Knowing the Story: Learning to Delight in the Word of God
Guard the Deposit • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Passage
Passage
Please turn to Psalm 119
Introduction
Introduction
Theme for 2025: God’s Story
Theme for 2025: God’s Story
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s word is one, unified, and life-giving story,
When I say story:
I do not mean that the Bible is a fairy tale
I mean that it is a literary work (characters, scenes, plot, climax, resolution)
it is accurate history, but it isn’t a simply a history book
it includes law, butit isn’t simply a code of law
It includes discourse/teaching, but it isn’t simply text book
Though it includes poetry and wisdom literature, it isn’t simply an anthology
While the Bible is a collection of books and genres, it is yet one, unified, life-giving work.
It is God’s Story to us.
Guard the Deposit
Guard the Deposit
For the next two weeks, I’d like to preach a short series titled - “Guard the Deposit"
This phrase comes from Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20 “keep that which is committed to thy trust” (Guard the Deposit)
Paul says this again in 2 Timothy 1:14, “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep” (Guard the good Deposit)
The Deposit is the teaching and doctrine Paul gave to Timothy...
Now at the core of Paul’s teaching was the Gospel itself
2 Timothy 1:10, “But is now made manifest (the grace of God) by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”
Now let’s step back and see how the Gospel (this deposit we are to guard) relates to the Bible as a whole
We could say that the Gospel is the unifying element of the Bible...
It is the glue and climax of God’s Story...
So when we talk about Guarding the Deposit, we are talking about our stance toward the Bible as a whole and how we learn it and live it.
Where Are We Going?
Where Are We Going?
In this short series, I’d like us to see HOW we guard the deposit, and I will propose that we can do that in two ways.
We guard the deposit by Knowing the Story - what we do with the Bible personally
We guard the deposit by Showing the Story - what we do with the Bible corporately
So, in these next two weeks, we will see that we Guard the Deposit by KNOWING & SHOWING the Story of God
Psalm 119
Psalm 119
Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm made up of 176 verses.
What’s unique about this Psalm is that:
It is equally divided into 22 sections because there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet
Each section has 8 verses and each of those 8 verses begins with the same Hebrew letter assigned to the section
The sections are alphabetical, so it begins with Aleph and ends with Tav
The Psalm most likely has this structure as a teaching tool...
Though the Word of God is inexhaustible, this alphabet technique helps us easily remember things we would otherwise forget.
Similar to what the ABC Attributes of God the kids are doing Sunday nights:
A is for Almighty, “God is all powerful”
B is for Bountiful, “God is more than enough to satisfy all our desires”
C is for Creator, “God made everything”
More importantly, each verse references the Word of God - in a sense, Psalm 119 is a dissertation on the impact of Scripture in a person’s life.
1 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, And that seek him with the whole heart. 3 They also do no iniquity: They walk in his ways. 4 Thou hast commanded us To keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed To keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, When I have respect unto all thy commandments. 7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, When I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. 8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
And Psalm 119 probably has this structure to make the point that Scripture is thorough - it covers everything from A-Z (Aleph to Tav)
It is exhaustive and applies to all of life
Read the Text
Read the Text
25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word. 26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: Teach me thy statutes. 27 Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: So shall I talk of thy wondrous works. 28 My soul melteth for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word. 29 Remove from me the way of lying: And grant me thy law graciously. 30 I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me. 31 I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame. 32 I will run the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart.
33 HE. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; And I shall keep it unto the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; For therein do I delight. 36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, And not to covetousness. 37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; And quicken thou me in thy way. 38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, Who is devoted to thy fear. 39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: For thy judgments are good. 40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness.
Two Words
Two Words
This morning, I’d like us to consider two words that will help us Know the Story, which will enable us to Guard the Deposit
1. Death
1. Death
25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word.
28 My soul melteth for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
I don’t know about you, but these phrases aren’t giving me good vibes.
When I wake up, I’m not sure I want my first thought to be “my soul is clinging to the dust”
Who goes to bed and says, “praise God, my heart is being crushed by sorrows”
These metaphors are strong reminders that on our own, we are lifeless and helpless.
Unfortunately, many have come to the wrong and sad conclusion that this is normal and perfectly fine
We believe the lie that we can find satisfaction apart from God
We pretend like we’re okay when we’re not
We distract ourselves with anything that numbs us of the emptiness
Buying stuff
Stay busy
May watch 4 more episodes
A part of really Knowing the Story of God is understanding that our hearts are dead and need to be made alive!
The Psalmist understands he needs spiritual life
25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word.
37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; And quicken thou me in thy way.
39 Turn away my reproach (disappointment) which I fear: For thy judgments are good. 40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness.
Some people struggle to Know the Story because they don’t have spiritual life.
14 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.
You can only come to a clear understanding with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
My question for you - Do you have spiritual life?
The Good News of the Gospel is that the Word of God is what gives us Spiritual life
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
The Psalmist says the same thing
25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: Quicken thou me according to thy word.
Remember, the Word of God (the Bible) is the unified story of God’s grace toward sinners through Jesus Christ
The Old Testament points forward to this good news
The New Testament reveals this good news
Again, I want to ask you:
Do you have spiritual life? — Or are you like the dead man stuck to the dust, and melting away because of sorrow?
Maybe you’re here and don’t understand what I’m saying:
Let me ask you - Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?
If you have, you are prepared to consider the next word from Psalm 119.
If you don’t understand what I mean that you are spiritually dead and in need of spiritual life...
Don’t delay - don’t stay in the dust and under your sorrow
Look and Live - Hear the Word of God and see the beauty of the Gospel and run to Christ
2. Delight
2. Delight
If God’s word gives us life, it should be the sole focus of all our delight!
Question - What do you delight in?
That’s a hard question…maybe you’ve never considered it before.
What is it, if it were taken from you or you could never get it, would devastate you?
Let me read you one of the most convicting verses in the Bible...
4 (Those who run after other gods will multiply their sorrows)
I don’t think this my greatest desire, but after I finish a big school paper (50-60 pages), I go to the kitchen, go to the fridge, and get Double Dunker ice cream.
Then I add chocolate sauce, and Carmel sauce, and top it off with a mix of peanut butter and powdered sugar. If I’m lucky and we have them, I’ll sick that all on a brownie.
If I don’t have ice cream I’m not devastated, but God has had to reveal to me things I do believe would devastate me if I lost them (or never got them).
These things are idols and as much as I want them to satisfy my soul, they never will and the only thing they do is heap sorrows on my life.
Friends, delight is only found in God and the Psalmist makes this abundantly clear.
Consider these verses from Psalm 119:
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; For therein do I delight.
24 Thy testimonies also are my delight And my counsellers.
47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, Which I have loved.
70 Their heart (arrogant) is as fat as grease; But I delight in thy law.
I don’t want to over simply this, but I think simplicity may help us.
This has been true in my life and true for many people I’ve talked to...
We don’t Know the Story because we don’t delight in the Story
We don’t delight in the story, because we don’t know how to read the Story
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; Yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; For therein do I delight.
The Psalmist knew he needed to grow in his understanding and he needed to be taught.
Teach me thy statutes.
Make me to understand the way of thy precepts
Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes
We have to be careful when we talk about understanding and knowledge
The goal of a Christian is not to be a Bible trivia champion
The goal of a Christian is worship and delight
When Paul commands Timothy to Guard the Deposit:
His focus isn’t just knowledge or theological accuracy (as long as I’m right, I’m guarding the deposit)
His focus is Christ-likeness
5 Now the end of the commandment (my charge to you) is charity (love) out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
You can know every answer, yet not know God!
Application
Application
So what are we to do? How can we grow in our understanding?
So what are we to do? How can we grow in our understanding?
So many ways to do this and I’d love to talk with you about growing in your understanding of the Word so you can grow in your delight of the Word.
But we want to offer a ministry that everyone can benefit from and participate in.
This spring, we have developed our adult Sunday School ministry to help us grow in our understanding and delight in the Word.
We are offering three classes (each class begins with the Bible and ends with application, but they each emphasize a separate aspect of Bible study)
Explore the Bible - emphasizes the context and details of the passage (nuts and bolts of Scripture)
The Gospel Project - emphasizes the themes of Scripture and how they connect to Christ (connecting the dots)
Bible Studies for Life - emphasizes discipleship and life application
None of these are better than another.
In fact, the way Bible study works...in order to delight and apply the Word correctly...
You must Explore the Bible accurately,
then you see how the text relates to Christ,
and then respond in faith and obedience.
SO we’re offering three classes where you can grow in your Bible Study...
You may pick a class because you want to grow in an area of Bible
You may pick a class because you believe the study will be just what you need (QR code)
DO NOT pick a class because of who’s teaching!
How can you respond right now?
How can you respond right now?
Evaluate your life to see if you are in Christ.
Pray and ask the Lord to give you a greater love and delight for His word.
(Maybe you need to grow in your ability to read and understand the Word) Ask for help. There are so many resources that you can benefit from.
Consider participating in the Spring Sunday School quarter.
Sign up for a class
Pick up a brochure
Look at what we will be studying in future quarters
When March 2 comes, arrive early because we will have coffee in the kitchen
