DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT

DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT Psalm 119 June 13, 2010 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction In 1975 David Ogilvy of Ogilvy and Mather created one of the most successful and longest-running ad campaigns in modern media. It was a five-word tag line that would launch American Express Corporation into a world-changing enterprise. To capitalize on what they thought was a great idea, they invited a television a movie star with an unforgettable face to deliver the line, and for twenty-five profitable years Karl Malden sold American Express Travelers Checks and later the American Express Diner’s Card and credit cards with the simple line: Don’t leave home without it. The idea was to get American consumers, including world-travelers, to believe these products were so valuable that they wouldn’t dare leave them at home because, well, look at all the opportunities for purchasing they might miss out on! In other words, these ambitious ad salesmen wanted to do all they could to raise the value of their products in the minds of their clients and potential clients—to get them to think so highly of their checks and cards that they would never even consider being without them. There is a commodity far more valuable, more life-enriching, with more long-term equity than you could ever imagine. And I am here to sell you on it. Before you leave this morning I hope you are firmly convinced that to live without this commodity would be the most foolish thing imaginable, and that the very best thing you can do it to be sure it is at your disposal 24-7. I am talking about the living, active TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD. I want to persuade you of the extreme value of having this Word firmly in your heart and mind, so that you will, in fact, never leave home, or anywhere else, without it. Why is it so important? God’s Word—more accurately, the truth that this Book conveys—is His primary instrument for bringing you and me into a living, loving, dynamic union with Himself. This truth will bless you; it can cleanse you; it can guard you from sin and evil; it can satisfy your soul; it will revive you, strengthen you, save you and enlarge your heart. It will cause you to walk in liberty, make your testimony sure; because of it others will deal well with you; through its truth, your affliction is turned into good, you will have solid hope, never be ashamed, and always be wise. You can, through appropriating the truth of His Word, know more than your teachers know; you can learn to love God and His commandments; you can be consumed with zeal for God. You will know Truth; your heart will be inspired with awe and wonder; your mouth will be filled with praise. That was the condensed version of Psalm 119—a taste of Psalm 119 extract, if you will. As is fitting with Hebrew writing, especially poetry like this great psalm, the summary of what is to follow is given in a single, pithy statement found at the very beginning. The psalmist insists: Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Now, that’s an awful lot like Psalm 1 which we studied two weeks ago: Blessed is the man who doesn’t receive the counsel of wicked people, hang with sinners or spend inordinate amounts of time with mockers… But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. The Bible is full of reminders that if you will read, understand and obey its teaching, you will be blessed! Over and over again this promise is iterated, and that for one reason—to encourage you to get the Word in you and live according to Truth. Paul the apostle said it this way: Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly… Pick up at verse two: Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. A new dimension is added to the idea of obeying the Word—seeking the Lord with all your heart. I have a recommendation for you: read through this entire psalm this week. It is the longest chapter in the whole Bible, I’ll warn you in advance. It is 176 verses long, but it will only take you 18 minutes if you are an average reader. As you read, watch for the emotional make-up of the writer. Catch spirit of the man’s heart and devotion. He is absolutely filled with love and worship of God. He seems totally committed to the Lord, anxious to do His bidding, eager to serve. He’s a man who desperately wants to do everything he learns about God’s will in the Word, but he wants to learn more of what God wants him to do. Blessed people seek Him with all their heart! He is bursting with a servant’s heart for God. Did you notice the weather late yesterday afternoon? I don’t know where you were, but around Fairview Heights - O’Fallon, it was so humid you could choke on your own breath. The clouds were laden with moisture, but it didn’t really rain, at least not like it was threatening. The sky just felt pregnant with storm. But it never broke out—at least not around here. Blessed men seek Him wholeheartedly. I see this psalmist in such terms. He is so filled with God you feel like if you touched him, he would just explode. His only outlet seems to be writing this majestic psalm. He gets relief just letting out his feelings of devotion for the Lord, love for His Word and delight at doing His will. I want to be like that! I think you want to be like that! Listen: I know how! You read Psalms and you learn how! Verse three goes on talking about blessed people: They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. What?! These are perfect people?! They do nothing wrong?! Well, we can be reasonably certain the blessed people, like the psalm-writer here, are not perfect.   They are sinners and have not only fallen short in the past, but will doubtless sin again in the future. In verse 5 he bemoans, Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Look, they are characteristically righteous people—that’s all! There’s no one perfect, right? Yet there are plenty of people around who love and serve God, and do it very well—so well, in fact, that if someone asked you about them, you would be very comfortable saying, Them? No, they don’t do wrong. They walk in the way of the Lord. Isn’t that what you’ve always craved? To stop doing wrong all the time, and to walk more perfectly in the way of the Lord? Aren’t you tired of falling short all the time? Here’s the thrilling thing about Psalm 119. It’s telling us that we can do that! We can live the life of the blessed! We are being introduced to the prescription for the falling-short life right here. You’re not going to be perfect this side of heaven. But you can set your goals to love, serve and obey the Lord characteristically. Do you know what the blessed person does when he falls into sin? He repents. God forgives. He moves on. Characteristically. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Poof! Instantly righteous again. Forgiven of every known and unknown sin RIGHT NOW! The blood of Jesus is that strong. Then, purified from ALL unrighteousness, we move on. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. Hey, we’re three verses in to Psalm 119—only 173 to go! Only kidding! We’re actually half-way through. Look at verse four now. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. God was serious when He gave His law to the Jews. He even staged it on a high mountain, with lightning and thunder and clouds and mystery. He wants us to know His perfect will. He wants us to know Him—what He’s like, how to draw near to Him. This is what reading God’s Word is all about—growing in relationship with Him. It’s not about seeing who wins in Bible trivia contests, or who knows Methuselah from Ahithophel. It’s not about the amassing of impressive information. It’s about loving Him; not about Bible knowledge but obedience to the Lord. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Obedience can be such a hard word—so demanding, so legalistic. It can be. But to the person who is personally engaged in God’s Word it is a thrilling adventure. Over and over again this worshiper of God says, “I love your law,” and “I love to obey your law.” If there is anything he wants it is the ability to know more of God and His Word, and more and deeper obedience. Hear his cry: Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! He says, I wish I did this obedience thing much better than I do. Catch these implicit character traits of the genuine disciple: 1.  He’s humble. No matter how advanced he is in his spiritual development, he is fully aware he has not arrived. In fact, the more mature he becomes, the more alert he is to his own shortcomings. 2.  He’s an odd mix of satisfied and dissatisfied. You get the definite impression this man knows that by the grace of God, he has grown spiritually. But it is also obvious that he knows he has a long way to go and he is anxious to get on with it. 3. He is totally dependent on the Lord. This is actually a prayer: Oh, that I were more steadfast… He is totally alive to the truth that if he is to grow further, it will have to be God working in him. So he cries out to God: Please, Lord, give me the WANT TO. Verse six says the psalmist wants to be in that place where he won’t be overwhelmed by guilt because of his shortcomings. Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I’ve reflected on this notion several times with you before, but please be patient with me as I bring it up again. Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t come to you in a moment of truth and present you with a mile-long list of all the things He wants you to do—things to correct and things to improve? I mean, if we were honest with ourselves, we would agree that there are bazillions of areas of personal growth we could use. In His grace and wisdom, and by His precious Spirit, He brings to our attention one area, or perhaps two, at a time. Thank God for that! In His grace, He doesn’t overwhelm us with sorrow and guilt and despair. In His wisdom, He knows which area of growth is right and timely for us. I’ve often wondered at the paradox of inspiration for Bible students. Sometimes we can read dozens of chapters of the scriptures and it’s like eating bland white rice. No sense of divine enlightenment; nothing we’d want to run out and share with a friend; just, information and knowledge, its seems. On the other hand, sometimes we’ll read a very short verse and it’s like the fourth of July! Spiritual insights burst forth like fireworks; spiritual insights galore; we get the exact rhema word we need. You and I should be glad for God’s mercy. If His Spirit were to unleash full understanding every time we would be buried in discouragement at how far you have to go. As it is, this blessed man is simply delighted to learn every little thing God brings to his attention as he meditates on the Word. Verses 7-8: I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. I want you to get excited about this man’s approach to spiritual growth. These last three verses give us a tremendous insight. We can either be overwhelmed by shame or we can be overjoyed at the possibilities, as we consider all His commands. In the one case, we wearily and warily come to God’s Word, afraid of what we’ll find—another painful reminder of what we have not done or something we should be doing that we’re not. Everywhere we look we see our failures and shortcomings. Each commandment is another dagger to the heart. In the other perspective, we wholeheartedly thank God for how far He has brought us, for His mercy to forgive us our sins in Christ and for the awesome tenderness of His Spirit’s leading. We confess our delight in our salvation and the thrill of the adventure of the faith life. We wonder with anticipation at what comes next. What Truth do you have for me today, Lord? What part of Your divine plan for me may I be obedient to today? There is a story of 2 shoe salesmen who was sent to a remote jungle by his company because they were looking to expand their business. The day after his arrival, the first man called to say it was all a big mistake and a waste of money. Nobody here wears shoes! The second salesman called, all excited, saying, “Send a shipload of shoes! What a market? Nobody here has any shoes!” Conclusion There is one way to truly live the optimistic life of faith. One way to be excitedly involved in the adventure of spiritual growth. Be filled with God’s Word. Never leave home without it.       [ Back to Top]