Psalm 119

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Psalm 119

Good morning church! Very excited to be back with our church family to worship together this morning. We’ve seen several of you throughout the week at the breakfast for Mom’s, what an incredible turnout we had for that, thank you to all the ladies that came to serve for that... and we got to catch up with some of you at t our growth group, but it is nice to gather all together. I hope you all enjoyed your vacation from me. I hope you did, I was blessed by Sean sharing the Word to allow for Pastor Jim and I to attend a conference together. We are blessed to have so many good Bible teachers in our fellowship.
Those of you that are regular attenders here know that it is our practice to teach through the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, precept upon precept, from cover to cover as all of the Word of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.
When I left we finished off the book of 2 Thessalonians, so some of you may already have your Bible’s opened to 1 Timothy where I believe we will be next week, so you can read chapter one in preparation for that. But for today, I just want to talk through some things with you. Scriptures that I’ve been over the past couple of weeks that have ministered to me.
It occurred to me, that I’m mostly going to be talking to Christians today. If you’re not yet a Christian, I don’t want to leave you out, God doesn’t want to leave you out. So if that’s you, what are you waiting for? Ask God to reveal Himself to you today! Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, accepting the sacrifice, the payment Jesus made on the cross, ask Him to accept that as payment in full for your sins. Make Jesus your Savior and Lord today. To those that aren’t yet sure if they’re ready to do that, I assure you there is nothing to be afraid of in coming to God, perfect love casts out fear, but there is everything to fear in rejecting Him and you continuing to be the Lord of your life, my guess is that hasn’t been working out as well as you had hoped.
To the Christian…I noticed this repetitive phrase that Paul uses mostly in 1 Corinthians, but also in Romans and 2 Corinthians… And it is, “Do You Not Know...” a couple of examples....1 Cor 3:16
1 Corinthians 3:16 NKJV
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
1 Corinthians 9:24 NKJV
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
There are several other examples, and the writers are not just Paul. The phrase or the question occurs in both the Old Testament and the New, in that exact orientation at least 26 times and several others in variations of it. Jesus seemed to use it with some perplexity when speaking to religious leaders as you do not know? You are this or that, or claim to be, yet, you do not know?
There seems to be an assumption in the Scriptures that we know some stuff? That we’ve been taught some stuff, that we’ve read some stuff, and that we remember and retain some stuff. I don’t know about you so much, so I’ll speak of myself, but for me, sometimes I can struggle with the remember and retain some stuff part of that. We are taught the Word of God in this place. Most of us, and I think it is so cool that we can say this, but most of us participate in Growth Groups were we dig in deeper and read it, and discuss it. I hope we all have a personal time with the Lord each day allowing Him to speak to us through the Bible.
But the truth is, there is a lot of competition in this world for our hearts and minds. There is drama and noise. The Bible encourages us to aspire to live a quiet life, to live at peace with all men, but even with the best of intentions, we can get sucked into the chaos, and somehow forget that we KNOW that 1 Cor 3:16
1 Corinthians 3:16 NKJV
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
we are the temple of God, that we are not alone that the Spirit of God dwells INSIDE of US! We can forget that we know that 1 Cor 6:19
1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Our bodies no longer belong to us, but are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells, or lives inside of us, who God gave us…and we are no longer our own...
We know this! Yet far too often…the question could be asked of us…Do you not know??? Because the evidence that we do know should be seen in every... single... area... of our lives. In our talk, in our walk, in the way that we work, in the way that we serve others, love others.
The people of God, should bring glory to God! Paul tells us in 1 Cor 10:31
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Does our attitude bring glory to God? Does the focus on our selves, our feelings, our wants or disappointment because we didn’t get what we want bring glory to God? Does the way that we do our job when our boss isn’t around bring glory to God? Doe we bring glory to God when we hear others gossiping about or tearing down another Christian? Do we confront that or do we just let it happen?
The people of God should bring Glory to God in everything that we do, all things should be done with excellence! This isn’t a pep rally, but some of you might hear that and think yes! I got off course and I’m going to try harder again, lets go for it pastor, and others of you hear it and think, everything? Well that just sounds exhausting! And there are others that would say, I’m so exhausted, what did he say?
And as much as I’d like to be on the one that says, “Let’s do this, I’m pumped!” I have to admit that it is exhausting, I’ll go a step farther and say that it is impossible. It’s impossible to succeed by just trying harder or doing more reps at church. We can’t just try harder in our flesh and expect to make progress spiritually. Paul asks this question to the Galatians 3:3
Galatians 3:3 NKJV
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
If you continue reading in that chapter, you get the sense that Paul is again saying, “Do you not know” brother, do you not know sister, that striving in our flesh is a defeated life, we can’t do it. So you might be in place where you are struggling, or questioning if you’ve lost your first love, or maybe.... for you.... your faith is alive in your head, you believe it, you know that it is true, but it simply feels lifeless in your heart.
There has been a great deal of talk as of late about revival. Undoubtedly, you’ve heard the reports of the revival going on at Asbury University. I’m also sure that you have heard the skeptics and critics about what has been going on there, because it just can’t be real unless it started in the church of some of these loud mouth pastors.
Pastor David Guzik put out a really short video on his Enduring Word Website about the revival and it’s skeptics that I would recommend that you watch when you are able. I was actually able to talk to Pastor David about that video last week as he was one of the speakers at the conference we attended. I’ll summarize it for you. It is fair and right to be skeptical when we hears of things going on, they warrant investigation and validation, yet we should be equally skeptical about all of the false reports and criticisms that come out concerning revivals and major moves of God in our time. I thought that to be wise counsel. Often times the criticism comes from fear and discomfort of seeing the Holy Spirit move in a way that people aren’t comfortable with, and other times it is jealousy, or attention seeking, I can’t really speak to motivation in others. What I can speak to is that...
I personally went to high school with a woman that is a current professor at Asbury who has been sending out incredibly encouraging testimonies of the way God is moving there, breaking chains of sin and bondage, setting people free, and reviving their hope, their joy, and bringing new life into their souls. To me that sounds like God. Pastor Will Cass whom many of you know was able to go and witness it for himself and was moved by it saying he witnessed confession, testimonies, the Word of God being shared, prayer, worship, praise, fellowship, and that what he witnessed was “a genuine work of the Holy Spirit.”
I know two other pastors that went to see for themselves and their testimony was nearly identical to that. There have been however some that have been quick to accuse, fast to discount, ...there have been some reports of things, that if they were true would be concerning. In fact, some of you won’t be surprised by this at all, but our Government has actually jumped in on the fear mongering Thursday with a report from the CDC that upwards of 20,000 people might have been exposed to the Measles by attending the Asbury revival… Maybe, maybe not, but they might have....yet the 68,000 fans that attended the Super Bowl are all good.
There have been reports of this revival spreading to other campuses, reports of the Holy Spirit moving in mighty ways in different churches and fellowships across our country. Christians being renewed. We can observe what is going on in other places and in other people and make judgement upon it and we might be right and we might be wrong, all that we can truly know, is the state of our own hearts.
Revival is just what it sounds like. It’s not bringing the dead to life, that can either be salvation or resurrection. Right? Eph 2:1
Ephesians 2:1 NKJV
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
We were once dead, but when we came to Christ, we were given life. Revival is The reviving, or the bringing back of individual Christians to life or vigour through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is like a Spiritual Defibrillator. Getting us back in the right beat, back in the right rhythm, so the life giving blood is being oxygenated again. Revival is the Breath of God blowing in.
Lenard Ravenhill once said...
This time of year in Maine, things go dormant it’s cold and hard, our calendars tell us that it won’t last forever. The signs of the times tell us there is hope that spring is coming…the sun feels warmer and brighter, the buds are beginning to form on the trees, holding the spring leaves inside waiting to be released, the sap begins to flow in the maple trees, we know in our heads it is coming, but the dark days can dampen our hearts.
Spiritually speaking there are times when we need that new life to come. It doesn’t take a movement, or a trip to Kentucky to try to touch the hem of the garment of something happening somewhere else, it takes a renewal in our hearts, true revival always starts in the church, with one believer at a time, being reminded of what we already know...
God has not departed from us. We may have strayed, we might have become distracted or enticed to please ourselves rather than Him, to serve ourselves rather than others. But God wants to restore that life giving fellowship that is available with Him. Even if we have fallen away, He want to breath in new life, new hope, and a stronger faith, and He will do the work, He tells us that it is His work, not ours. We just need to repent and ask. In Joel chapter 2 we read Joel 2:12-13
Joel 2:12–13 NKJV
12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
In the book of Hosea, God says, Hosea 14:4
Hosea 14:4 NKJV
4 “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him.
Psalm 119 is my favorite of all the Psalms, it’s also were the passage comes from at the top of your child’s memory verses for the month of March. But throughout this Psalm, we read about the power of the Word of God and our need to be revived. We don’t know who wrote this Psalm, if we needed to, God would have preserved that for us, but I almost think it is better that we don’t, so we can personalize it, so that rather than look at it as a book or a poem that we are reading, we can make it our prayer, our plea to God.
Rather than read the whole thing, I’m just going to highlight portions of it we will start with verse 25, Psalm 119:25-28
Psalm 119:25–28 NKJV
25 My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. 26 I have declared my ways, and You answered me; Teach me Your statutes. 27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works. 28 My soul melts from heaviness; Strengthen me according to Your word.
Verse 40, Psalm 119:40-41
Psalm 119:40–41 NKJV
40 Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your righteousness. 41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord Your salvation according to Your word.
Psalm 119:57–59 NKJV
57 You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words. 58 I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word. 59 I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
Psalm 119:81–82 NKJV
81 My soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word. 82 My eyes fail from searching Your word, Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
Psalm 119:88–90 NKJV
88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. 89 Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.
Psalm 119:103–105 NKJV
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:106–108 NKJV
106 I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments. 107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word. 108 Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, And teach me Your judgments.
Psalm 119:149 NKJV
149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.
Psalm 119:153–156 NKJV
153 Consider my affliction and deliver me, For I do not forget Your law. 154 Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes. 156 Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your judgments.
Psalm 119:157–160 NKJV
157 Many are my persecutors and my enemies, Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies. 158 I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, Because they do not keep Your word. 159 Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness. 160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
And finally go back to verse 34 and we will close with this final plea to the Lord.
Psalm 119:34–37 NKJV
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. 36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.
Notice in this final verse, this plea for revival, there is both life and death. The Psalmist is asking for an end, death in a sense to the distraction of worthless things, and a revived life, a changed and revived heart in the ways of the Lord, in the Will of the Lord.
True Revival is not something that can be manufactured by man. Martyn Lloyd Jones, the Welsh minister who preached at the Westminster Chapel in London for nearly 30 years said, “You can not stop a Revival, any more than you can start it. It is altogether in the hands of God.”
It is the people of God, bringing Glory to God, not by works of their own flesh, but through a revived life in Him. Dr. Jones also said,
Revival, above everything else, is a glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is the restoration of him to the centre of the life of the Church.
I’m going to pray, and then Brett is going to come and lead us in a closing song. At the conclusion of that song you can be dismissed, you can get your kids, and do whatever you need to do. But those of you who have been spoken to by the Holy Spirit during this service, those of you that know there has been something missing, I’ll tell you that God has not gone anywhere, God has not drifted away, and He is longing to revive you. If you want to come forward, there will be Pastors and elders and their wives upfront here this morning to pray with you. This isn’t a time to come up and visit, ok, I want to make this place available for those that need to do business with the Lord.
Pray with me church…Father, we are asking, I am asking that you would turn our eyes away from worthless things, Lord that you would kill any desire that we may have to wander, that you would keep up from the drama and distractions, and that You would breath fresh life into each one desiring that and into this church body. We love you Lord and pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Let’s sing this song as a prayer church...
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