach people, you know, and not just textbook, but experience. Like, this is where I exercise faith in God, and this is how God brought me through. You know, where are we at with our reading, with our meditation? You know, are you a babe or are you someone who's strong? You know, be careful of vain philosophies. I don't remember the passage, but it talks about beware of vain philosophies. [00:24:26] Worldly ideas, you know, things that, you know, the Jordan Petersons of the world, you know, the Joe Rogans of the world, you know, and like I said, there's. Well, I will say this. I understand these people sometimes find truth. [00:24:41] They do come to truth because all truth is given by God. So sometimes unbelievers can find the truth, and that's fine, that's good, you know, but at the same time, what they're teaching, what they're putting out, is that biblical? Is it based on scripture? Because if it's not, then, you know, in the Enlightenment period, you know, we had Immanuel Kant, and he believes that you had to be rational. He took out everything in the Bible that was not following a rational or, like a mathematical or scientific route. [00:25:13] That man does not know the Lord. You know what I mean? [00:25:16] Jordan Peterson. I've listened to him before, but he doesn't know the Lord. And so there's only a few things that I could take away from him, I think, if anything. [00:25:24] So be careful when you're listening to podcasts and things, Be careful that you're following the Word of God. [00:25:33] Another idea is our witness. It says in Psalm 119, it says, make me to understand the way of thy precepts, so shall I talk. [00:25:40] Sorry, verse 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts. So shall I talk of thy wondrous works. [00:25:46] Verse 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me. For I trust in thy word. [00:25:52] Verse 46. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings and will not be ashamed. [00:25:58] So we get the idea of witnessing, of defending the faith, you know, when we're talking to other people. [00:26:04] If we don't know the word of God, if we don't know his precepts, if we're not reading it, we won't be able to talk of his wondrous works. We won't be able to stand before kings and be able to give an account of ourselves and about the Word of God. [00:26:19] It's interesting this one, too. It says in Psalm this Is singing. It says, Psalm 119, verse 54, Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. And I'll be honest, this is a kind of a weird one. I don't really quite understand how this works, but it says in Colossians 3:16, it says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. So, you know, it's the idea of like, of actually getting, well, keep God's statutes in song. You know, we do that in our hymns. But, you know, we have doctrine in there. We have. [00:26:53] So that's a way. It says teaching and admonishing, you know, teaching and correcting, but letting the word of God dwell in you richly, you know, know, it's not enough to just, you know, it's not enough to just read God's Word and memorize it, but we. God wants us to apply it in wisdom. You know, it says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. [00:27:19] There's a lot of people who can quote the Bible, but are they being able to apply it rightly? [00:27:26] Next is success. It says Psalm 13, it says, and he shall be like. This is. Yeah, Psalm 1:3, it says, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall Prosper. [00:27:40] And Joshua 1:8 says, this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth but that. But thou shalt meditate therein. Thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success, you know. You know, with this verse, you kind of have to be a little bit discerning again, because, you know, in this life. Pastor's mentioned it before in a couple of his sermons where, you know, the world has a lot of success. You know, they have money, they have. They have power. And that's success in a worldly term. [00:28:16] But that's not the success that God describes. You know, the success on this life, even if we follow the Lord, is not always. We might be in poverty. We might. We might be. You know, we just might not have a lot of influence in the world. [00:28:32] But that's not, you know, the success that God's talking about is following him. [00:28:38] So just be mindful of that. [00:28:42] I don't know how much time I have, but. [00:28:45] So that's just what I wanted to show you. [00:28:51] It's not the. It's not just a textbook that we're reading, but it's the heart behind the psalmist, what he's saying in conclusion. It says to the archaeologist, the Bible is a book that provides the answers to finding ancient ruins. [00:29:07] The liberal theologian will use it to explain away the deity of Christ. [00:29:11] The President of the United States and elected officials use it when they swear the oath of office. [00:29:15] The atheist denies it, most people ignore it, but. But to the Christian, it is the book that provides the answers to all of life's complex problems. It assures us of our hope of eternal life. It comforts us in our affliction, and it convicts and corrects us when we sin. The Christian fears it, delights in it, trusts in it, reads it, meditates on it and allows God to help him live it out. [00:29:37] Ask yourself this how do I personally relate to the word of God, and how does it actually instruct and affect my life?