Psalm 119:41-48 - Patient Delight in the Bible

Title: Patient Delight in the Bible

Text:

Series: Because of His Glory, the Word

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Dr. Judson

Dr. Judson

Faith in God makes great optimists. Over in Burma, Judson was lying in a foul jail with 32 lbs. of chains on his ankles, his feet bound to a bamboo pole. A fellow prisoner said, “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heather?”, with a sneer on his face.

His instant reply was, “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.”

The Presbyterian Advance.

1001 Illustrations that Connect Illustration 745: Waiting Lessons

WAITING LESSONS

Topics: Hope; Patience; Perseverance; Seasons; Waiting on God

References: Psalm 27:14; Romans 8:22–25; Hebrews 10:36

I’m an impatient, restless person. Slowing down and waiting seem like a waste of time. Yet waiting seems to be an inevitable part of the human condition.

Henri Nouwen said, “Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait, the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting.”

Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Romans 8:24 resonates with Nouwen: “Waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting” (The Message).

During times of waiting, God is vibrantly at work within us.

—Luci Shaw, “Nourishment for the Journey,” in Nouwen Then, Christopher deVinck, ed. (Zondervan, 1999)

The psalmist is in absolute love with the word of God, while he is waiting for deliverance. “He is able to delight in the midst of plight.”

Illustration:

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Dr. Judson

Dr. Judson

Faith in God makes great optimists. Over in Burma, Judson was lying in a foul jail with 32 lbs. of chains on his ankles, his feet bound to a bamboo pole. A fellow prisoner said, “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heather?”, with a sneer on his face.

His instant reply was, “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.”

The Presbyterian Advance.

PUBLISHED August 30, 2004 [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/8/climber-who-cut-off-hand-looks-back/]

In April 2003 climber Aron Ralston entered Utah's Bluejohn Canyon only to become trapped when an 800-pound (360-kilogram) boulder shifted, crushed his hand, and pinned him to the canyon wall. For six days, Ralston struggled to free himself while warding off dehydration and hypothermia. Trapped and facing certain death, Ralston chose a final option that later made him an international sensation: Using a multitool, the climber amputated his right hand, then rappelled to freedom.

Though this song writer is in apparent derision by an enemy, he confesses that salvation is the promise of God and that He delights, yea loves, the commandments of God.

Relevance: As God’s people, there are times when we are under pressure, and we just want relief; but the answer doesn’t seem so pleasant; but here we find that there is deliverance and delight in the same Source.

It is possible to become a person who is not only patient with the word (promise) of God’s salvation but also a person who delights in the word of God.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Dr. Judson

Dr. Judson

Faith in God makes great optimists. Over in Burma, Judson was lying in a foul jail with 32 lbs. of chains on his ankles, his feet bound to a bamboo pole. A fellow prisoner said, “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heather?”, with a sneer on his face.

His instant reply was, “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.”

The Presbyterian Advance.

It is possible to become a person who is not only patient with the word (promise) of God’s salvation but also a person who delights in the word of God.

Patient delight in the Bible is not a fast food option, but we should....

Prop:

We should be people who patiently delight in the word of God.

(1) Patiently trust in the word of God (v. 41-44)

(a) The Lord’s Word promises salvation (v. 41 - 42)

The basis of this salvation

is the Lord, who is steadfast in love. (41a), (consider the context of this passage for Israel, just after Egypt)

Relevance: For you it is no difference as we think of the ultimate salvation that the LORD has made available. Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb came to this earth, lived righteously, was slain, was buried, and rose again, but why? “For God so loved....” “Great love hath no man than this...” - Why should you believe on Jesus Christ - his love is steadfast. “God is able back up his word of love.”

The kind of salvation that is needed (v. 42) - from the words of men.

Relevance: The kind of salvation that is offered in the word of God is absolutely unique to all other salvations. This one is founded in the God who is steadfast in love - a tremendous comfort to those in covenant with him. Trials are temporary, but his steadfast love is as enduring as He is. Lest we get the wrong idea about salvation and patiently trusting....

Some Through the Fire

Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.

Oswald Chambers in Run Today’s Race

Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.

The word of God is the place where you can come to fuel your faith in God because it is there that we read of his steadfast love and his salvation.

(b) The Lord’s Word is the object of hope (v. 43-44)

Because of hope in your promise, I want to testify of your truth. (v. 43)

Because of hope in your promise, I will obey your law forever. (v. 44)

Relevance: When our hope is in the promise of God, we will act (testify & obey).

Illustration:

1001 Illustrations that Connect Illustration 325: Trees of Hope

TREES OF HOPE

Topics: Aging; Assurance; Commitment; Confidence; Example; Faith; Fathers; Fruitfulness; Hope; Optimism; Persistence; Promises; Waiting on God

References: Psalm 85:12; Isaiah 27:2–3; 44:4; Jeremiah 32:6–15; 48:47; Romans 5:3–5; 1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 Peter 1:3

In the darkest days of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, God asked Jeremiah to go out and buy a piece of real estate—complete with witnesses, a deed, and money (Jeremiah 32:6–15). This act seemed to make no sense, since Judah was about to be conquered and its people taken into exile. But in seventy years, as God reminded Jeremiah, the people would be set free and return to the land to rebuild homes and replant vineyards. Jeremiah’s purchase of land was to provide a beacon of hope during the long years of captivity.

My father, at age seventy-five, planted a number of small fruit trees. “What an optimist,” I said to him, somewhat mockingly. Dad passed away a few years ago. Now when I return to the old homestead, I have an option. I can go to the grassy cemetery on top of the hill and brood over his grave, or I can eat the fruit of his trees and reflect on a man who knew a great deal about hope.

—Bob Seiple, “The Gospel Blimp Revisited,” Princeton Seminary Bulletin, vol. 27, no. 2 (2006)

Relevance: Is your hope in what God has said? Does the way you parent your children prove this? Does your witness prove this? Does the way you manage your retirement prove this? Who is growing in the faith because of your witness this week?

Because of your promise to deliver, I will patiently trust in your word.

Relevance: What is it that makes the hope of the people of God so certain that it elicits obedience? Is it not that God’s word gives hope for the future because of God’s past faithfulnesses? [2 principles)

We should have hope in the future because of what he’s done in the past.

We should have hope in the future because of what he’s determined for the future.

(2) Delightfully love his commandments (v. 45-48)

(a) The devoted behavior of those who trust in his word (45-46) - external

Seeking his precepts leads to walking freely.

Relevance: You do not become more free by refusing God’s word and living in sin. This is the illusion of sin. This is also an illusion by our perception of the Law. That is how you continue in slavery to sin. A true disciple is one who continues in the word of Christ.

Illustration:

Anything that you have to control, controls you. Guy Finley 1949 –

There are many variations to this story, but it’s quite instructive. In South America, Africa and Asia, the natives have devised a very effective method of trapping monkeys. The plan is deceptively simple: the natives take a gourd or some similar object and drill a hole just large enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through; they add some extra weight to the gourd with sand or pebbles, then put a nut or some fruit inside and place the gourd where a monkey will find it.

Here’s what happens: the monkey sticks his hand through the hole to get the food — but with the prize in its grasp, the monkey cannot get its hand back out. The hole is too small for the monkey’s hand to pass through so long as it’s holding the treat, and the gourd is too heavy for the creature to carry. Because the monkey will not let go of its prize, it becomes trapped. The animal gives up its freedom to hold on to a small piece of food.

It seems obvious that all the monkey needs to do is let go of the bait and it can escape. But because it views the treat as its possession and is not willing to let go, the monkey is trapped. It loses its freedom.

True freedom is not found in getting all that you think you want. There is a true freedom to be experienced as we live in obedience to the word of God.

(b) The delightful love of those who trust in his word (47-48) - internal

Because of delightful love, I will immerse myself in your word. (consume)

Prop: We should be people who are patiently delighting in the word of God.

How?

How?

(v. 41-42) Recognize if you are truly in the covenant community or NOT.

(v. 43) Rely upon the truth of God’s love perfected in you through Christ.

The gospel has accomplished this

(v. 44) Resolve, by God’s power, to love and live in obedience to God’s word.

ALL READ FOUR

ALL READ

(v. 48) Reverence the Lord and ruminate on his word.

We will be people who patiently delight in the word of God.

When words are spoken, take those words and compare them with the word of God.

Illustration:

Waiting for Love

Topics: Courtship; Love; Marriage; Patience; Waiting

References: ;

A man and woman spotted each other on the morning air shuttle. Sparks flew, but no words were exchanged as they stood together in the taxi line at Washington National. She got in a cab, looked back, and saw him running after her. She begged the cabbie to stop, but he kept going. In desperation she scrawled her phone number on a piece of paper and pressed it against the back window. But she knew the man was too far away to read it.

She went to her meeting, but she couldn’t stop thinking about him. So she feigned illness and returned to the airport to wait for him to catch the shuttle back to New York. She waited all day, but he didn’t show.

She took her flight. When she stepped into the gate area, he was there. “What took you so long?” he asked. “I’ve been waiting all day.”

The couple eventually married.

—Dini von Mueffling, The 50 Most Romantic Things Ever Done (Doubleday, 1997)

—Dini von Mueffling, The 50 Most Romantic Things Ever Done (Doubleday, 1997)

Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (p. 271). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

If you are a Christian, you know what it is like to wait on God to bring some kind of deliverance. You also long for it, but I tell you that you can see it as you learn to patiently delight yourself in the word of God.