Scripture - Reaching for Him - Spiritual Disciplines
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ROUGH DRAFT
Scripture - Reaching for Him - Spiritual Disciplines
Scripture Psalm 119
We are in our next to last week of our series, “Reaching for Him.”
We have this beautiful promise.
Deut 4:29
We have covered Worship, Prayer, last week Fasting (today is our day of fasting and prayer).
In our brief passage today we cover the place of Scripture in reaching for more of God in our life.
Let me ask you this question, How are you doing reaching for God? Are you intentionally and regularly reaching out for Him.
-Or are you laying back expecting your spiritual life to come to you?
-Do you have an urgency to know more of God and grow in Him?
-Or are you satisfied living a below average life in Christ?
Let me ask you another question.
How have you done spiritually during the pandemic?
-During this pandemic my observation has been this.
If a church attender has...
-Already had regular time with God.
-If they had developed some kind of skill and regularity in reading and understanding God’s Word.
-Spiritual these people tended to be ok and many dug in and grew without being able to attend church.
Why?
-They knew the critical place of regularly feeding on God’s Word.
-They knew how important it is to reach out for Jesus.
There is a second kind of person...
-That person who depends on a once a week Bible feeding at church.
-Who doesn’t spiritually feed themselves each day.
My observation is that this kind of person has begun to spiritually wither.
They began to spiritually drift away.
The spiritual difference between someone who feeds themself spiritually and someone who is only fed once week at church is seen in this picture.
Skinny/healthy
There is one who feeds on the meat of God’s Word on a regular basis.
There is another who waits to be fed spiritually once a week.
Transition - We will look at 4 sections of Psalm 119 to unpack how God’s Word presses us closer to Him.
Transition - Reaching for God, through His Word
1. vs. 1-2, brings blessings into my life.
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
vs. 1, There is soul penetrating satisfaction and joy for the one who follows, lives out, and obeys God’s Word.
Blessed - joyful, filled up, satisfied, soul is full
One of the ways you fill your life with satisfaction is by obeying God’s Word.
-When you obey God you are not looking over your shoulder wondering if you did the right thing.
-You are not keeping track of what lie you told to which person so you don’t get caught.
-You are not be worrying if someone will find out what you did.
Instead, you will have peace, without the mental gymnastics.
Instead you will hav satisfaction knowing you honored your creator& King with obedience.
Look how deep the obedience is.
verse 2 “...seek Him with their whole heart.”
Notice that seeking him with your whole heart is directly connected to obeying God.
Verse 2 A.
What does this tell us?
Obedience is not just what happens on the outside, but also how we surrender our desires and affections to God.
The Old Testament is not just about the rules.
We see that the O.T. is also about the heart.
You are blessed with you embrace God’s Word both in your outward obedience and inward obedience.
Illustration - about being blessed by obeying.
In college football the coach takes a good player and makes him a great player.
In college football the coaching staff teach the player how to eat and recover from hard workouts.
In college football the strength trainers take the players up to new levels of power.
Teach the player the position like he has never known it before.
In college football the coach sends in the play.
The players obey.
In obedience their is blessing...
There is blessing from obeying the one who made you...
Transition - Reaching for God, through His Word...
2. fills my heart with joy.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
We see in these 3 verses -
A. A personal joy, “I Delight”
You are personally called to take joy.
B. Distinct joy, “as in much riches”
72 The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
-God’s Word is more precious than riches.
-If you want, you can stuff your casket with $100 bills. They will rot in the ground.
-God’s Word is the great treasure to hold on to.
C. Remembered joy 15, “I will meditate” I will remember and think about.
-This takes a quiet place and moment. We don’t read or listen and then walk away and forget what we just heard. You take time to think about. You remember - you meditate and let God’s Word sink in.
D. vs. 16, Joy - “Delight”
Illustration - Delight is a funny word. We don’t use it in our everyday language.
The only time I see the word delight is on a Chinese food menu.
Budha’s delight.
Delight means to take great pleasure in.
Focus on the word delight
There is no greater pleasure in this life that to have the God shaped void of your soul filled up, satisfied, and delighting in God.
Your soul was made to delight in His never changing word.
24 for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
Transition - Reaching for God, through His Word
God’s Word Transforms my life
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
-When you open God’s Word you are opening a supernatural book that speaks to a heart and mind that is resistant.
-Our flesh selfishly resists transformation.
-Our flesh wants us be moral, but not transformed.
-We need God’s help.
Observe the humility of verses 33 & 34.
-You can have your Ph.D. in Theology, Philosophy or literature, but you cannot grasp the full meaning of scripture unless your heart is opened to it.
Understanding God’s Word is not an academic act. It is a supernatural act.
-You say, this is just for the unbeliever.
-No, this was a believer (probably David) writing this.
-The man after God’s own heart needed God to help him has spiritual eyes.
God must help us understand
God must awaken my mind/heart to see it.
When I see, when God enables me, there is transformation.
vs. 34, I keep God’s word with my whole heart.
God’s work - brings an inner transformation.
Summary - Today we looked at just 3 small sections of Psalm 119. There is so much more that being in God’s Word does.
How can a Christ follower not spend time in God’s Word?
The further down stream you drink from the spring (The source), the less pure the water is.
Yes, read your Christian books and devotionals.
Would you make it a goal to spend time in God’s Word?
Would you work up to reading a chapter a day?
If you already do, would you read 2.
Closing, One of the greatest ways we reach for Him is by spending time in His Word.
One las word to the unbeliever.
Gospel - Closing
Gospel -
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
This was Jesus.
He lived a perfect life on earth.
Did many miracles and proved He was God.
Jesus went to a cross as a perfect sacrifice for sin.
He died to make a payment for sin, that sin can be forgiven.
Jesus is inviting you right now to come to Him in full faith and have your sins forgiven.
Will you come to Him right now?