[0:00] That is not a commentary on what we're doing right now. Just, yeah, anyway.
[0:13] ! Just pragmatic. Take out your Bibles with me, please, and turn to,! I got used to not saying the Gospel of Luke. Turn with me to Psalm 119.
[0:25] You'll find Psalms right in the middle of your Bible. If you open it up to the middle, you should be in the Psalms, pretty close to it. And then Psalm 119. We began last week this study that we're going to do in Psalm 119.
[0:42] I don't know how far we're going to go. I don't know if we're going to go the whole 22 stanzas, 176 verses or not. We'll go at least 40. But the theme is living by.
[0:59] God's Word. It is the tool. The Word of God is the tool that God has given us to know His way, to know His path. It is the information that He's given us.
[1:12] It is the will of God that He's given us. And Psalm 119 focuses on the Word of God. It is the theme of 176 verses.
[1:23] The Word of God. How it benefits us. How it affects us. How it leads us. How it guides us. Directs us. Etc.
[1:34] So today, we're just going to dig into the first eight verses. So the first stanza. The first. And as you remember, if you remember, it's an acrostic.
[1:45] So every. So the first eight verses. Each of those eight verses start with the same Hebrew letter. Now, reading English, we don't know that. We don't see that.
[1:56] But in Hebrew, every verse starts with the same Hebrew letter. So this is that first stanza. So if you're able, please stand as I read from Psalm 119 verses 1 through 8.
[2:13] How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who observe His testimony.
[2:26] Blessed are those who seek Him with all their heart. They also do no unrighteousness. They walk in His ways.
[2:37] Thou hast ordained Thy precepts, that we should keep them diligently. Oh, oh, that my ways may be established to keep Thy statutes.
[2:49] Then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all Thy commandments. I shall give thanks to Thee with uprightness of heart when I learn Thy righteous judgments.
[3:01] I shall keep Thy statutes. Do not forsake me utterly. So it reads.
[3:13] Let us pray. Father, cause Thy name. Hallowed be Thy name. Cause Thy name to be set apart in these verses. Cause Thy kingdom to come.
[3:25] Cause the power of Your Holy Spirit to come through Your Word to affect us. And cause Thy will to be done.
[3:35] Show us Thy will through these words. This we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. Verse 6.
[3:52] Said, says, then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon Thy commandments. What is shame?
[4:04] What is shame? What is shame? Guilt. Guilt. Regret. Regret.
[4:15] Worthlessness. Huh? Feeling of worthlessness. Feeling of worthlessness. It's a word that I've observed in our culture that our culture doesn't like.
[4:26] In fact, some in our culture want to rid the word altogether because they feel that it shames them.
[4:40] Well, and part of what is said in our culture, I agree with. There are things that others, you know, put shame on others.
[4:51] There's those who are looking down on others, those who are, you know, imposing their righteousness on others. I get that. I get that. Man-made constructs.
[5:05] But here in Psalm 119, we're not talking about man-made constructs. We're talking about shame before God. So what is shame?
[5:15] Now, let's go all the way back and remember. Let's do a little Bible lesson here, a little Genesis. Genesis 2, man and woman were created, right?
[5:30] And it says in Genesis 2 that after they were created, they were both naked and not ashamed. Not ashamed.
[5:40] And then in the next chapter, Genesis chapter 3, the serpent, the dragon, right? Deceived.
[5:53] Tempted them, tried them, and they failed. And they, their eyes, as soon as they did what God said not to do, they, their eyes were opened. And they felt what?
[6:08] Shame. Shame. Shame. Shame. And the picture is they knew they were naked. They recognized that they were naked. Well, we get that.
[6:19] We don't want to be publicly naked. That would, you know, that's exposing. That's vulnerable. That's, you know, and that's what shame is. Shame is that being exposed.
[6:34] Shame is the humiliation of sin exposed. It is a dishonor of failure. It is the work of a guilty conscience.
[6:48] When we bear responsibility for our own sinful action. So, Romans 3 says, All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
[7:07] So, all feel shame. All right?
[7:17] Right? Before God's glory. Before God's law. The result is shame and guilt.
[7:28] What is the remedy? Well, we know the remedy is Jesus Christ. The only one who came and was not ashamed before the word of God.
[7:41] He kept the word of God. Right? That's all. These eight verses could be said of Jesus. He did no unrighteousness.
[7:53] He walked in God's ways. Right? He kept the word. He kept the word of God. He kept the word of God. He kept the word of God. He kept the word of God. He kept the word of God. He kept the word of God. So, this psalm brings up that idea in verse 6.
[8:05] Verse 5. Oh, that my ways may be established to keep thy statutes. If my ways could be as. If my ways would be established to keep God's word, then I would not be ashamed.
[8:20] What's the problem? My ways haven't been established by my own works. So, how do we deal with our shame?
[8:32] And does shame, is shame something that Christians should feel? Right? After we've come to Christ, we've been forgiven. Our pardon is gone. Right? There's no condemnation.
[8:45] Are there times when Christians should feel that shame? Right? Or is it conviction? Right? So, those are kind of the questions we're raising today. So, just to get back up a little bit.
[8:58] Remember the theme of Psalm 119 is the word of God. Living by the word of God. We saw last week there are eight synonyms that the writer of Psalm 119 uses.
[9:08] Alternate expressions for scripture, for the Bible. So, he uses general words like God's word, God's law, God's ways, God's rules.
[9:21] So, in general, speaking of God's way. Right? And then specific terms, he uses words like testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments. All of those are synonyms.
[9:32] Not cinnamon. Synonyms. Synonyms. Alternate expressions. They're saying with a little bit of a nuance difference, but all speaking in terms of what God has said.
[9:45] Okay? So, the other thing we noticed at the beginning of Psalm 119, the first two verses, give us the theology of the whole Psalm. Okay? It's the start. It's like Psalm 1 starts the same way.
[9:57] Blessed is the man. Right? He does not walk, sit, stand. Right? In the way of the wicked. Right? But his delight is in the law. So, blessed is.
[10:09] So, twice in Psalm 119, verse 1, blessed are those. Again, verse 2, blessed are those. So, it's introducing the theme of the whole, or excuse me, the theology of the whole Psalm.
[10:22] So, if the theme of the Psalm is living by God's word, the theology is those who live by God's word are blessed. Blessed are those whose ways blame us who walk in the law of the Lord.
[10:39] Blessed are those who observe his testimony, who seek him with all their heart. That's the theology. God blesses those who live by his word.
[10:50] Remember the word blessed in Hebrew literally means to go straight. So, in our culture, we want to say blessed means happy.
[11:03] Right? Happy are those. But happiness depends on what happens. Happiness depends on what happens to you. So, if good things happen, you're happy.
[11:14] If bad things happen, you're not happy. Right? So, blessed is totally different. Blessed is not dependent on what happens to you. It doesn't depend on circumstances. Blessed is about the way you go.
[11:26] Like Jesus said, you go in the narrow road, right? Not the broad road. The broad road leads to destruction. The narrow road leads to life. Narrow road's much harder, isn't it?
[11:39] The narrow road. But on that road, if you stay on that road, God blesses that life. God is with you in that life. No matter what happens. Okay? So, that's the theology of the whole psalm.
[11:51] As we talk about living by God's word. Living by God's word is to be on that right road. Blessed means to be on the right road. No matter what happens. So, our question today, though, is about shame.
[12:06] So, the psalmist says, if my way is established, then I will not be ashamed. So, here's the question. What if I can't live by his word?
[12:19] What if I don't have the ability to keep his word? To do no unrighteousness?
[12:31] What if I don't have that ability? I mean, I can at times. We all can at times. But we're talking about consistently. Always.
[12:43] Observing all his commandments. Can we do that? No. Correct answer is no. And, because we're not talking about grading on a curve here.
[12:56] We're talking about God's righteousness. Right? So, that's. And, he gets to define it any way he wants. Right?
[13:06] He's God. And, he has a right to claim that over us. Because, we are his creation. We owe him everything. He's given us life and breath and gifts. Blessings.
[13:18] We just had Thanksgiving. We can thank him for the good things that he's given us. We can even thank him for the hard things that he's given us. Because, we believe he will bring good. So, how do we live by God's word without shame?
[13:34] That's the question of this text. So, it comes in two parts. Verses 1 through 4 is the principle that we'll discover. And then, verses 5 through 8 is the prayer.
[13:49] Because, in verse 5, there's a prayer. Oh, that my ways may be established. And then, it ends at verse 8. Do not forsake me. He's talking to God.
[14:01] So, notice also, the first three verses are descriptions. He's talking about walking in God's way. And then, verse 4, it changes.
[14:12] Now, it's suddenly he's talking to the Lord. Notice. Right? Thou hast ordained. Oh, that my ways may be established to keep thy statutes. Right? So, then I will not be ashamed when I look upon all thy commandments.
[14:26] So, now, from verse 5 through 8, he's talking to God. So, now it's conversation. Now it's prayer. Okay? So, it goes from principle to prayer. It goes from stating the truth to, Oh, Lord, how can I live by your word without shame?
[14:47] So, here's the principle, first of all. The principle is that we recognize honestly that God's law reveals our sinfulness. Recognize honestly that God's law reveals our sinfulness.
[15:04] That is its purpose. The purpose of the law is to show us God's way. God's way is holy, righteous, and true. But the effect of that law is what?
[15:18] I can't. I can't. And that's the, read the Old Testament. That's the proof of the Old Testament.
[15:28] They couldn't do it. They couldn't do it. Couldn't do it. Couldn't do it. Couldn't do it. Didn't want to do it. Some did. Still fail. Our best, right, David, our best examples of those who loved God and served him fell.
[15:45] Couldn't do it. Needed a savior. This is what God planned from the beginning because he knew we couldn't do it. So, the purpose of the law is to show us.
[15:56] So, that's what I think verses one through four remind us of. That we need to recognize honestly that God's law reveals our centralness.
[16:08] So, to keep God's law involves three things. It involves, it's intentional, it's practical, and it's thorough. If we are to keep God's law, we must intend to do it.
[16:19] Secondly, it must be a practical effect in our way of life. And thirdly, it must be thorough in our life. Complete in our life. Not just partial obedience.
[16:30] So, it's intentional. Verse one, blessedness is about a way we go. It's about going straight in God's path. But he says, blessed, in verse one, are those whose way is?
[16:42] Blameless. Blameless. Okay. Hands. Who's blameless? Right? Okay. I'm already out. We've only gotten in part of one sentence and we're out.
[16:53] But it's true. Blessed are those going on the right way are those whose way is blameless or complete. What does that mean?
[17:03] It means walking in the law of the Lord. So, another just note here. In the psalm, we're dealing with poetry. Hebrew poetry and their couplets.
[17:14] So, each verse is a couplet. Each verse has two thoughts. The first thought, verse one, blessed are those whose way is blameless. That's a thought. Second line further explains that.
[17:27] Further clarifies that. Who walk in the law of the Lord. So, right? So, the one whose way is blameless is the person who walks in the law of the Lord. Same thing with verse two. Blessed are those who observe his testimonies.
[17:40] What does that mean? What is that about? Well, it's those who seek him with all their heart. So, verse one tells us something outward. That we keep, you know, we walk in his ways.
[17:52] Our walk, our lifestyle. Verse two talks about an inward part of this. That we're observing. We're remembering. We're paying attention to his testimonies. And that means that we're people who seek him with all their heart.
[18:08] So, it's not just an external thing. It's an internal thing. It comes from my heart. And as we read the Gospels, we know that's what Jesus talks about constantly. The heart. The heart.
[18:20] The internal. The motivation. The inclination. So, when we talk about seeking God with all their heart, that tells us two things.
[18:34] First of all, it tells us that when we seek God, we seek him how? With all our heart, yes.
[18:46] But lean back on the first part of that verse. Those seeking God with all their heart are doing. How do they find him? Observing his testimony.
[18:58] Right? So, in other words, this, as I look through this, that helps me seek God. But my goal is to seek God, not just to seek the word. Get it? There's a difference.
[19:09] People will love the word of God. You can love the word of God, study the word of God, and never know God. Amen. Okay? So, the point of this is to lead us to him. Okay?
[19:20] This is a wonderful tool to help us know him and seek him. Show us how to even seek him in different situations. So, heart. What do we mean by heart?
[19:31] What does the Bible mean by heart? Thoughts and intentions. Hebrews 4. Right? Thoughts and intentions.
[19:41] The heart is our thought. In a Hebrew sense, the heart is not our emotions. That's our soul. The heart is our thoughts and intentions. So, in other words, to really keep God's law involves my full intention.
[19:57] Not just kind of an outward way, but my intention. Secondly, it's practical. Verse 3. It's about what they do, notice. They also do know unrighteous, but they walk in his ways.
[20:09] So, it's very practical. It's about what they do or don't do. It's a way of life. It's their actions. And again, the second phrase is explaining the first one.
[20:20] They do know unrighteousness. They also do know unrighteousness. What does that mean? Well, they don't because they walk in his ways. Right? So, they're walking.
[20:30] It's a way of life. And there's lots of action in these verses. Right? They're observing. They're seeking. They're walking. They're keeping diligently.
[20:42] Right? It's very practical. Then, thirdly, it's thorough. Verse 4. Now, he turns. As he talks about this.
[20:54] As he meditates on this. Verse 4. Now, he turns his attention to the Lord. Thou hast ordained thy precepts. Thou hast commanded thy precepts that we should keep them diligently.
[21:08] Thoroughly. Not just in part. Not just, you know, in general. In generalities. But to keep those precepts.
[21:19] Those specific directives. Thoroughly. So, it's word for diligence. I love this word in Hebrew. It's the word ma'od. Anybody here besides James and Belinda?
[21:33] Who are in the class this morning. Ma'od. So, the greatest commandment is what? Love the Lord. With all your heart. With all your soul.
[21:46] With all your ma'od. So, love the Lord with all your heart. Bekol lavab ka.
[21:59] Bekol nefeshka. Bekol ma'od. So, your heart, thoughts and intentions. Your soul, your deep affections.
[22:11] And your ma'od. Your muchness. All you got. There's no good English word to translate the word ma'od.
[22:24] So, we say diligently. Love the Lord diligently. All your muchness. We had a men's group years ago where I brought this out. And one of the guys went home and told his wife, I love you with all my ma'od.
[22:41] And then he explained it to her. She loved it. Right? She was. And then we're all like, oh, yeah. Oh, be the good husband. Catch that.
[22:51] But everything I have, it's this kind of thing. Yeah. So, love the Lord with all your strength. Okay. All your might. All your ma'od. All your muchness. So, it's thorough.
[23:04] So, how do I keep God's law with my muchness? Do we do that?
[23:16] I mean, the greatest commandment sets us apart, doesn't it? I mean, it nails us. Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Can you do that? All of your heart. Thoughts and intentions. All your thoughts and intentions.
[23:28] With all your soul. With all your deepest affections. Your ups and downs. And then you're, oh, you know, can I do that? I can do it at times.
[23:41] There are times God blesses and, man, you know. And then Monday comes. Yeah. Right? Or whatever. That meeting comes and everything goes wrong in the meeting.
[23:55] Or your friendship blows up. Or something happens, right? So, recognize.
[24:06] If we look at these verses honestly. Recognize honestly that God's law reveals our sinfulness. That I'm not that man. When God changes my heart, I want to be that man.
[24:21] Huh? When we're saved and my heart is changed. Right? God puts in me a desire to be that man. Right? Whereas before I was saved, I didn't have any desire to do that.
[24:35] I didn't love God or love his, especially didn't love his commandments. Right? But after he changes my heart, I do. But I still fail.
[24:47] So, how do I, again, here's that question. How do I live by God's word without shame? So, who can do this? So, just a reminder of the purpose of God's law.
[24:58] God made it very clear from Exodus through Deuteronomy the purpose of his law. Who can keep his law? Who can be blameless? Who can do it diligently?
[25:09] There's only one person ever in the history of the world that has done it. That's Jesus Christ. Right? He did it as a man. He did it as the new Adam.
[25:21] He didn't have any, he didn't cheat. He didn't pull in his God power to do it. We saw in the Garden of Gethsemane, right? We see him sweating drops of blood.
[25:31] We see how hard it was for him to obey. He was very much a man. But he did it. For us. So that he could be that spotless lamb.
[25:42] Right? But nobody else can claim that they've done this. So, here's what God said to the Israelites. He reminds them in Deuteronomy 28. He said to them, if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
[26:05] And all these blessings, there's that word, all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city. Blessed shall you be in the field.
[26:17] Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of the ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
[26:27] And on and on it goes in Deuteronomy 28. It talks about all the ways God will bless you. You won't get sick. You'll be healthy, wealthy, and wise. You will have everything. No enemies.
[26:38] Right? Your enemies will fall before you. You will be blessed if you keep my commands. Right? Then, by the way, you should read all of Deuteronomy 28 if you want to get the full power of this.
[26:55] Halfway through Deuteronomy 28, 15, he says, But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
[27:15] Cursed shall you be in the city. Cursed shall you be in the field. In the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your herds, and on and on. He's just going to go through the same list.
[27:27] Your enemies will not fall before you. In fact, you'll fall before your enemies. So, that was God's explanation of keeping the commands. Right?
[27:38] Starting with the first ten. Right? How'd Israel do? Perfect. Right? Because nobody could do it.
[27:52] Now, there were people among Israel that recognized that and sought God. They became friends with it.
[28:03] They had faith in God. They recognized they could not do it. This psalmist is one of those people. He knows this. Okay? That's why he's going to turn in verse five to prayer.
[28:16] Amen. So, the law of God requires absolute obedience because it's God's law. He requires complete obedience.
[28:33] Yet, no one is able to keep it. So, why does God require it? To reveal our sinfulness. That is the purpose of the law.
[28:43] Paul says in Romans 3.20, For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight. In other words, no one can keep it since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
[28:57] That's the purpose of the law. Through the law comes recognition of my sinfulness. And I can't. If I'm honest before the law. So, well, but then if I recognize my sinfulness, that's what happens.
[29:12] That leads me to feelings of shame. It leads me to feelings of guilt. So, what do I do with that? Here's the answer. Verse five through eight, I pray. It's my only result.
[29:24] It's my only recourse to pray, to seek the Lord. I can't keep his law. His laws are right. So, notice his response.
[29:35] Verse five, Oh, that's a cry. That's a, that's just a, that's a cry of weakness, a cry of brokenness. Oh, that my ways may be established to keep thy statutes.
[29:45] Then I shall not be ashamed. If I could just keep them. It's a plea of brokenness. Oh, would that I could be steadfast.
[29:56] We need a man who is able to keep. It's a desire for holiness.
[30:09] Then, then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all thy commandments. That's a desire for holiness. That's a person who has been changed in their heart. Then I shall not be ashamed.
[30:20] I shall not be humiliated. I won't be disgraced. I won't be dishonored. In keeping his word. The promise of, of the old Testament that points to the new Testament is that all who believe in Christ will not be put to shame.
[30:39] There you go. There's the answer in short. Psalm, I think it's Psalm 118 where that comes from. All who believe in him will not be put to shame.
[30:50] And then it leads to a praise. So if I'm not put to shame, if I'm able to keep, if my ways get established to keep his statutes, I won't be ashamed.
[31:02] For one, verse seven. Secondly, I will give thanks. I will give thanks to thee with uprightness of heart when I learn thy righteous judgments. There will be praise of God's righteousness.
[31:13] I will be caused to praise. In fact, if I am able to somehow walk in his way, then I will praise his ways.
[31:23] I'll praise his right. I'll see the rightness of it with an upright heart. So in other words, my heart will be upright. My heart will be in the right place. When I look upon, when I learn thy righteous judgments.
[31:42] Now learning is, what does that imply? Learning. When I learn his righteous judgments. How does learning come?
[31:53] When I learn? Is that instant? No, it's a process, right? It's a process. I learn, I learn, I gradually learn, right? Some of us are slower than others, right?
[32:05] Some of us takes us, you know, 40 years and others three. No, okay. It wasn't funny. Right? It's a process. It's experiential, I learn.
[32:18] Right? So I learn about God's righteous judgments. I learn, no, God's right. When I'm immature, I don't learn that so well. As I mature and as I grow in grace, I learn that everything he said is, no, that he's right.
[32:37] Well, I can't keep it. Well, but he's still right. His judgments are right. They're righteous. They're perfect. They're, they're, and I, and I admit it.
[32:48] And the longer I, I, I learn, the more I learn that, I recognize the truth of it. Yes, he's, he's right. No matter what I do, he's, he's right.
[33:00] And, and I can give thanks about that. Not, not, not, um, and then it leads to verse eight, a prayer of resolve.
[33:12] I, I, I like this verse because I think it sums it up. So, so notice he, he talked about in verse five, the prayer, oh, that my ways may be established.
[33:23] Oh, that my way, now he's talking to God, right? Oh, that my ways may be established to keep thy statutes. He's asking God to establish him, right? To make him steadfast, to, to help him stand firm, right?
[33:36] Because he knows he can't do that by himself. So he's, he's asking for that. And, and when God helps me stand firm to keep his statutes, then I'll not be ashamed. Verse seven, then I will give thanks.
[33:48] And then finally, verse eight, then I will keep his statutes. There's a resolve, but I want you to, to recognize that it's a, that it's a humble resolve. It's not a boastful, I will keep.
[34:02] It's not like Peter, right? Peter, you're going to deny me and Peter's what? No, I'm not. I love you way too much. I will never. I mean, he, I think he totally meant that because he loved Jesus so much.
[34:15] He can't imagine. He never knew the little girl would come up from behind and, you know, he thought I'd be a soldier and he'd be, I'm ready. So it, but it's not like that.
[34:27] I will keep, then I will, because I'm established, God has established me. I will keep, I will watch, I will guard your statutes. The specific ways that God has laid out, but it's a humble resolve because what does he say next in verse eight?
[34:44] Do not forsake me. Do not forsake me. Why does he say that? I will keep thy statutes. Do not forsake me. He doesn't trust himself.
[34:59] He knows his weakness. It's there. He's already cried out, oh, that my ways may be, because he's already felt the shame.
[35:11] When his ways haven't been established, he's felt the shame because he's fallen and he's fallen and he's fallen and he's stumbled and he's stumbled and he got back up and he's stumbled again because he tried to do it in his own strength.
[35:25] And we all fought when we do it in our own. That was Peter. That was David. David. But even when David struggled, he took it right where he needed to go so he could still live in the glory of the Lord.
[35:49] Yes. Yeah. And we thank God for that because that's why David is such a wonderful example.
[36:02] We see in him the honor that he serves the Lord so well for so long. He really believes in God. He really trusts God. He is bold. But he also sins quite boldly.
[36:15] You know, once Bathsheba, that whole thing, I mean, man, it went down fast. It went down fast. But God loved him still.
[36:26] So God came back after him with the prophet, right? You, the man, tell him a little story about lambs. David's hooked. Somebody stole a lamb?
[36:38] I'm going to kill that guy. You're the guy, David. Ooh. Right? I mean, it's just a beautiful story of God bringing back this sinner, this totally unworthy right?
[36:52] I mean, he's sinned in the worst ways. That'd be headlines all over, scandal all over our newspapers. Right? The king. The king.
[37:04] Stole somebody's wife. Committed adultery with it. Had him killed. Right? Made up a fake conspiracy. On and on and on and on, David goes. God brings him back.
[37:16] So, and then David graciously wrote Psalm 51, which was his repentance about that whole act. And I say graciously because he put it on paper for everyone to see.
[37:31] His shame. His shame. And how he recovered from his shame. How he recovered. Right? Confession. Huh? Confession.
[37:42] Confession. Because he wanted to teach others how to come back from that. Okay? So, that's, I love that. But he was our best.
[37:56] Which should show us, you know, the Pharisee kind of attitude in church. I'm better than, you know, I live comparatively. I'm better and I'm doing, I'm keeping it. I'm keeping the rules.
[38:07] Well, I'm doing it maybe on the outside, but Jesus says, yeah, but your heart. Where's your heart? If David couldn't do it, you can't do it.
[38:24] So, forsake not. Verse 8. I will keep thy statutes, but forsake not. I know I can't do it on my own. Forsake not.
[38:35] I do not trust myself. I'm deeply aware of my own weaknesses. I fear my falling again. And so, by faith, and now, New Testament perspective, we would say, by faith in Christ.
[38:49] Right? We say, Jesus, forsake me not. Forsake me not, O gentle Savior. Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Right? I recognize I need him every day, every hour.
[39:04] If I'm going to keep his word, I do it by faith in his strength. Amen. His enablement. We also call it walking by the spirit.
[39:16] Same. Same. So, is this normal that we struggle? You know? Yeah, it's really normal. Paul, this is Paul's experience.
[39:28] Listen to Paul talk about his experience dealing with God's law and his sin. Romans 7. He says, for we do not, we know that the law is spiritual, but I'm a flesh sold under sin.
[39:47] For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want. But I do the very thing I hate. Anybody relate to that?
[40:02] I mean, isn't that frustrating? I don't do what I want. I want to obey God. I want to love God. I want to serve God. But then I do the very thing I hate. My sin.
[40:14] My not depending on him. you know, whatever. So, Paul, let's talk about Paul. Now, if I do not, if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law.
[40:29] That is as good. Because the law told me I would do that. So, now it is no longer I who do it, but sin dwells within me. Is he, is he, what do you call it?
[40:44] Passing the buck? He is splitting hair. Is he splitting hair? Is he kind of saying, oh, the devil made me do it. It's not my fault. No, no, no. Keep listening. It's not I, but sin that dwells within me.
[40:58] For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh, my body. For I have the desire. Watch this now. I have the desire to do what's right, but not the ability to carry it out.
[41:10] For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing. Why do I keep sinning? I don't want to keep sinning, but I keep sinning.
[41:20] Now, if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So in other words, even though I have been saved by Christ, I've been born again, I have the Holy Spirit in me.
[41:35] I still have the flesh in me. I still have my sin nature in me. Christ did not move. He removed the penalty of my sin. He did not remove the presence of sin.
[41:48] So I'm in a daily battle. So I find it to be a law that when I, when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
[42:01] Huh? For I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but I see in my members, my flesh, another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
[42:18] Oh my gosh, what do you do? Wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? Cry out to God. Huh?
[42:28] Right? Can you hear where he's saved? He is being very honest with us, folks. He struggles just like you and I do. Paul was not perfect.
[42:40] Paul loved God. He sacrificed. You know, we can a lot, a lot of things about him, but he was still a sinner. He still struggled with sin. He was not yet in heaven.
[42:57] Who will deliver me from this body of death? We know that answer. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. He will deliver me. So then, what do I do?
[43:07] I'm a delivered Christian. What do I do? So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh, I serve the law of sin. So I'm in this battle.
[43:19] I recognize I'm in this battle every day. But what do I know? I know as a bottom line. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
[43:30] Though you still struggle with sin, though that sin is still within you, and with your heart, you're wanting to, your desire is to please God and obey his law, but within you, there's still that old man, that old ball and chain, right?
[43:47] Wanting to drag you back, wanting to follow your flesh, wanting to do what's easy, wanting to take the shortcut, wanting to just kind of let it go for a while. I want to take a vacation from being a Christian for a while.
[44:00] Right? As if we had a choice. Or I just want to put it in neutral and cruise for a while. Well, there's no such thing. Because you put it in neutral, it's actually reverse. reverse. There's no neutral.
[44:13] Because if you cruise, you lose. Oh. I didn't plan that. So how do we live without shame? That was the question. Yes. Live to the glory of God.
[44:29] My faith has to be active. Okay? I can't be in neutral. My faith has to be in drive. I have to engage my faith every day.
[44:44] I can't just cruise through the day. I have to engage it. I have to seek Jesus to live through me. I have to seek the Holy Spirit to empower me.
[44:56] I have to ask. Jesus gave us a prayer that helps us do this. Right? He gave us a daily prayer to help us focus on. Right? God's name.
[45:07] God's kingdom. That's where I get the power in the Holy Spirit. You know? That the kingdom would come. Right? Doing his will. Right?
[45:20] Forgiveness. Leading me not into temptation but delivering me from evil. I went praying that kind of stuff every day. Right? I'm not just mouthing those words.
[45:31] Those words lead me to other prayers. So I live by faith in Christ who delivered me from the penalty of sin.
[45:42] I still wage war with the presence of sin but I wage war by faith, by prayer, as I rely on him. If you're really in battle, go to the armor of God and think through those pieces of the armor.
[45:59] Right? Those are all God's things on you. It's not my shield. It's not my breastplate. It's God's breastplate that makes me righteous. Right?
[46:10] On and on. We don't have time to go into all the ways that we fight this but that's where this psalmist is leading us. Okay? Notice what he's doing. Right off the bat he's telling us, okay, it's the word.
[46:23] The word will, I mean, if you stay with the word, you're all good. It's going to seek the Lord. It's going to help you. But, it's not just me and the word.
[46:36] It's me with God's enablement through the word. Amen. Right? Carry my sword.
[46:48] Yes. I shall keep thy statutes. Do not forsake me utterly. Amen.
[46:58] Amen.