Well, thanks again for joining in today, both in the worship service as well as with Raising
Your Voices with us.
Today I'm going to tip the cards a little bit, tip the hand and be upfront.
These are not all my words that you're about to hear.
This is when Pastor Aaron let us know that he was continuing his studies, he was very
gracious in leaving behind a few manuscripts that we could draw from if we needed them
between pastors.
I am thankful to say that with our new pastor starting next Sabbath, this is the first of
the three manuscripts that we had to use, so we can still save the others for a rainy
day.
But this is, to give credit where due, this is adapted from a manuscript that Pastor Aaron
left for us to use.
But we're going to focus today on Psalm 119, but before we get into that, I like to consider
myself a law-abiding citizen, sometimes even to a fault.
Some people may consider me from time to time a bit of a goody-two-shoes, but I think we
generally see ourselves, we're not out to game the system, we're not out to break the
rules.
At least that's kind of my perception, how about you?
Kind of law-abiding citizens in here, I hope.
In case, though, you plan on traveling to other states, you should be aware of some
odd laws that you're bound to encounter along the way.
And I don't think any of us wants to be found on the wrong side of the law on these, but
they might be easy to get on the wrong side by accident.
So starting with Nevada, using an x-ray machine to determine a person's shoe size could get
you into trouble.
I don't know why you would use an x-ray machine for that.
In Arkansas, a pinball machine can't give away more than 25 free games to a player who
keeps winning.
You know how sometimes you can earn a free ball or whatever, but they're trying to curb
gambling.
I've not associated pinball machines and gambling, but somewhere along the way it became that
for a player there.
This one may be a little closer to home.
Tennessee, you actually can't hunt, trap, or harm an albino deer intentionally.
The penalty for that is a Class A misdemeanor, and of course you get a fine with that.
So it's interesting to find one that specific.
I'm not a hunter myself, but I would think something that special I'd want to leave alone,
an albino deer.
In Kentucky, every legislator, public officer, and lawyer must take an oath stating that
they haven't fought a duel with deadly weapons.
That one may be left on the law books from another time, right?
It sounds like it.
In Utah, this is one that's got a story behind it, I'm sure.
No one can hurl a missile at a bus or a bus terminal, except, apparently there's exceptions,
except peace officers and security personnel.
If you're not in those positions and you find yourself possessing a missile and hurling
it at a bus or a bus terminal, you're guilty of a third degree felony in Utah.
Thank you Business Insider for these odd laws.
So they seem silly.
They seem silly, maybe a little amusing, outdated, or specific.
Again, some of these must have an interesting story behind them, because you can tell some
maybe a reactionary law.
It happened and they said, we can't believe we have to tell people this, but let's put
it into law so we can get it on the books.
But unfortunately, not all laws are so silly or amusing.
We can complain about tax laws and speed limits all we want, but we're actually blessed to
live in a country where the laws aren't as strict and sometimes as mind-boggling as those.
So take for example in North Korea, sexual relationships between non-married couples
are prohibited.
And there's in fact a dating police tasked to ensure that no such relationships are occurring.
So they're actively monitoring.
They also have a strict fashion code and that includes things like women aren't allowed
to wear pants.
Men need to cut their hair every 15 days.
Sarah wouldn't mind that, I think.
But moving on to Singapore, and I'm just picturing how sad it would be to have a fly go into
your mouth.
Smoking in public has a fine.
So if you do have a fly, get in your mouth.
Just deal with it, I guess.
Smoking in public will also get you in serious trouble.
And wearing the wrong dress, the wrong type of garb when going out, will actually land
you in jail.
It makes me wonder the specifics of that.
I'll read up on that if I ever travel to Singapore, I'm sure.
But also think too to Iran and Saudi Arabia.
They have social laws that are mostly aimed at women, including things like women are
not allowed to drive or be with a man who's not a relative or a spouse or go out in public
in casual clothes.
So these laws, we went from humorists to how is that a thing?
Who put that into law and with what purpose?
These laws can even seem oppressive and unjust, right?
So in our culture, it can be difficult for many of us to imagine that these are implemented,
let alone enforced.
But you can hardly blame the people, you can hardly blame them, the people who want to
leave those countries and experience a life with more choice, more liberty and less restriction.
So I wonder though, when we think about God's law, what is our typical reaction?
Do we recoil at the thought of restrictions placed on our life or maybe even look to escape?
Do we stress over obedience so much that you might, as if you might perfect God's justification
and sanctification in your life, yourself?
Or maybe you look to God's law and think to yourself, that's cute, maybe a little outdated,
that one's on the law books from a different time.
It's a little amusing, isn't it?
If any of these are your reaction to God's law, might not be having the experience God
wants you to have.
Let us turn into scripture and see what can be expected when we covenant with God to keep
his law, when we experience God's law.
So we're going to go to Psalm 119 for this.
And if you know Psalm 119, you know, if we marathon through this, we should be able to
get out in the next hour or so.
So let's, okay, we're focusing on the intro, just verses one through eight.
We're not doing all of 119, the longest chapter in the Bible.
Just doing one through eight today.
So it's the longest Psalm, and it's actually in the form of Torah or wisdom Psalm.
That means that the predominant theme in this chapter revolves around the law of God and
its wisdom, as well as the author's experiences when keeping that law.
This Psalm was most likely intended as a prayer meant to direct the mind to God, for he's
mentioned in all but two of the verses in how many verses is this?
149, something like that.
176 in the entire chapter, 176 verses.
God has mentioned all but two of those.
So Psalm 119, one through eight is the first prayer, the first statement, setting the tone
for the rest of the Psalm.
And the psalmist is telling us of experiences we can have also, that we can expect when
we're walking in God's law.
So a couple things, well, let's do a quick read through and then we'll step back for
a moment.
So starting with verse one, blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according
to the law of the Lord.
Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
They do nothing wrong, they walk in his ways.
You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees.
Then I wouldn't be put to shame when I consider your commands.
I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.
I will obey your decrees.
Do not utterly forsake me.
So in these verses, we see a handful of words that require some attention.
Let's say a vocab overview here.
To understand exactly what the psalmist is referring to, we'll quickly define some of
those terms.
The law of the Lord, that's brought from the Hebrew Torah, which means law and teaching.
God doesn't only give laws to follow, he endeavors to teach those who walk with him.
His testimonies, testimonies, that speaks of those writings that testify or witness
about God.
Jesus, for example, in other passages, John 539 for this one, Jesus says, you search the
scriptures and these are they that testify of me.
The Bible is a faithful testimony about God and Jesus.
Commandments or you might see other similar words, precepts, statutes, those are all synonyms
for that which God has commanded.
We think usually of the Ten Commandments, one of the first things we might think of
when we think commandments or statutes.
So maybe things, commandments about the clean or guidelines about clean and unclean foods
and also the command to make disciples.
Judgments speaks of God's means of deciding the eternal cases of every human being, you
and me.
God is judging a person's acceptance or rejection of the grace he offers through the merits
of, is that ourselves, our merits?
Or of who?
Jesus Christ, yes.
So he's judging our acceptance or rejection of the grace offered through Christ's merits.
All of these elements describe unique attributes of this, of this God's word, the Bible, the
psalmist is speaking of the entirety of the word of God in this passage.
Because here I like to point out that the Bible in its fullness, some people may flinch
when they hear Bible and maybe they're thinking rule book.
Is this a rule book?
Can you picture, I had a friend a couple years, now I'm getting older, 15 years ago, who went
through police academy in Georgia and he showed me his textbook for that one so you can imagine
it's just the official code book of Georgia.
That's a thick book.
I'm thankful.
This is not just a rule book.
So in youth Sabbath school we recently completed a study on Christian behavior.
And you can imagine with countless scenarios of challenges of faith or behavior that we
could possibly encounter or make decisions on in life, sometimes we might want to read
out that speaks specifically to a decision we're making.
That would be nice, right?
Maybe not.
Because imagine if we were trying to obey a thick code book, that could be if anything
burdensome.
Instead this book that we hold in our hands, it's got a list of ten commandments that can
be summarized to two, great overarching fundamental operational guidance, how we approach life.
Even by the one who knows the end from the beginning.
And so he knows what's going to work out, what's going to best steer you towards him
and steer all to his glory in the long run.
And then of course we also have other principles we can draw from the Bible too.
Things like Philippians 4-8, right?
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, think about such
things.
When we consider how there are law books, there are code books out there, and you might
get overwhelmed considering that, think about this book here that has relatively a short
span of rules, commandments, and some guiding principles that we can apply to all sorts
of things in life.
And those statements in here are so compact, you might even call it efficient, because
the rest of the pages are filled with the relationship that we can have with our Maker
and our Creator and our Savior.
So it's not a burdensome law when you take that step back and see what it could be, what
it could have been.
So let's read on to see where that relationship with God, the walk with God, meets our delight
in his law.
So referring back to verse 1, blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according
to the law of the Lord.
You'll be blessed, you'll be described as blameless, undefiled when you walk in the
law of the Lord.
It's not enough that we read and study God's word simply to gain knowledge or to win an
argument, don't even the demons know, even the devil knows God's word.
What are we doing with it?
Don't begin and end your experience of God's law with theory and rhetoric.
To walk in the law of the Lord is to be in agreement with God and his word.
And that brings us a little bit to that Amos 3.3, our overarching text moments ago, can
two walk together unless they be agreed.
When you live your life in agreement with God and his word, you too can be described
as undefiled, blameless, pure.
For a person to be described in this manner must mean they've been cleansed of the stain
of sin in their lives.
Christ's righteousness must be present in their life.
Walking in the law of the Lord is a response, a response to experiencing the justification
of God in your life, not something done to gain or win or earn that justification.
Turning back to verse two, blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all
their heart.
It's not natural for sinful men and women to seek after God with the whole heart, is
it?
There's often something holding us back from complete unreserved pursuit of him who
wants to bless us.
However, as we continue to experience God's word and we continue to choose to keep his
testimonies, there will be a change playing out in our life.
God will create in us a clean heart.
He can create in you a clean heart, create in me a clean heart, just like the one David
longed for.
And the more you seek him, the stronger will be the desire to continue seeking him.
You'll experience a change of heart as you experience God's law.
What do we know God's law to be a reflection of?
It's his character.
It's his character written out.
If you had to summarize love and isn't that what also what those when when Christ summarized
the law, the Ten Commandments, he broke it down into two love the Lord your God, love
your neighbor.
It's all about love.
It's reflecting Christ's character.
That's what God's law is.
Verse three, they do nothing wrong.
They walk in his ways.
Revision in the life of a person and a change of heart leads to walking in God's ways.
His ways aren't naturally our ways.
But the good news is he has only our best interest in mind.
That best interest is a life free from sin.
In order to determine how specifically wants you to walk, you must invest time in reading
the Bible.
That's kind of our way now of being able to walk side by side with him.
It's in these writings that God is most clearly outlined his way for you and for me.
As we walk according to the law of the Lord, as we keep his testimonies, he changes our
heart to one that continually seeks after him.
You'll be walking in agreement with his ways as we read and study the Bible, as we experience
God's word in our life, as we walk in agreement with him, those things that fall under transgression
or iniquity, they drown out.
They tend to fall away.
We're not as attracted to those anymore.
Also, he will keep us from falling.
He'll bless us and we'll experience that sanctification worked out in our life.
That kind of reminds me, I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here.
It kind of reminds me of the true vine.
I'm the vine, you are the branches.
As we abide in him, we can bear much good fruit.
In verse four, you've laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
There's a bit of a temptation in our culture today to react to God's commands as if they
were suggestions or maybe they're cute and amusing or for a different day and age, a
different time.
You might have even heard some people say, come on, did this think forward to the issues
we're dealing with today?
Again, I refer back to those principles that we have, those things that the word is filled
with.
It's not old fashioned.
There may also be temptation in today's culture to view his commands as relative and not absolute,
but God's word is clear.
He commanded, let's keep the law and let's keep all of it.
When he commands you to have no other gods before him, that's anything that takes preeminence
over him.
That can be maybe even friends, a social life in itself, not a bad thing, right?
We were made social creatures, but it can become an idol.
People can become an idol, entertainment, self.
When he commands that his very name is to be reverenced as holy, don't profane it with
epithets or use some common language or oaths.
Watch those OMGs, so to speak.
Another example, when God commands don't murder, that's not exclusive to serial killers or
shootings.
What about the unborn or what about the online character assassinations?
These things that we see all too often, people carrying out when they're behind the screen
and a keyboard and don't have to deal with that human presence and the impact, seeing
live the impact on the person that they're spewing hate about.
When God commands also, when God commands make disciples, he was not just speaking to
clergy, but to everyone who professes to be a disciple of his.
Actually I want to add to that an interesting way, the Sabbath school quarterly author for
this quarter put it in a video Sabbath school guide.
It's not the great suggestion.
It's the great commission.
Do this.
Go make disciples.
And it's not just, it's not just clergy.
It's to everyone who's a disciple of his.
In addition, we're called to keep these precepts diligently.
There's not time for that Leo to see in response to God's word anymore.
It's not, we don't have time.
Time is running out for Luke warmness.
Jesus is coming back soon and God knows it is to your benefit to keep his word in the
here and now.
He knows you'll have a blessed experience as you keep those commands.
He's pleased when you and I seek after him, desire to walk with him, be in agreement and
walk in his way.
And so he commands what he knows is best for you and me.
So I wonder, have, have you ever seen the change in a person's life who walks in God's
law or have you experienced it?
Have you witnessed this in others as they choose to seek after God with their whole
heart and diligently keep his word?
Now the Psalmist speaks to this with verse five.
He shows what the experiences of someone who realizes God's blessings for those who respond
to his command.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees.
This verse echoes also my desire when I realized the experiences that I could have in response
to God's word.
Sometimes when you see in others, God's grace, maybe their change in heart, their change
in character, their attitude, that process of sanctification as they walk closer and
closer with God, it's positively contagious, isn't it?
This is the best kind of contagion out there, kind of that I'll have what they're having.
What is it that you have different?
How can I get that peace that surpasses understanding?
In seeking that, it motivates my personal devotions.
And so that kind of sparks too then, purposing for myself to see what God had to say in his
word, not just hear about it from clergy member or a Sabbath school teacher, but get into
this myself.
Spending more time in God's word does tend to make you realize that God's laws, his teachings,
his commandments, and yes, judgments, they're all for our good.
They're all for my good.
They're all for your good.
So we spend more time in God's word.
You can learn more of Christ, his character, his life, and let's not forget the ministry
on our behalf.
So that can certainly bring us to a place of saying as David does, as the psalmist does,
oh, that my ways were directed to keep your statutes.
So have you had the same experience in your life?
If not, you can, okay?
You're not stuck.
You can experience this and the experience of walking with God in his way will be yours
to claim.
Moving on to verse six, the psalmist continues detailing what can be experienced when God
answers the prayer, then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
When God in answer to the prayer of that verse, in verse five, it directs your way so you'll
be able to look at his divine precepts and not be ashamed anymore.
We're referred to God's word sometimes as a mirror, right?
And sometimes when we get close up to that mirror and we can see, yeah, I need to get
the cowlick down, but also, where'd that wrinkle come from?
Oh boy, I did forget to shave.
But also, yeah, we might see those imperfections.
We see ourselves for who we are.
And sometimes that might not be that image of God we're trying to reflect.
Knowledge is power though, isn't it?
Again, we're not stuck, but first you gotta realize where you're at.
So seeing that mirror, it really helps.
We can see that mirror and instead of letting Satan use his tactics of shame to distance
us from God, we can use that to run to God, recognizing where we're at.
Lord, I'm not where I need to be.
Let me get closer to you.
Unfortunately, each one of us here has that sin.
You know the one.
Maybe it's not theft or idolatry or murder or dishonoring your parents.
Maybe it's in pure language.
Maybe you're struggling with addiction.
Maybe sexual misconduct.
You know for you what brings shame.
You know for you when you look in that mirror of God's word, what makes you flinch.
Again, don't let the deceiver use that against you.
Instead get closer to God and seek to abide in him.
God has given assurance in his word, in this Psalm, that when you walk in agreement with
him and his law, you're not condemned.
You're not condemned to eternal defilement and shame.
You can experience a cleansing of that guilt and shame as you experience the law of God.
Then you can look at his commandments and recognize just how far he's brought you.
Kind of a, let's say a measuring stick of sorts for yourself.
Moving on to verse seven, I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous
laws.
There's no need to fear the judgment of God.
When you experience his blessings in your life as a result of turning to him in his
word, a new light will shine on his means of passing judgment on the earth.
Remember a few steps back I mentioned the ministry he's doing on our behalf.
Well part of that is he's our lawyer.
In judgment he's our lawyer.
I kind of want that, you know, usually if somebody's in the staring down litigation,
they want to hire the best lawyer money can buy, right?
You and I, we have an accuser, but we have also the best lawyer.
So if you'll take him on as your lawyer, nothing to fear in the judgment.
And as you study his word, as you study God's law, he will teach you of his desire to do
all he can to save those who come to him.
You'll also learn of his hatred of sin and the corruption of death that's brought to
creation.
He doesn't take pleasure in the sin sick world, all the effects that sin has brought on us.
God is also determining who's chosen other gods before him and who sought in contrast
with that also those who have sought him with their whole heart.
So remember in verse two we read that those who keep his testimonies experience a change
of heart and they seek him without holding back this change of heart is divine and defined
here in verse seven as upright.
That's to say a heart that is experienced to change from God is a heart reflecting the
character of God.
And also what do we what do we have sometimes associated with that upright?
When somebody is feeling a little rough or just maybe things are humdrum, how are we
going to carry ourselves sometimes?
I'm terrible at it myself actually.
I kind of slouch.
I kind of maybe carry myself a little a little self-consciously or things like that.
But when we're upright, there's that confidence.
We can move forward with confidence as we reflect his character.
And this description tells of a person who has experienced God in his word to the point
that he or she experiences a change also in character.
So if these verses are telling of experiences you and I can expect as we walk in the law
of the Lord is it then it doesn't it follow we can be blessed and we can be justified.
Will desire to seek after God.
Sanctification can be a reality.
God will direct our ways.
Guilt and shame a memory.
Sanctification a reality.
God will direct your ways.
Will reflect God's character and of a brightness.
When you experience all that has been detailed in these verses, how can we respond in any
way other than praising him with our whole being.
So with that, this has a neat close verse eight ending the introduction of Psalm 119
with covenant language.
I will a lot of covenants that we read in God's word.
I will.
What is this person going to do?
What are they what are they covenanting to do?
I will obey your decrees.
Do not utterly forsake me.
So one and the other one and the other two way contract so to speak to a covenant as
the author has prayerfully considered all we've read in verses one through seven.
He now pledges as himself to keep God's statutes.
A desire to experience all that has been detailed in those lines before and shows us his that's
been awakened and the psalmist knows that it's within God's word that this desire can
be satisfied and will be satisfied.
So with this commitment a request is made.
Lord don't forsake me utterly.
Here we see our final experience in this passage.
Once someone experiences what walking with God is like, you kind of don't want to go
a different way.
You and I know what God what what we're like without God in our lives.
Right.
I know I can be a bit of a mess.
Confession time not perfect.
But it's not just not perfect.
Sometimes a mess.
But I also know what my life is like when God is walking with me and me with him when
I walk in his way.
So when we've tasted and seen that he is good, we don't want to be separated from that again
from him again.
So do you have the same desire when you approach God's word when you approach this is living
word that still speaks to us today.
Do we experience the blessings described here?
Would you like to?
I hope so.
I would like to choose to enter this covenant with God.
Choose today to live according to his word.
He has preserved these through these teachings, these testimonies and commands and judgments
through the ages in the Bible for you and me to still draw from today.
So covenant to live according to what we read.
Seek after him daily through personal devotions, reading scripture and going to him in prayer.
Ask that he direct your life and submit to that guidance.
By faith, except also that he won't forsake you.
Remember that covenant at the end.
He will not forsake you.
God has given you the assurance of his blessing.
He's eager to fulfill that covenant and he's waiting for you to walk with him.
Is it your desire to enter that covenant with God?
Is it your desire to have these experiences in your life as you walk with him and you
walk in his law?
As I pray, I invite us all to covenant with God that we desire to keep his statutes and
claim his promise not to forsake us.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you that instead of just an exhaustive comprehensive list of do's
and don'ts, we have those commands, we have those guidelines, but we have a book largely
relationship based, largely about what you've done for us and how we can be reconciled to
you.
Please let us carry that with us as we go into life after this moment.
Working with confidence, we can tread forward in uprightness, in confidence, knowing that
you have the best in store for us, knowing that your ways are right and true and noble
and admirable.
That we can dwell on these things.
Please bless us too as we part and have our travels after and enjoy fellowship together
in our meal to come after this.
In Jesus' holy name we pray, amen.