The Greatest Treasure of A Christians's Heart
Notes
Transcript
Good morning Allons Baptist Church!
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart that I might not sin against God! Amen!!!
Biblical Reference: Psalm 119
I thought we were going to get back to our series of the Hallel Psalms today and finish that up, but God still hasn’t given me the freedom of doing that just yet. Maybe in another week or two, we will be able to return to that chapter and finish up that series, but at least for today, we are going to be in the next chapter, which is 119.
The last chapter we preached through in Psalms was the shortest chapter in the Bible, and today we are going to be looking at the longest chapter in the Bible. It has 176 verses.
It has only one major theme: the Word of God. The chapter has 176 verses, but the Word of God is referenced over 180 times.
The verse we are going to use as a springboard is:
162 I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.
We are going to be speaking today under this title: The Greatest Treasure of A Christian’s Heart
Context
Context
When I was a small boy, I was a really picky eater. If it was green in color, tagged as a healthy food, if I could not pronounce the name of it, if it was ooey, gooey, and slimy, or if it was labeled as an "extra" (condoments, toppings, spices, etc.) I did not want it.
Later on life, I slowly began to experiment with new things to eat. This mainly happened when I got married. She got tired of cooking and eating the same old thing every night for supper.
At first, I absolutely despised the fact that she was pushing me to try new things. I had already decided in my mind and in my heart, that anything new was disgusting and therefore unnecessary. It was something I did not need in my life. Her pushing me to try it did not help.
I slowly began to branch out more, and to my surprise there are lots of things I now eat that I used to not eat. Sometimes I even ask myself, "Why did you allow yourself to go so long without this in your life? You could have been enjoying this all along."
Reading the Bible is much the same. As young Christians, we hear the preachers tell us to read the Bible. We hear them say that it has spiritual benefit to our lives. We hear them say that it is expected of us Christians.
Like most children though, we tag the Bible as one of the spiritual foods that are: "healthy, green, words I can't pronounce, or ooey gooey and slimy". Because of this, the Bible quickly becomes one of those "unnecessary, disgusting things I don't want to eat or need in my life". And when you try to make me eat it, I am not going to like you.
Unfortunately, this usually means that we are much later on life before we realize how good the Bible really is. We are usually past our best years of learning, and almost every person who finally reaches the point of digging into the Word of God says, "Why did I allow myself to go so long without this in my life? I could have been enjoying the spiritual benefits of this good food all along."
Many people struggle in this life when it comes to feeling like they belong. Though they are liked by many, they still feel as if something is missing.
I would be willing to bet that there are many here today who silently and secretly struggle with this very thing.
It is a struggle that we do not share often, because it is a personal struggle we do not want others to know about.
We seek to mitigate the feelings that accompany this struggle by trying even harder to “fit in”, “to be loved”, or “to be accepted”, which in turn leaves us feeling even worse than we did to start with because it usually changes nothing.
We still feel worthless, unlovable, distant, alone, and afraid. It is as if we are strangers in our own land.
What if i told you that there was an answer to this most difficult situation? What if i could show you how to get past those feelings?
18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.
19 I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me.
The aim of the text is to show its readers the paramount need for the Word of God in their lives.
My aim as a pastor is to do the same. If we grow a massive church that is not biblically sound, we have missed our mark as spiritual leaders. We have failed the people of this Church and we have failed God.
The Word of God must be the driving force of everything we do. Our ministries must be founded on scripture. Our missions must be biblically based. The motives of this church must be to instill within every child of God a love for Him.
How do we do this? By showing them who He is.
If we succeed in this, we have succeeded in everything!
5 Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commandments.
People are struggling in life because they simply have not been exposed to the spiritual benefits of God’s Word, and let me tell you now that if one struggles in their intake of God’s Word, they will struggle in every aspect of their walk with God.
Content
Content
The Disgust of Sin
The Disgust of Sin
137 Righteous are You, O Lord, And upright are Your judgments.
138 Your testimonies, which You have commanded, Are righteous and very faithful.
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.
118 You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit is falsehood.
119 You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies.
Truth is, even though you cannot fully explain it, you can feel the discomfort with where you are spiritually in your life right now. You know that there is some things separating you from God, but you simply do not know how to overcome them.
The Definition of Sin
The Definition of Sin
53 Indignation has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Here we see the sin of commission. That means we are committing a sin. We are doing something that goes against God’s law. We are committing an act that is unpleasing to God.
Murder
Adultery
Vandalism
Telling a lie (what if it is just a white lie)(what if your just lying to yourself)(hide the truth)
Cheating on homework
Doing exactly the opposite of what mom and dad tells you to do (even if they don’t catch you)
Saying dirty words (even under your breath)
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Here we sin the sin of omission. To omit something means you are leaving it out. This is when we do not do what we are supposed to do.
Not loving others
Not reading the Bible
Not praying
Not sharing (toy, our testimony)
Not being kind, considerate, and compassionate with others
Not doing necessary chores around the house (washer overflowed)
There is also “Inherited” Sin
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
This means that you have a predisposition to sin because you are born with a natural tendency to sin. This sin nature has been passed down from one generation to the next, all the way from Adam.
There is also “Imputed” Sin
18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
This means that all humans are tried as guilty in a court of law through Adam’s sin. Adam’s sin has been laid to our account and we are guilty for his sake. This is called imputation.
In other words, in a worldly sense, you are doomed to failure. You have innate desires to sin from within and forces of evil tempting you to sin from without.
The Depth of Sin
The Depth of Sin
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord— Your salvation according to Your word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.
Our sin has separated us from God. We stand in direct opposition to God. Without a change, there is no hope.
The Discharge of Sin
The Discharge of Sin
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
170 Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word.
80 Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, That I may not be ashamed.
104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.
133 Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.
134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God!
Commitment
Commitment
145 I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O Lord! I will keep Your statutes.
146 I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.
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.
59 I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments.
