Sermon by Charlie Walter

Title: The Word – How do you like me now?

Text: Psalm 119

Date: To be preached on 6/13/10

Main Point – to encourage listeners to fall deeper in love with the Bible, and therefore read it more.

Our senior pastor, Keith Rohrer is off for a couple weeks, and right now I believe he and his family are vacationing in the Poconos. My daughter Jenna is with them, just about 2 weeks from her due date. We’re sure hoping she doesn’t go early. But we know God’s in control and I guess Women and Babies Hospital isn’t the only hospital that delivers babies.

So anyway, with Keith away, I’m preaching this Sunday, and Neal Rice is filling in next week.

Before we dive in, how about if we pray. (Pray)

About a month ago, I went on a kayak camping trip with my son Jeremy, my son in law Travis, and Mike and Brandon Fisher. Now when you go camping like that… primitive camping, you have to take everything you need. There are no stores along the river banks of the Potomac to pick up things you forget, so naturally I had to make a list. Some of you are smiling because you’ve seen my lists. (Show the list). It has everything on here, right down to toothpaste and underwear.

Here’s a question for you campers out there… what are some things that you just can’t forget? (this is the audience participation part) Shout out your answers. Well there’s something very important that I forgot. The map. I remembered the road maps, but the map of the river, was left lying on my dining room table. No big deal, right? You just put in and head downstream. Wrong. What’s marked on the river map? The location of the campsites.

So not only did we head out on the river without a map, but we put in way later on Friday evening than I wanted to, so we were tight on time anyway to get set up before dark. I had a general idea where the first campsite was, but we weren’t seeing it from the river. So we paddled to the shore, and Jeremy and Brandon hiked up over a high steep river bank to look for the campsite. They had to fight their way through heavy brush to a bike trail that parallels the river. The campsites are actually on the bike trail. Brandon went north on the trail, and Jeremy south, but neither of them could find the campsite.

When they finally got back to the rest of us on the river, it was now dark… and raining. And when I say dark, I mean dark. Without a flashlight, you couldn’t see more than about 5’. Two of us could get to our headlamps, but the other three were paddling almost blind. Our only option was to paddle back upstream to an island we had passed earlier. Paddling on the Potomac – a really big river – in the dark, was scary to say the least. Thankfully, none of us got lost, and we all made it to the island which had low enough banks to land our kayaks.

The funniest part happened while scouting the island for a place to set up camp. In the dark, Brandon and Mike walked right up on a goose nest without seeing it. Two big geese took right off beside them… in the dark. I would give anything for a video of that. Mike and Brandon’s faces? Mike, the great hunter that he is, said they were turkeys, but we found out later, they were indeed geese, and not too happy that we had invaded their home. They called in their troops and about drove us crazy with their honking for about an hour until they settled down, and realized they were going to have to share their island with us.

So what’s the point of this little story? Don’t forget the map! Now I had recognized the importance of the map, and even put it on the list, but then when it came down to actually packing it, I left it lie on the table. I’m guessing that for at least some of us here, we recognize the importance of our Bibles, but Monday through Saturday we let them lie on the table. This morning we’re going to talk about the importance of the Bible, and that it not only has to be on our packing lists, but it needs to be used.

Specifically, we’re going to talk about Psalm 119 which is all about the Bible. It’s the longest psalm, and the longest chapter in the Bible at 176 verses. You can turn their in your Bibles if you’d like. If you didn’t bring your own Bible, we have pew Bibles available under the seats in front of you. Psalm 119. Although we don’t know exactly who wrote it, we can piece together the circumstances from which it was written. Listen to these phrases that the psalmist wrote: “The arrogant mock me without restraint,” “the wicked bind me with ropes,” “the arrogant smeared me with lies,” “men persecute me without cause,” “They almost wiped me from the earth.” This psalmist was not having a good day; he was experiencing fierce persecution.

Well in the midst of this persecution, what did he rely on to preserve him? What did he make sure was on his packing list, and not left lying on the table? The Word of God! Look at the psalmist’s prayer in verses 92 and 93. “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.”

“Your law” and “your precepts.” These are just different words that the psalmist used to mean the Word of God, and he mentions the Word in one way or another in almost all 176 verses of this psalm. Let’s look at a little bit of it, beginning in verse 1.

¹ Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,

who walk according to the law of the Lord.

² Blessed are they who keep his statutes

and seek him with all their heart.

³ They do nothing wrong;

they walk in his ways.

⁴ You have laid down precepts

that are to be fully obeyed.

⁵ Oh, that my ways were steadfast

in obeying your decrees!

⁶ Then I would not be put to shame

when I consider all your commands.

⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart

as I learn your righteous laws.

⁸ I will obey your decrees;

do not utterly forsake me.

It’s obvious that this psalm is all about the Word of God.

A few other things you’ll notice about the psalm. It’s broken up into 22 sections with 8 verses in each section, and it’s arranged acrostically by the Hebrew alphabet. That means that each verse begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet for that section. This was supposedly to make it easier to memorize the psalm. Geoff Lapp and Neal Rice are in the process of memorizing it. How’s that going for you guys? Is that Hebrew acrostic helping you out much?

Now for those of you who know me, you know that I like to organize things. Some of you are saying I’m a fanatic about organization. That might be fair. Well, the acrostic arrangement might be fine for a Hebrew, but it does us little good, so I rearranged the verses based on the verbs in them. Now we’re not supposed to “twist” scripture, and I don’t think I’m doing that, I’m just “grouping” the similar verbs together for organization purposes, so we can handle a psalm this big. The groupings fall under the following headings (see the handout in your bulletins).

1. What we do with the Word

2. What the Word does to us

3. Our response to the Word

1. What we do with the Word

And you’ll see that I further broke down this category into two sub-categories.

Meditate and understand it

The first grouping includes verbs like, “ponder,” “meditate,” “understand,” “learn,” “recount,” “remember,” “consider,” and “do not forget.” A Bible may look good on the living room coffee table, but if we don’t open it and read it, the power that’s in it will never be unleashed. So the first step to using the Word is simply reading it, but this psalm tells us that we need to do more than just read it. Actually, you won’t even find the verb “read” in Psalm 119, the verbs that are used indicate a deeper level of reading. Listen to how some of these verbs are used.

Verse 13: With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.

Verse 15: I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

Verse 27: Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.

Think about those verbs… ponder, meditate, consider, recount. None of these verbs connote a fast pace. When we get into the Word, we need to go slowly, even reading the same verses over and over, getting all we can out of them.

A couple months ago, our connection group was talking about this. We imagined the Word of God being like this really juicy tender piece of steak, a piece of meat that is meant to be savored, to be eaten slowly and enjoyed. (Pause) Picture God watching me do my daily devotions, he sees me opening my Bible, he knows I’m about to read a passage that is perfect for me, just what I need. He knows that is full of nourishment for me. But then I wolf it down like leftover fries from a Happy Meal. And God’s saying “NO! Don’t do that! That’s My Word you’re eating, slow down, taste it, savor it.” (Pause) Church - let’s listen to Him. Let’s slow down and get all we can from His nourishing Word.

Believe in it

The other thing we need to do with the Word is believe in it. Look at verse 66.
⁶⁶ Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands. There comes a time, (for me it was in my early 30’s), when we accept the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. Before then, I had perceived the Bible as just a book of moral teachings, not necessarily the exact truth, perhaps just a book of fables. But eventually I came to accept it as absolute truth, and so did the psalmist. In verse 144 he says to God “Your statutes are forever right” and in verse 160, “All your words are true”. It’s not that I take every verse literally, but I do take them authoritatively. This is much more than an intellectual response to the Word; it is a spiritual response; it goes to the heart. Look at verse 30. ³⁰ I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. Choose it. Believe in it. Set your heart on it.

Well that was what we do with the Word, now… what does the Word do to us?

2. What the Word does to us

In this grouping of verbs we see verbs like “Strengthen,” “preserve my life,” “renew,” “counsels,” “directs,” and “makes me wise.” The Word does all these things, and even more. It is living. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, I believe we are supernaturally guided to what we need to read each day. Let me give you an example of this. I already shared this at the last Men’s Breakfast, so for you guys who were there, sorry for the rerun.

I’ve been meditating on the psalms off and on for quite a few years now, and I often journal about them after meditating on them. Here’s part of my journal entry from my meditation on Psalm 120. But before I read what I wrote, let me read at least the first two verses of that psalm so you know what I was writing about. ¹ I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. ² Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. Here’s what I wrote:

Protection from Lying Lips

Psalms 120-134 are all titled “Songs of Ascent” and were probably sung by those who were ascending to the temple in Jerusalem for the annual feasts. This first one starts out with the psalmist in an area where he is being threatened by foreign nations that wanted war, in contrast to the psalmist who wanted peace. The psalmist asks for deliverance from them because they are apparently liars that can cause harm to him. So how do I apply this to my life? I don’t think that I have anyone in my life that lies to me. Maybe I’m too naïve.

That journal entry was written by me in April, 2006. Looking back now, I see how prophetic the last statement was… “Maybe I’m too naïve.”

Within just a few days of that journal entry, my full time administrative assistant, whom I had just hired, began what would turn out to be 3 ½ years of embezzlement from the church. I was naïve! All that time, she lied right to my face. She charged at least $86,000 of personal goods and services on church credit cards, and then hid the purchases through creative bookkeeping.

Back in 2006, without even knowing what I was praying for, and certainly not recognizing the urgency involved, I had meditated on verse 2, “Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.” The Lord knew what was going on, and he answered that prayer. Yes the embezzlement did occur, but God protected the church by providing for all our expenses. Despite a big hole in our bucket that we didn’t even know was there, at no time during those 3 ½ years could we not pay our bills. Just as Psalm 119:50 says, ⁵⁰ My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. In the midst of the embezzlement, God preserved this church.

And in addition to that, I believe our congregation grew spiritually through it all. Although at first everyone was shocked and felt betrayed, within a short period of time everyone was offering mercy and forgiveness.

My point is this, I had read a passage of scripture that at the time didn’t mean much to me, but I now see that God had me right where I needed to be in His Word, to pray a prayer that I didn’t fully understand, but He did.

Well let me just touch on a couple other things that the Word does to us. Look at verses 99 & 100. ⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. ¹⁰⁰ I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. And then verse 24. ²⁴ Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. Wow. Kind of puts us elders, teachers, and counselors in our place doesn’t it? Where it puts us is behind the Word of God. This is not saying that we elders, teachers, and counselors are of no value. I hope that we are, but it is saying that the Word of God is of more value, and that’s where the best teaching is going to come from. The Word is instructive, it makes us wise.

On a side note, regarding counseling. As many of you know we occasionally refer out to counselors outside the church. I have a resource notebook that I developed with notes in it about available counselors in the area. I have interviewed most of them to find out how they do their counseling, so we know whether to recommend them or not. The first question I usually ask them, is how much the bible is used in their counseling meetings. If it sits on the counselor’s shelf and is not open during the counseling sessions, they usually don’t make it onto the recommended counselor list. Counsel should come not from human wisdom, but from divine wisdom, and that’s found in the Bible. Simple as that.

There are lots of other things that the Word does to us, but we better keep moving. Let’s look at our response to the Word.

3. Our response to the Word

Obey it

Okay, let’s say we’re meditating on the Word, we’re believing what it says, and we’re seeing how it is working on us. What’s our response? Look at verse 34. ³⁴ Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. What’s our response? Obedience. Some form of the verb “obey” appears over 20 times in this psalm.

One of the biggest struggles for young men is purity. Turn to verse 9. ⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. The way to purity is obedience, doing whatever this Book says.

So our first response to the Word – obey it. Our next response – delight in it.

Delight in it

This is the core of my message right here. But let me stop for a second. Look at the title of my message (on the top of the sermon notes): The Word: How do you like me now? What a confusing title! I tried to change it, but we already had stuff printed up, so I left it be. Let me do a survey… How many of you, when you first saw it, thought I was asking how do you like me (Charlie) now? How many of you thought it meant how do you like the Word (the Bible) now? How many of you were so confused you were just waiting to find out? Well, here’s what I meant… I was trying to be cute by using the title of a Toby Keith song, How Do You Like Me Now? So much for being cute. But I really do want each of us to think about how much we like the Word of God. Do we like it, do we love it, do we hate it, or are we indifferent about it?

Look at the verbs I have in this grouping… “delight in,” “long for,” “stand in awe of,” “find comfort in,” “love,” “trust,” “put my hope in,” and “rejoice in.” These are emotional responses to the Word. The psalmist loved God’s Word! Do we? My hope and prayer is that in the course of this 30 minute message your love for the Word of God increases.

Let’s look at a few verses:

Verse 47: …I delight in your commands because I love them.

Verse 97: Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

Verse 72: The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

Verse 127: … I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold,

Wow, he really loved the Word of God. But why?

To answer that, let’s look at what it was to him? First of all, he knew it was perfect (we talked about that already in the “Believe It” section). It’s easy to love something that is perfect. But also look back at what it did for him. It directed him (it was his map), it comforted him, it counseled him, it taught him, it renewed him, it strengthened him, it preserved him. No wonder he loved it!

But there’s still something else that was the root of his love for the Word. What is the Word? It’s the revelation of God… it’s the main way God communicates to us. This is really important to grasp. Because it is possible to love the Bible more than we love the One who wrote it. That’s called bibliolatry, it’s making the Bible an idol that we put before God. That is sin. It is sin to love anything more than we love God. But that’s not what was happening here, and the reason I know that is because in almost all the verses the psalmist connects the Word to God. He refers to it as “your decrees, your commands, your word, your statutes, your precepts, your law. He recognizes that the reason this Word is so awesome is that it is from our awesome God.

Furthermore, it is difficult to have a personal relationship with a book. Christianity is about a personal relationship with a person, specifically Jesus Christ. I want us all to love the Bible, but I want us to love Jesus even more. But we’ll dive into that in another sermon.

Now the problem is that not all of us are in love with the Bible to the extent that this psalmist was. What do we do about that? How do we fall deeper in love with it? I believe this psalm is the answer to that. Meditate on it. Go through it slowly. Eat it a little bit at a time, and savor every bite of it. I was talking to Geoff Lapp about his thoughts on this psalm. He said that the best part of it was that the more he meditated on it, the more he loved it. As he talked about it, I could see the emotions in his eyes. So my encouragement for all of us is… spend time in the Word, slow time, and watch the love for it grow.

So, let’s say we’re meditating on the Word, we’re believing it, it’s working on us, we’re obeying it, we’re lovin’ it, what’s the natural response… to praise it!

Praise it

Let me read just a couple of the verses that include some of these verbs:

Verse 46: I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame,

Verse 172: May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.

Do we do that? Do we talk about how good the Word is?

When I’m doing the shepherding part of my ministry work, I get to talk to people about what’s going on in their lives. Unfortunately, many times it’s some form of suffering in their life. Could be relational problems, sin issues, sickness, even the loss of a loved one. For the ones that are coping through it the best, when I ask them how they are coping they often say the Word of God is what they are hanging on to. Their time in the Word is what comforts them and strengthens them, and when they answer my question that way, they are praising the Word, and giving testimony to it. That’s awesome.

The Word of God is meant to be shared, let’s all tell people how great it is, encouraging them to meditate on it.

Closing

In closing, let me say this. Many of us are probably going to take a vacation this summer. And we might make a packing list. I know I will be. Well, what’s going to be the first item on your packing list? It should start with a B, but it better hadn’t be your beach chair. (Pray)