Righteous Is The Lord
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
What do you delight in?
It was over 100 at the river and that cool water felt so good
It was also nice to be able to sit back and relax, no real agenda
Craving food and it hits a spot in your soul
Catching up with friends
Watching a good movie
What about laws and rules? Does that make the list of things you delight in?
Delight in the speed limit, that’s where you are not supposed to go faster than a certain speed
Delight in paying the registration for your vehicles
Isn’t it good, though, when people are following what’s right?
Driving down Mallard and headlights in my lane
Wouldn’t it be great if the people in government would follow the same laws everyone else has to?
It seems like that’s not asking too much
Psalm 119
The longest chapter in the Bible is about loving the laws of God
The more our society degrades into lawlessness the more I delight in God’s laws
God’s laws are true
They are right
They are life
God gave us these laws because it is the way to abundant life
Righteous are you, O Lord,
and right are your rules.
You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget your words.
Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law is true.
Trouble and anguish have found me out,
but your commandments are my delight.
Your testimonies are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
Righteousness
Righteousness
right, true, just
Righteousness can be applied to actions
Righteousness can be applied to people
Righteousness can be applied to our relationship with God
These aspects should not be separated in our thinking. To do what is right is to be righteous which is also being in right relationship with God. We all suffer from this problem of knowing that we are not righteous. We may do what is right from time to time, but we know we do not measure up to the Holy and Righteous God. There are a few ways people respond to this:
Ignore the ways of God
Deny His existence
Claim that He is wrong
Was it wrong for Israel to wipe out the Canaanites?
Love is love is love. God is love
Humble ourselves
Submit, there’s a word we don’t like, to God’s ways
The greatness of humility
The greatness of humility
I don’t like authority, there, I said it
None of us really do
We like it when the authority agrees with us or us with authority
We want to be the ones making the rules, or at least having a veto on them
What’s our first response when someone says you can’t do something?
I didn’t want to do it before but now you told me I can’t. Watch me!
“Wet paint, don’t touch.”
I don’t want to touch wet paint but now that you told me not to, I want to do it
I touched a hot stove, twice
I stood in an ant bed daring them to bite me
Statistics
I’m decent at math, or at least used to be. I was doing fine is my statistics class until I realized it was all made up.
“A certain percentage of Americans have blue eyes.” How do you know that for sure?
The proof is in the pudding. I don’t know who is putting proofs in pudding, but that’s what they say.
We are rebellious
Don’t rebel against God
Rebel against the world
This is the point I have come to, I see that God’s laws are good and lead to a much better life. To rebel against God is just stupid. The world is so problematic and chaotic. Why would I rebel against God to follow the ways of the world?
One of the things we see in this day and time is a sharper contrast between the ways of God and the ways of the world. We should be able to say with all the more certainty that the ways of God are righteous.
We are seeing now the fruit of ideologies from years before and it is rotten.
In the late 1800’s people in churches wanted to get away from the supernatural that is attested in Scripture. “Jesus wasn’t born of a virgin. Which also means He wasn’t divine. Miracles didn’t happen. Jesus did physically rise from the dead.”
Some of those ideas were at least altruistic in trying to make Christianity more palpable to the culture. But it is not righteous, it is not true. It has led churches today to attempt to be more palpable to our culture and not take a stand against abortion, homosexuality, Tran sexuality, pornography run amuck, the mutilation and deception of our children. The result is that many of our so called churches today are rotten.
We can look around and see that the world stinks like the rotten putrid fruit it has produced.
But we are not those without hope.
Oh, how wonderful and sweet are the ways of God!
God’s laws bring me peace, security, comfort, a foundation to stand on
Righteous are you, O Lord,
and right are your rules.
You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget your words.
Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law is true.
Trouble and anguish have found me out,
but your commandments are my delight.
Your testimonies are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
Let us seek after God!
Let us desire to know Him more!
Let us delight in His laws!
God’s words are life!