Pleas and Promises

Psalm 119:41-48

P.O.P.

Our plea and delight amidst opposition is in the Word and glory of God.

Kids

God will keep us in tough times and guide us to worship.

Introduction

“God enables us to answer the critic, the “one who taunts me” (v. 42), as God works in us to rightly use his Word to define our faith (what we believe) and to defend our faith (why we believe).” Danny Akin

I. The Lord will carry us through opposition (Psalm 119:41-43)

“a prayer for help (vv. 41-43) and a pledge of fidelity (vv. 44-48) to God and his Word.” Danny Akin

Through His love

NASB “May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me”

NIV “May your unfailing love come to me”

KJV “Let thy mercies come also unto me”

We have been told of His love, therefore, we may pray in expectation for His continued love.

Exodus 20:5-6 “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Exodus 34:6-7 “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.””

Through His Word

It is the confidence in the steadfast love of God that will carry us to stand firm in the faith.

Exodus 3:11 “But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?””

Exodus 3:13 “Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?””

Exodus 4:1 “Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ””

Exodus 4:10 “But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.””

Exodus 4:13 “But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.””

Exodus 6:12-13 “But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.”

There is no force, no enemy, no opposition that will come close to holding its own against God.

The Lord will not leave us without defense because we have a confidence in the trustworthiness, reliability, and innerency of Scripture.

Confidence in the Christian rises or falls on your belief in the Bible being God’s Word continaing God’s promises.

To deny this being God’s true Word would be produce just as much confidence in the Chrstian walk than if Moses could not truly know if it was the Lord or a figmant of his imagination.

Through his promise

However, there is a necessary warning we must not neglect. When the enemy confronts us, the Lord will not give us his Word as our defense if we do not know his Word.” Danny Akin

His promise is Deuteronomy 31:8 “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.””

And Jesus confirms this promise and the preservation of His Word, even before scoffers...

John 14:25-26 ““These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

We often speak of the perseverance of the saints, however, there is no perseverance unless the promise of preservation is true.

TULIP - perservance of the saints; ROSES (Timothy George) - Eternal Life — — broad including the full work of salvation of God preserving, Christians working out their salvation, and the God who does not expect His people to find hope in their perserving but to find hope in his ability to preserve and cause perseverance.

II. The Christian will remain steadfast to the Word (Psalm 119:44-46)

The danger of “once saved always saved” is to understand this as once saved, free to live however I like.

Faithful keeping

God is not a genie in a bottle that offers us three wishes to a better life.

Salvation is not simply we no longer sit under the wrath of God. Rather, it is freedom to now live in righteousness.

Ephesians 5:8 “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”

Those who are children of God are not saved to a theoretical righteousness but to a literal righteousness. Jesus did not sacrifice himself so that it would LOOK like we are living in righteousness but for actual freedom to LIVE in righteousness.

Faithful walking

The Christian is freed for righteous living by which is the only way true satisfaction will be found.

The freedom is not found in free to do whatever I please to do, but free to live as God’s Word calls me to live.

Before Christ I could live in the freedoms of the world and flesh, however, I could not live in the freedoms of righteousness. The freedom is to live for God’s glory which is impossible without the freedom of Christ.

We will walk in true freedom through the work of Christ and the knowledge of God’s commandments.

I remember my first vehicle, a red 1992 Ford Ranger. I would sit in this vehicle and dream of driving places and the freedom this would bring. There were two issues: I did not know how to drive a manual and I did not have my drivers license.

Freedom is not merely experiencing the idea of freedom but living out that freedom.

Faithful standing

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

There is no shame that will be found in the proclamation of the Gospel.

Rulers, governments, cultures, societies, and all wordly ideaolgies will find the Gospel offensive and therefore find God’s people as opposition.

Efforts to make the Gospel appealing are futile.

There is not other answer to the worlds opposition than to stand firm on the truths of the Gospel.

You may be told it is unloving, ridiculous, outdated, bigotted but the world has not real estate on authority.

III. The Word will be the Christians delight and God’s glory (Psalm 119:47-48)

The Christians enjoyment

One of the major difference between righteous living and legalism is the love and freedom found within.

By definition, legalism seeks to restrict than to realize liberty.

By definition, legalism seeks to follow in fear than to obey in love.

Freedom in righteousness produces effections of the heart that enlighten us to the glory and goodness of God.

The Christians worship

A true test of delight will be the response of worship.

What more is there to worship than the reality of salvation found in Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”