Sermon Tone Analysis

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It continues to be a great honor and privilege to share the Word of God with this congregation.

I saw something on the internet this week that left me dumbfounded.

Now, the internet is good for that.

Between the funny cat videos and angry commenters, the internet is filled with things that just make you think, “You can’t be serious.”

Earlier this week I saw a video circulating on Twitter in which Lt. Michael Flynn said that, Pastors and Priests, “cannot stand there at the pulpit and preach the Bible without the United States Constitution.

And what they need to be doing is they need to be talking about the Constitution from the pulpit as much as the Bible.”

(Pause, sideways look)

Ok, So with that in mind, would everyone please turn in their Bibles to the United States Constitution, and open to the 16th Amendment.

It is there where we read:

“Amendment XVI (1913): The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

Today, we’re going to have a sermon on everyone’s favorite topic!

Income Tax!

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I hope that my sarcasm in this presentation thus far hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Let me say, I am very thankful to live in America.

I celebrate the freedoms that we have been provided with great joy.

We should all have deep respect for those who have served our country both in the past and those who are currently sacrificing their time and their lives in service to the United States of America.

I wholeheartedly co-sign the preamble of our Constitution: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The formation of our Country and likewise the Constitution was inarguably influenced to some degree by biblical teaching.

Further, Christians are called to be good citizens.

We even use and enjoy our rights as citizens as Paul did in his interaction with the Roman Commander in Acts 22.

So while we respect and even cherish our citizenship, we must understand that Lt. Michael Flynn was giving really bad advice when it comes to the pulpit of the Church.

Our summer series looking at Psalm 119, has been all about the sufficiency of the Word of God.

Today when we look at verses 89-96 will be no exception.

Each and every Sunday it is my aim and God given responsibility to preach, not the constitution of the United States, but the inerrant, infallible, all sufficient Word of God.

Here is why:

Not everyone will hear and obey the word of Christ, repent and believe in Him, but Romans 10 clearly shows us that the very core of preaching must be proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

God works through the ordinary means of preaching to supernaturally draw sinners unto Himself.

When all is said and done, it is not our earthly citizenship that will save us, but faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord that will be our only hope.

That is why we celebrate what Christ has done for us in ways such as partaking in the Lord’s Supper.

We remember that Christ shed His blood and His body broken so that anyone and everyone who so ever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.

That is the good news that must be celebrated, promoted, and preached.

That is the good news that is proclaimed in God’s Word.

So it is with this understanding that I ask you now to open God’s Word to Psalm 119.

With Zeal and Joy we will feast on God’s Word, knowing that it directs us to the source of ultimate truth and Joy.

For those of you who have been in the church for sometime, today’s message will be a Baptist classic: 3 Points and a poem.

We will see: The Permanence, Provision, and Perfection of the Word!

I hope you have come here today spiritually hungry for the filling buffet of God’s Word.

Let us begin with

1.

The Permanence of the Word.

We see the permanence of the Word in verses 89-91:

How long is forever?

This question is asked by Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, to which the White Rabbit responds, Sometimes just one second.

The point in the book is that one very big moment in just a split second, can stick with you for the rest of your life.

There is something to this idea, I’m sure we can all think of moments that we carry with us to this day.

But the forever discussed in verse 89 refers to something more objective than Carroll’s philosophical musings.

This Word “Forever” refers to all of antiquity and all of futurity.

It is everything that ever was and everything that ever will be.

Forever is pointing us beyond the constraints of time and into the heavenly place of eternity.

Before existence, after the end.

I hope that this is painting a vast and unfathomable picture, because it should be!

In our humanity, we are linear creatures.

God and His Word goes beyond what we can comprehend.

The Lord’s Word is fixed, set, established, and reigning FOREVER in the heavens.

This is a grandiose statement.

The psalmist is not saying “Lord, your word just means a lot to me in this moment, and like if others don’t get it, that’s fine, but you’re really big to me.”

No the psalmist is proclaiming under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that God’s Word is established forever and ever!

This means that God’s Word is not just the subjective ramblings of man.

His Word is Law.

He Word is Truth.

And it always has been.

The Lord has established the earth.

It is upheld by the very Word of God.

Everything is subservient to the will and word of the Lord.

The Psalmist is not alone in making this biblical declaration.

Look at the beginning of the book of John and see the parallels between the these two sections of Scripture:

The psalmist declares “You have established the earth” John declares, “All things were made through him” The psalmist says “Forever your word is fixed.”

John shows us the Word is there from the beginning.

John shows us the darkness does not overcome the light of the Word of God.

The Psalmist proclaims the Lord’s appointments stand unwaveringly.

Both of these are just some of the Supporting Scripture that shows us the PERMANENCE of the Word of God.

God’s Word is steadfast and true.

Let it be known that there is much that changes in this world, but God and His Word do not.

The trends of our culture are on a never ending revolving door.

That is why it is so refreshing to be anchored to God’s Word.

I love reading quotes from Spurgeon and I am often awestruck at how applicable they are to our day some two hundred years after his ministry.

He once wrote: “Sentiments fluctuate so constantly in this nineteenth century that I suppose we shall soon require to have barometers to show us the variations of doctrine as well as the prospects of the weather.

We shall have to consult quarterly reviews, to see what style of religious thought is predominant, and then we shall have to accommodate our sermons to the dictum of the last wise man who has chosen to make a special fool of himself.

As for myself, I shall continue to be unfashionable, and abide where I am.

‘Sticking in the mud,’ says somebody.

‘Standing on the Rock,’ say I.”

When our lives, our preaching, our church are all grounded on the never changing Word of God, we are empowered to confidently stand on the rock while the rest of the world attempts to keep up with the latest trends and what is fashionable.

The Word of God is Permanent.

Always has been always will be.

Remember the words of our psalmist:

See and know the Permanence of the Word.

Not one jot nor tittle passes away.

The faithfulness of the Lord endures to all generations.

We know this to be true.

Think about how amazing it is that you have found yourself in that very pew today.

Think about all of those who have come before you that have Been used by God to put this church where it is today.

For over 80 years this church has been serving this area.

This church was birthed out of Boone’s Creek which was established in 1785.

With the right access to historical documentation, we would be able to trace the faith that we hold today all the way back to the very Words of Jesus some 2000 years ago.

Even beyond that astounding fact, you can trace through the lineage of Jesus and get back to Adam, the first man.

As Moses records the life of Adam you see the gospel presented all the way back in the garden of Eden just moments after the fall when sin entered the world.

God’s Word is permanent and all encompassing.

It has endured from generation to generation and will continue to do so.

From there we move on to see our second point: