WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.459 And well, please open your Bibles again to Psalm 00:00:02.459 --> 00:00:06.419 119, verse 9. That's where we're going to be 00:00:06.419 --> 00:00:08.820 for a few moments. Just something that's grabbed 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:10.919 my heart fairly recently. Thought I'd share it 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:14.460 with you guys too this morning. Many of us will 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.339 have sung those song words, prone to wander, 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:23.600 Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. 00:00:25.059 --> 00:00:28.059 I wonder even if I... as I repeat them now, whether 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:32.179 that's something that you can relate to, if not 00:00:32.179 --> 00:00:35.299 right in this moment, perhaps over the last week. 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:38.960 As a disciple of the Lord Jesus, that is something 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:41.759 that I would relate to very many times in my 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.320 life. I don't think there's a day that goes past 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:47.500 where in some way I don't feel the temptation 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:52.619 or the pressure to wander off the path that God 00:00:52.619 --> 00:00:55.759 in his grace has set me on. Do you feel the same? 00:00:57.770 --> 00:01:00.469 That way of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ 00:01:00.469 --> 00:01:04.810 for the forgiveness of our sins. To wander off, 00:01:04.810 --> 00:01:07.730 perhaps to try and regain that status with God 00:01:07.730 --> 00:01:11.129 in another way. Perhaps it's that way of learning 00:01:11.129 --> 00:01:13.310 to obey everything that the Lord has commanded 00:01:13.310 --> 00:01:17.010 us, that path that he set us on. Perhaps it's 00:01:17.010 --> 00:01:19.829 learning to live God's way rather than the world's 00:01:19.829 --> 00:01:24.569 way. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone 00:01:24.569 --> 00:01:30.370 to leave the God. I love. And that experience 00:01:30.370 --> 00:01:32.409 is certainly the experience of the believer who 00:01:32.409 --> 00:01:35.650 writes Psalm 119, isn't it? If you've got it, 00:01:35.650 --> 00:01:38.750 just flick over to the end of the Psalm, which 00:01:38.750 --> 00:01:40.909 I kind of understand frames the whole Psalm in 00:01:40.909 --> 00:01:45.209 some way. But in verse 176, the psalmist writes, 00:01:45.310 --> 00:01:49.269 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, 00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:53.310 for I have not forgotten your commands. This 00:01:53.310 --> 00:01:55.730 seems to frame the psalm, but it's an experience 00:01:55.730 --> 00:01:59.510 we identify with, isn't it? Lord, I know your 00:01:59.510 --> 00:02:01.650 commands. I've not forgotten them. I know what 00:02:01.650 --> 00:02:04.409 I'm meant to do, and yet I've strayed. I've wandered 00:02:04.409 --> 00:02:07.829 off, prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. Prone 00:02:07.829 --> 00:02:12.699 to leave the God I love. And as believers, when 00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:14.800 we live with that tension of knowing what it 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:17.719 is that God wants us to do, but proneness to 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.819 wander off, it can lead to the question that 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:25.759 the psalmist asks in verse 9, can't it? In verse 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:28.819 9, he asks that question, how can a young person 00:02:28.819 --> 00:02:34.979 stay on the path of purity? How can I stay on 00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:37.870 the path that I'm meant to be on? This path of 00:02:37.870 --> 00:02:40.069 trusting the Lord Jesus, this path of learning 00:02:40.069 --> 00:02:44.370 to obey him. How can I stay on that path? Now 00:02:44.370 --> 00:02:47.250 notice he picks up on a young person, a young 00:02:47.250 --> 00:02:50.210 man. Now that may be for multiple reasons. It 00:02:50.210 --> 00:02:52.789 might be largely because young people are under 00:02:52.789 --> 00:02:56.509 such pressure to walk off the path. As a man 00:02:56.509 --> 00:02:58.930 with teenagers in my house, I really feel that. 00:02:59.270 --> 00:03:01.810 Prone to wonder. There's this pressure on them 00:03:01.810 --> 00:03:04.449 all the time. So maybe it's because young people 00:03:04.449 --> 00:03:07.969 face that pressure. But maybe he focuses in on 00:03:07.969 --> 00:03:11.129 young people because what you do when you're 00:03:11.129 --> 00:03:13.110 young sets a pattern for what you do when you're 00:03:13.110 --> 00:03:16.110 old. And he says, look, how can a young person, 00:03:16.169 --> 00:03:18.090 how can we get the patterns right when we're 00:03:18.090 --> 00:03:21.310 young so that we stay on the path of purity? 00:03:22.370 --> 00:03:26.490 We are surrounded, aren't we, by voices drawing 00:03:26.490 --> 00:03:30.030 us away, enticing us away every day from the 00:03:30.030 --> 00:03:33.409 path of purity. Peer pressure, media pressure. 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:38.139 Sexual temptation, pursuit of pleasure. You know, 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:39.520 we're in a Bible college, but we're not immune 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:42.180 from those kind of pressures when we hunker down 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:47.479 in here and study. So how, how can I, how can 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:52.000 we stay on the right path? When we sing those 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:55.639 words in church or in chapel, prone to wonder, 00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:59.180 Lord, I feel it. How can we decrease the number 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:04.300 of times that that really hits home? Well, wonderfully, 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:06.340 he offers his own answer, doesn't he, in the 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:09.560 psalm. Have a look at verse 9. How can a young 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:12.780 person stay on the path of purity? By living 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:16.399 according to your words. Now, in some ways you 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:17.639 think, well, that doesn't help me much, does 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:20.120 it? How do I stay on God's path? By doing what 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:22.339 God says. Well, you're like, oh, great. That's 00:04:22.339 --> 00:04:24.680 like, you know, chuck me a bone with you. I know 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:27.920 that's true. By walking God's way is the way 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:29.399 we do it. But you want a little bit more, don't 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:32.089 you? But how can I do that? I know that's what 00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:34.069 I should do. I know I should walk according to 00:04:34.069 --> 00:04:37.750 his path. But how do I go about it? How do I 00:04:37.750 --> 00:04:42.490 stay on this path, doing life God's way? The 00:04:42.490 --> 00:04:46.189 question it leaves us with is, well, how? And 00:04:46.189 --> 00:04:48.550 very simply this morning, I want to encourage 00:04:48.550 --> 00:04:52.110 you to be a squirrel. That's what I want you 00:04:52.110 --> 00:04:53.949 to do. If you want to stay on the path of purity, 00:04:54.149 --> 00:04:57.839 you have to learn to be a squirrel. Now, before 00:04:57.839 --> 00:04:59.480 you kick me out and think, did he learn nothing 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.899 when he was at college? Just think carefully 00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:03.699 about a squirrel for a moment. They do two things, 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:05.500 don't they? And you're in a great place to watch 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:09.019 them. They do two things. They seek and they 00:05:09.019 --> 00:05:12.379 store. Can you say those two with me? They seek 00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:14.879 and they store. Good. If you remember that, you 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:16.759 can kick me out now. Two things that squirrels 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:18.560 do. If you watch them out there, they're just 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:20.699 scurrying around, but they're not aimlessly scurrying 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:22.980 around. They're seeking things. They're looking 00:05:22.980 --> 00:05:25.279 for something. And when they find it, what do 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.220 they do with it? They store it. They put it away 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:31.480 for ready for use at another time. Squirrels 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:35.220 are amazing at these two tasks, seeking and storing. 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:40.060 And if we are going to grow in not wandering 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:43.120 off the path, we need to get good at these two 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:47.199 things, seeking and storing. We need to get good 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:50.959 at being like squirrels. We need to train our 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:56.819 Holy Spirit renewed hearts to be squirrels. And 00:05:56.819 --> 00:05:58.639 that means we need to do two things. Number one, 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:01.639 we need to seek the Lord with all our hearts. 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:05.279 We need to seek him. Look at verse 10. The psalmist 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:08.360 goes on to say, I seek you with all my heart. 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:12.939 When it comes to purity, when it comes to making 00:06:12.939 --> 00:06:16.399 those right decisions every day, when we're faced 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:18.660 with, you know, am I going to blow it here? Am 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:21.220 I going to say something stupid here? Or am I 00:06:21.220 --> 00:06:23.160 going to look at this on the internet? Whatever 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:26.430 it is that challenge you face. When we get to 00:06:26.430 --> 00:06:31.569 those moments, we need God's help. You can't 00:06:31.569 --> 00:06:37.089 do it by yourself. I'm 47 years old, but every 00:06:37.089 --> 00:06:41.389 time I do DIY, I still call my dad. I still seek 00:06:41.389 --> 00:06:44.790 his help. DIY stands for destroy it yourself 00:06:44.790 --> 00:06:49.509 in my life. And when I'm in trouble and I need 00:06:49.509 --> 00:06:52.639 help, I reach out. I call my dad. Dad! Where 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:54.819 do I put the blue wire again? He's like, well, 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:56.800 have you turned off the electricity? I'm like, 00:06:56.860 --> 00:06:58.779 well, no, not yet. He says, well, don't do anything 00:06:58.779 --> 00:07:01.360 with the blue wire. Every time I'm in trouble, 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:05.540 I seek my dad, 47 years old. But when we face 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:08.480 trials as Christians and temptations and the 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:11.980 proneness to wander, where do we reach? The psalmist 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:16.810 says, I seek you, Lord, with all my heart. I 00:07:16.810 --> 00:07:19.689 seek his help. And the psalmist seems to seek 00:07:19.689 --> 00:07:22.110 God in two particular ways. He seeks him, first 00:07:22.110 --> 00:07:26.709 of all, as protector. Look at verse 10. I seek 00:07:26.709 --> 00:07:29.629 you with all my heart. Do not let me stray from 00:07:29.629 --> 00:07:35.350 your commands. He looks to the Lord for help 00:07:35.350 --> 00:07:40.009 and protection against going astray. It is his 00:07:40.009 --> 00:07:44.310 divine help. It is his divine power through the 00:07:44.310 --> 00:07:47.300 Holy Spirit. that will keep my feet on the right 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:51.899 path. That's why Jesus taught us to pray, lead 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:54.839 us not into temptation, lifting your eyes to 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:57.939 heaven and say, please protect me. Do you pray 00:07:57.939 --> 00:08:00.500 like that in the morning? And as you started 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:04.439 today, did you say, Lord, protect me today from 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:07.279 wandering from your paths? It's how the song 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:09.060 goes, isn't it? Prone to wander, Lord, I feel 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:12.480 it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart. 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:15.160 And take and seal it. Seal it from your courts 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:19.019 above. We look up. We seek the Lord if we want 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:22.120 to stop straying. So we seek him as protector, 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:24.959 but we also seek him as teacher. Have a look 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:29.360 at verse 12. Just over the page. Praise be to 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:33.559 you, Lord. Teach me your decrees. We need God 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:37.460 to teach us the paths we should be walking. We 00:08:37.460 --> 00:08:40.120 need him to teach us the way we should be going. 00:08:40.860 --> 00:08:44.960 Jordan started by reading Titus chapter 2. That 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:47.860 the grace of God has appeared and it teaches 00:08:47.860 --> 00:08:51.480 us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. 00:08:51.539 --> 00:08:56.220 We need teaching. And if I am going to stop straying 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:58.740 from the paths I'm meant to walk, then I need 00:08:58.740 --> 00:09:03.039 to seek the Lord as my teacher. Lord, teach me 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:08.059 today. Teach me the way I should go. Do you pray 00:09:08.059 --> 00:09:12.019 like that? Lord, show me what to do. Show me 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:15.720 the path I should walk today. So you see, we've 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:18.559 got to be a squirrel. We've got to seek the Lord 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:21.080 with all our heart. We seek him as a protector. 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:26.139 We seek him as the teacher. Apart from him, we 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:27.720 can do nothing. That's what Jesus said, isn't 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:31.840 it? So seek him. But squirrels don't just seek, 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:35.159 they also... I'm glad some of you are still here. 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:38.970 That's good. We store God's word in our hearts. 00:09:39.090 --> 00:09:42.809 See, look at verse 11. Having sought the Lord, 00:09:42.909 --> 00:09:44.929 verse 10, with all his heart, he says, I have 00:09:44.929 --> 00:09:48.470 hidden your word in my heart that I might not 00:09:48.470 --> 00:09:52.250 sin against you. How do we keep ourselves from 00:09:52.250 --> 00:09:55.870 wandering from the right path? By storing up 00:09:55.870 --> 00:10:00.529 God's words in our hearts. In the very engine 00:10:00.529 --> 00:10:04.549 room of your decision -making life, you store 00:10:04.549 --> 00:10:08.029 God's word there. Some of you remember back in 00:10:08.029 --> 00:10:10.549 the COVID days that people went crazy on toilet 00:10:10.549 --> 00:10:14.429 rolls. They stored up toilet rolls ready in their 00:10:14.429 --> 00:10:17.809 cupboards to use when they needed them. And that's 00:10:17.809 --> 00:10:19.830 the picture that we're given about hiding God's 00:10:19.830 --> 00:10:21.870 word in our heart. It's not burying it so you 00:10:21.870 --> 00:10:24.190 can't find it. That's what the word hidden kind 00:10:24.190 --> 00:10:27.210 of gives you the impression of. I'm burying it 00:10:27.210 --> 00:10:30.769 and one day I'll find it again. The hidden idea 00:10:30.769 --> 00:10:33.490 here is the idea of storing it up for ready for 00:10:33.490 --> 00:10:36.529 use. Like squirrels, they put things places and 00:10:36.529 --> 00:10:38.509 they know exactly where they put them so they 00:10:38.509 --> 00:10:41.330 can go and find them when they need them. And 00:10:41.330 --> 00:10:44.730 we are to put God's word, store it up in our 00:10:44.730 --> 00:10:49.429 hearts, ready to use. When that pressure comes, 00:10:49.830 --> 00:10:53.409 when that temptation comes, it's right there. 00:10:54.289 --> 00:10:56.789 Right in the place where you make those decisions 00:10:56.789 --> 00:11:00.590 and those choices. And we see this embodied, 00:11:00.769 --> 00:11:02.690 don't we, most clearly in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:11:04.169 --> 00:11:08.370 Think of his temptations in the wilderness. Think 00:11:08.370 --> 00:11:12.169 of his time in the Garden of Gethsemane. How 00:11:12.169 --> 00:11:15.830 did Jesus in his humanity stay on the path of 00:11:15.830 --> 00:11:20.250 purity? Well, he did it using the word of God 00:11:20.250 --> 00:11:24.230 that was hidden in his heart. He did it. Bible 00:11:24.230 --> 00:11:26.610 just poured out of Jesus. He didn't have you 00:11:26.610 --> 00:11:31.059 version on his phone. He had to hide it, store 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:34.559 it away in his heart so that when those temptations 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:38.399 and trials came, it was right there, right there 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:43.019 to use. And how did Jesus get it there? That's 00:11:43.019 --> 00:11:44.379 the question to think about, isn't it? How did 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:47.220 Jesus get it in his heart? Now, you're all good 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:49.899 Bible college students, so you'll know. We're 00:11:49.899 --> 00:11:52.179 tempted, aren't we? We could be tempted to think, 00:11:52.200 --> 00:11:54.460 well, it's because he was the son of God. He 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:59.539 wrote it anyway, so of course he knows it. No, 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:01.600 he got it there in his spirit -filled humanity 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:05.720 by doing what this psalm commands us to do, to 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:07.840 be a squirrel. He sought his heavenly father 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.100 with all his heart and he stored it away in his 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:13.419 heart from a young person, from a young man. 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:15.299 That's why at 12 years old you see him in the 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:18.059 temple, because he was someone who knew that 00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:21.080 he needed to store God's words away in his heart 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:24.320 so that when that temptation came, he could stay 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.519 on the path of purity. If it's not a reverent, 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:31.899 Jesus was the model squirrel. He sought his heavenly 00:12:31.899 --> 00:12:36.419 father and he stored up God's word. And so how 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:39.980 do we do that? You know, it's great to say, OK, 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:41.639 well, let's store it up. But how do we go about 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:43.860 it? And the psalm actually just throws us a few 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:46.940 top tips for storing God's word in our hearts. 00:12:47.820 --> 00:12:50.559 And actually it does it with three R's. OK, and 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.480 here they are. We recount it, we rejoice in it 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.419 and we reflect on it. That's the way that we 00:12:56.419 --> 00:12:58.299 can store God's word up in our heart. We recount 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:03.200 it. Have a look at verse 13. Verse 13. With my 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:07.299 lips, I recount all the laws that come from your 00:13:07.299 --> 00:13:11.779 mouth. Or literally, with my mouth, I recount 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:14.259 what comes from your mouth. That's literally 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:18.399 what it reads. And if you've ever tried memorizing 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:20.080 parts of the Bible, probably some of you are 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:22.240 fantastic at it. I've met people who can recite 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.539 whole books of the Bible to me. But if you're 00:13:24.539 --> 00:13:26.580 not quite so good at it as me, one of the things 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:29.159 that can really, not as me, I'm rubbish at it, 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:31.279 but the people I've met who are good at it. If 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:32.679 you want to get good at it, one of the things 00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:36.600 that helps is saying it out loud and recounting 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:39.139 it, sort of repeating it, walking down the street, 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:42.259 saying a verse out loud is a great way to get 00:13:42.259 --> 00:13:46.399 God's word stored up in our hearts. Recounting 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:49.279 the gospel, recounting verses from the Bible 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:53.139 is one of the ways that really helps. As kids, 00:13:53.220 --> 00:13:55.440 when my kids were younger, we used to try and 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:58.080 retell Bible stories walking down the road. We 00:13:58.080 --> 00:13:59.679 just used to say, oh, go on, tell us the story 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.360 of Noah. And then one of them would start it 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:04.080 off and another one would try and chip in and 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:05.899 we'd try and remember bits here and there because 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:07.980 actually it's a great way to get those stories 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:12.919 from the shelves into our hearts. It's something 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:14.720 we're not meant to do just privately, but we're 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:17.019 meant to do corporately as well, aren't we? In 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:19.360 Colossians, Paul tells the church there that 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:22.340 the message of Christ dwell among you richly 00:14:22.340 --> 00:14:24.740 as you teach and admonish one another with all 00:14:24.740 --> 00:14:28.139 wisdom through psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:31.980 We're meant to let the word of God be recounted 00:14:31.980 --> 00:14:34.980 on our lips, telling it over and over again so 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:38.240 that it helps it store it away in our hearts. 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:41.940 So we recount it, but we're also to rejoice in 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:46.720 it. Have a look at verse 14. I rejoice in following 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:51.620 your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:55.799 And again, verse 16, I delight, he says in your 00:14:55.799 --> 00:15:00.620 decrees. I will not neglect your words. Take 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:02.679 time. If you want to store God's word in your 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:05.580 heart, take time to delight in it. Don't just 00:15:05.580 --> 00:15:07.440 whiz through it and say, oh, I've read it now 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:10.440 or I've remembered it now. Take time to rejoice 00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:13.200 and to delight in the things that you're reading. 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:18.679 Nothing quite helps like songs to get God's word 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:22.399 stored up and to delight in something. It's a 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:24.940 good plug for why you should sing songs that 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:27.559 have the Bible in it. When you get to churches 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.200 and you get responsible for picking songs, make 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:32.340 sure that they're biblical. Because that's the 00:15:32.340 --> 00:15:34.740 way that the word gets stored up in our hearts. 00:15:36.100 --> 00:15:38.500 Delight yourselves in the things you're remembering. 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:43.649 So recount it, rejoice in it. Verse 15. reflect 00:15:43.649 --> 00:15:48.529 on it. I meditate on your precepts and consider 00:15:48.529 --> 00:15:53.789 your ways. You know, we've got to take time meditating. 00:15:54.049 --> 00:15:56.769 We've got to take time to pull something out 00:15:56.769 --> 00:15:59.769 of the store cupboard and to have a think about 00:15:59.769 --> 00:16:04.149 it and to pursue it. You know, some people just 00:16:04.149 --> 00:16:06.570 keep kind of treasures, don't they, behind a 00:16:06.570 --> 00:16:09.269 wall or a cupboard and look at all my trophies 00:16:09.269 --> 00:16:11.980 or look at all these things I've got. Actually, 00:16:12.019 --> 00:16:14.059 what we're meant to do is to take it out of the 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:16.539 cupboard and we're meant to look at it and turn 00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:19.820 it around and have a think about it. And actually, 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:22.539 these words of God that are stored up in us, 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:25.639 we're meant to bring them out and meditate on 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:27.500 it, chew on it, think about it. How does this 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:30.299 principle apply? You know, when you go for a 00:16:30.299 --> 00:16:33.620 walk or when you're driving down the road, just 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:36.200 take one out. Pull something out of the store 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:38.379 cupboard and say, let me think about this. What 00:16:38.379 --> 00:16:40.169 does that mean? What does that look like? How 00:16:40.169 --> 00:16:44.649 does this apply to me? Chew it over. And so the 00:16:44.649 --> 00:16:46.389 psalmist, you see, gives us three R's to help 00:16:46.389 --> 00:16:49.169 us store God's word, recount it, rejoice in it, 00:16:49.309 --> 00:16:54.649 and reflect on it. So I'm not insane, but please 00:16:54.649 --> 00:16:58.309 take my encouragement to be a squirrel. Be a 00:16:58.309 --> 00:17:01.789 squirrel. Because if we come back to that question 00:17:01.789 --> 00:17:06.269 in verse 9, how can a young person, how can any 00:17:06.269 --> 00:17:11.759 of us stay on the path of purity? Well, he says 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.980 there, by living according to the word. But how? 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:18.079 How do we do that? How do we live according to 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:20.319 the word? Well, we are a squirrel. We seek God's 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:24.380 help and we store it away in our hearts. We recount 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:27.599 it. We rejoice in it. We reflect on it so that 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:30.619 we might stay with God's help on the path of 00:17:30.619 --> 00:17:33.619 purity. Shall I pray that in for us? And then 00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:42.339 we'll come to the Lord's table. Our God and our 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:45.160 Father in heaven, we want to say thank you for 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:48.059 the Psalms. Thank you for the precious gift they 00:17:48.059 --> 00:17:52.160 are to us in helping us to know the experience 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:56.740 of living the life of following you. Father, 00:17:56.819 --> 00:18:02.759 thank you that you call us to faith in the Lord 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:06.259 Jesus Christ. You call us to a life of obedience 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:13.839 to him. resonate again and again with those words 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:18.400 prone to wonder lord we feel it prone to leave 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.099 you the god we love and so we simply come this 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:25.180 morning wanting to seek your help that we would 00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:27.259 not stray from your paths that you would protect 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:32.180 us that you would teach us that we would walk 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:36.059 in your paths and we pray to please that we would 00:18:36.059 --> 00:18:38.980 be those who work hard at storing your words 00:18:38.980 --> 00:18:42.559 in our hearts that we would take time to recount 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:46.619 it with our lips, that we would rejoice in your 00:18:46.619 --> 00:18:50.240 word, not just study it and move on, and that 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:53.240 we would reflect on the things that you have 00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:57.119 shown us. Father, we long to be more like Christ, 00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:02.279 who had your word stored in his heart. Father, 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:04.299 we thank you for all that he modelled to us in 00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:07.339 his spirit -filled humanity of how to do what 00:19:07.339 --> 00:19:10.220 this psalm talks about. And so, Father, please 00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:12.920 help us to be more like him. In Jesus' name. 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:13.799 Amen.