A Response to Suffering

Providence Baptist Church

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That's good singing. I appreciate the Christmas song We should be singing

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Christmas songs year -round. I'm in agreement Psalm 119 tonight

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We continue in our exposition of Psalm 119. You know, there's a little bit of argument this week on Social media always argument, but that is

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Are we new Chris? Are we New Testament Christians or are we you know whole

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Bible Christians? I mean in one sense we at we absolutely do practice

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New Testament Christianity I mean New Testament is what shows us what the church is the positive

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Ordinances as we talked about in Sunday school of the Lord's Supper and baptism And so there's no problem saying

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New Testament Christianity, but on the other hand we want to say we're not merely New Testament Christians We're biblical

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Christians. We love the whole Bible. That's why we preach from Nahum It's why we preach from Psalm 119 and we have a lot to learn from the entire

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Canon of Scripture the entire Canon of Scripture teaches us what it means to follow

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Christ and to look to him And so tonight we pick up in Psalm 119. We are now in verse 81 we're just kind of taking this stanza by stanza and we talk about tonight a

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Response to suffering now, we don't know who the psalmist is here. Maybe it's David I told you

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Brian Borgman's makes argument. Maybe it's Daniel But we've seen several times in the book or in the in the chapter

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Psalm 119 Which it's longer by the way someone at teen is longer than Nahum, right an entire book of the

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Bible We're preaching to on Sunday morning is shorter than this chapter But the idea here is several times in the psalm

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We see something's going on and God has brought suffering into his life And so tonight in this stanza, we will talk about a response to suffering

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So I invite you to stand as we honor the reading of God's Word verse 81

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Psalm 119 my soul Longs for your salvation. I hope in your word my eyes

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Long for your promise. I ask when will you comfort me for I've become like a wineskin in the smoke yet I have not forgotten your statutes.

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How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me the insolent have dug pitfalls for me

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They do not live according to your law. All your commandments are sure. They persecute me with falsehood

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Help me they have almost made an end of me on earth But I have not forsaken your precepts and your steadfast love give me life that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth

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Father help us help me tonight. You know, I'm in great need of your grace. Help me to preach your word faithfully

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Help us to listen faithfully give us ears to hear let us respond in obedience and faith and trust in Christ Let us remember the gospel tonight.

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Let us remember that you've redeemed us by the suffering of our Savior Christ who is truly

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God and truly man coming to earth to redeem us We pray God that we would embrace suffering as a reality in this life

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But understand that you're doing something through it and we pray God that we'd not lose hope and not lose heart

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Thank you for your kindness to us. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated the psalmist

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First of all longed Number one he longed for salvation

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You see that in verse 81 my soul longs for your salvation verse 82

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My eyes long for your promise the nature of this salvation when we when we hear the word salvation

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Just being in Christians. We often think of spiritual salvation But in this sense the psalmist is crying out not just for salvation spiritual but but physical

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Salvation right? He desires to be delivered We see the need for this salvation my soul longs.

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Well, this is intense, right? We don't we don't use this type of language very often my soul

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Longs, that may be an understatement. The King James says my soul fainteth the

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NASB says my soul Languishes the the psalmist here needs

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God's rescue. He's at the point He's just not sure that he can hold on things are getting dark pretty quickly.

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Help me God Can you relate my eyes long verse 82 for your promise?

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My eyes long the idea here the imagery here. Think about this is looking for something so long

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That your eyes grow weak. Here's a terrible analogy You've been deer hunting, you know, and you look out there and you look out there and you look out there

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Have you ever just looked at a spot so long that it kind of just grows fuzzy or something? You're just your eyes are like, whoa.

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Okay. Okay. I've got to look at something else Well in a sense spiritually speaking his eyes are looking for the promise

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So long that his eyes are growing weak. You're looking you're looking you're looking you're looking but it never comes

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Verse 83 for I become like a wineskin in the smoke now If you like me, you don't immediately get that illustration, right?

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What's that mean? But a wineskin would be Empty of wine would be hung up and if it was in the smoke, what would happen to it?

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Well, it would dry out it would it would be damaged it would wrinkle up it would blacken

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You understand the imagery now he says I'm like a wineskin in the smoke that is

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I'm dried up I'm blackened. I'm Languishing here. This is the psalmist.

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He's worn out from persecution and he longs For deliverance from God.

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He's just before this is one of the reasons we should love and read and sing the Psalms The Psalms are real right the

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Psalms. So sometimes It's okay to sing songs like this at times it's okay, but a lot of songs that we sing are like I'm so happy right, you know, happy happy happy happy and We forget that that's not the only experience like that's if that's the only experience you have in the

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Christian life It's not real right now. Sometimes you come in here and you're not happy happy happy, right?

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Sometimes you come in here and you're not just like Jesus is my boyfriend and he's so great I like like we shouldn't we shouldn't sing those kind of songs anyway

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But the point is that we come in and we sing the Psalms because the Psalms give us a real perspective of the

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Christian life Sometimes we are absolutely full of joy I hope it's your experience in the Christian life that more often than not you're full of joy and you for you are you're full

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Of happiness and you're you're delighted in God, but sometimes The Christian life we come in and we're rung out like the wineskin in the smoke we're dried up we're hurting

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This is the psalmist There's a life circumstance. Maybe a health situation you have

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Maybe you're in a situation where your kids are just getting on your last nerve Or maybe the marriage is struggling or maybe the finances are struggling or maybe the entire country is struggling

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Whatever the case may be you can relate to the psalmist God Right, where are you?

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Well, yeah, don't you see what's happening in this situation? Don't you see your sir?

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Like I'm trying to be faithful I'm trying to love my spouse and my kids and read my Bible and love the church

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But these things just keep happening God. Would you rescue me? We shouldn't take lightly that this is an aspect of the

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Christian life Verse 84. He says how long must your servant endure?

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When will you judge those who persecute me? The psalmist reaches a point here. He just can't go on.

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He's like how long I got it I don't know how long I can endure how long verse 86 the second half when he says help me

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All your commandments are sure they persecute me as falsest falsehood. Help me the psalmist

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No salvation is only as far away as God is right So he turns to God for help help me yet.

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It feels so far away 82 again My eyes long for your salvation. I ask when will you comfort me?

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When God will you comfort me all you have to do think about this All you have to do God is say the word

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All you have to do is to come in and bring the comfort to my soul and I will be comforted

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So when will you do it? He trust in the word, my soul longs for your salvation 81

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I hope in your. Word. God is able to rescue us from our affliction, right?

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Amen. And yet sometimes he doesn't Sometimes he tells us to wait and so we know salvation is always near Perhaps it's only a prayer away, but we must not give up secondly

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So firstly, the psalmist long for God's salvation. Secondly, he lamented God's silence

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He longed for God's salvation, but he lamented God's silence. It it hurt him verse 84

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Again, how long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me?

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The psalmist here is feeling pressed in on every side He's wrongfully treated.

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He's persecuted by others. You know, that's a mark I just want to tell you that is a mark of Christian faithfulness a mark of Christian faithfulness is persecution

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By the way forever always one in this age We may though the history of the world waxes and wanes and and we get into maybe less

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Persecuted and more persecuted times, but it's always going to be a reality that if you want to be faithful There'll always be someone out there that's willing to call you out on it and to persecute you for it

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I think about recently there's a very wicked situation Very wicked situation you may have read about it, but I won't even go into all the detail

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But a man a Pat a so -called pastor. He's not a pastor. He's not a believer in Florida recently was

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Was Arrested for child pornography and the things that he had on his phone and the things that he had videoed himself doing with two -year -old children

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Absolutely wicked may this man. I mean, you know, the the real a real justice would be the death penalty

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But did you know that this man's church just like our church by the way our church

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This man's church was on the founders website Our church is too on the founders website

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Because we want people who look on founders to find a healthy church, by the way, that's why the

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Osbournes are here That's one of the means that God used to bring them here. So praise God But you know probably where this is going.

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Do you know men? have tried to smear and Persecute and say false things about who because this man's church was on that website

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About our brother Tom Askell and about Cape about that church This has nothing to do with him, right?

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This man just because the church is on a website doesn't mean you're affiliated or even responsible

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In fact, they put a disclaimer on the website. They're like, hey, we don't have we can't vet all these churches So they submit and we they submit their their stuff and we put them on the thing

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We put them on the website, but then you have to use your discernment Founders by the way has already removed this church now off of their network

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But the point I'm trying to to make is people when they get an opportunity to try to smear you with lies they're going to do it if you're faithful a man like Tom Askell is a faithful man and Whenever the wicked world has an opportunity to smear a person they're going to do it and this happened to the psalmist and yet I Cannot read this psalm without thinking of Christ again, look at verse 84 how long

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Must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me now?

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Listen, Jesus didn't say this on the cross But but if he would have you can imagine that right?

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But we know for sure that he says on the cross Psalm 22 verse 1

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Which is what my god my god, why have you forsaken me? So this is right in line with the reality of Christ Jesus cries out to God and what is the answer?

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God was silent And yet it was purposeful was it not in fact?

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God was not really silent was he because this was his plan unfolding as Isaiah 53

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It was the will of Yahweh to crush him It's unfolding that he had spoken of long ago as Jesus suffers on the cross.

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It's not purposeless He's becoming sin for us. So you ask the question why do and this isn't my

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I think it was RC Sproul that said it Why do innocent people suffer? Well that only happened once Christ and he volunteered

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Christ the innocent one suffered to atone for our sins to rise again to justify us

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But also let me tell you about this his resurrection shows us two other things one

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Suffering has a purpose The Christian philosophy of suffering is that there's no such thing as meaningless suffering

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Suffering is not meaningless. You say well, how come this happened? How come this happened? How come this happened?

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I don't have an answer for all of that for every little Jaw and tittle of suffering, but I do know this the cross shows us and the resurrection shows us that suffering has a purpose

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Secondly, it shows us the cross shows us and the resurrection shows us suffering not only has a purpose suffering has an end the point is that Jesus can identify with our sufferings and That God has a purpose in our affliction and that suffering one day will have an end

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Jesus suffered but his suffering has an end I don't want to take away from the reality of suffering the psalmist lamented

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God's silence He poured out his heart to God we can almost feel the pain listen to this again 85 the insolent have dug pitfalls for me

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They do not live according to your law all your commandments are sure they persecute me with falsehood help me

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They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I've not forsaken your precepts

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Sometimes in church, we just read this and we're like, oh, yeah, that's a nice little saying, isn't it? But the reality is if you've been a

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Christian for any amount of time you can identify with this right? Persecution not not just one but he says those that persecuted him.

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He laments this wrong God. It's not right Friends, it's not right when the church is persecuted

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It's not right to see our brothers and sisters in Africa to have a to have some sort of Islamic group come in and burn down their church.

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That's not right God. When will you act? Conspiracy the insolent the proud arrogant they dug pitfalls

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The idea is they planned ahead to trap him, right?

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You understand a pitfall like They planned ahead to to hurt this man disobedience

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They don't live verse 85 says they don't live according to your law

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Oh God, don't you see? Don't you realize why do the wicked seem to prosper?

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Jeremiah 12 one says righteous. Are you O Lord when I complain to you? Yet, I would plead my case before you.

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Why does the way of wickedness? Prosper They live in open rebellion, when will you judge him judge them?

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Oh, look at verse 86. All your commandments are sure

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They persecute me With falsehood. In other words,

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They persecute him with falsehood. What does that mean? They're liars. They bring false charges against the psalmist.

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Now, I wonder if this is Remember that we said that Brian Borgman makes a case.

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Maybe it's Daniel. Maybe it's Daniel. Maybe it's not I don't know But if it is Daniel Remember what happened in the book of Daniel, right?

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They created you talk about digging pitfalls and all that they created this whole opportunity now

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Listen to me real quick the whole aspect of Daniel's life. There's nothing about Daniel's life that they could bring an accusation

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That convicts me it should convict us like is there anything about your life that someone could bring an accusation for Daniel There was nothing about his life.

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They could bring accusation The only thing they could bring accusation about was what his devotion to God So they created this whole system

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Whereby they would entrap him whereby they would have forced the king to do something

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So they go to the king they appealed his arrogance They say King you ought to sign a petition that for the next 30 days.

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No one can no one can pray to anyone but you Of course, what are they trying to do?

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They're trying to entrap Daniel. So what does Daniel do? He goes to his upper room He opens the door and he does what he always does opens the windows and he prays

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Towards Jerusalem and then they bring False charges against him they lie

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About him the psalmist here. I don't know if it is Daniel, but he laments God's silence

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I wonder this evening if you you can relate. Can you relate to the fact that God seems sometimes

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Far from your Christ that he doesn't hear you that he doesn't answer

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Sometimes maybe it feels like he doesn't care. These feelings are real these feelings hurt

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They can make us feel abandoned, but there is another final response That the psalmist has to suffering and we must remember this

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So first the psalmist long forgot God's salvation Secondly, the psalmist lamented

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God's silence But thirdly through all of this we see and we've seen it throughout

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Psalm 119 the psalmist loved God's statutes

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He loved the word now, I'm not saying don't misunderstand me I'm not saying if you just love the

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Bible your whole life will be roses Sometimes it's the opposite William Tyndale we were talking about him earlier in the end of my office

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William Tyndale loved the Bible and what did God? Bring into his life.

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Well, there was persecution and sorrow and eventually he was strangled to death Why not because he hated the

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Bible but because he loved the Bible because he translated the Bible into the language of the common man

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Sometimes because you love the Bible you will suffer for it But the psalmist long intensely for for God to wreck to rescue him and he lamented

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God's silence But he loved God's Word and therefore he didn't this is important for the sermon.

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He didn't trust his own feelings He was resolved Even in the midst of the pain and the frustration to follow the

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Word of God. Let me give you an example in verse 88 He appeals to the steadfast love of God.

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He says in your steadfast love Give me life that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth

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This is you know, we've said it before in this sermon series the Hebrew word Chesed God's that is steadfast love translating the

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ESV steadfast love. It's the Hebrew word Chesed It means covenantal love loyal love

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God's faithful love It is this Chesed that we see revealed ultimately in the gospel, by the way

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Let me let me just make a connection for you as I was studying this week I thought about this but the psalmist asked for life

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According to the Chesed of God according to the steadfast love of God. He wants life

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Now in the New Testament, listen to what Ephesians 2 4 & 5 says you you know it but listen to it again

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But God being rich in mercy Because of the great love with which he loved us

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Even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive

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Together with Christ by grace you have been saved You know, this is an amazing thing the psalmist in Psalm 119 praised for life

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According to God's steadfast love and in the New Testament, it is revealed that God does give us life

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What according to his? Unmerited love a steadfast love his gracious and his sovereign love what a marvel

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God We know that you love us We know because Christ died and rose again this redeeming life -giving love love that God has shown us

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And so the psalmist says give me life And let me so even our regeneration is an act of God's love

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But even this as Christians we need to live again as it were There are times in our life that we feel

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Destitute and forsaken and so we need reminding of the gospel We need reminding of God's love for us in Christ God commended his love for us and now while we were still sinners

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Christ died for us We need revived the psalmist needs revival and renewal.

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He was beaten down and he was beaten up So he says God give me life. But what does he want life for this is beautiful and important verse 88 in your steadfast

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Love give me life what so I don't have to do deal with persecution No, so I can just make a bunch of money.

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No, give me life that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth Her response let me say theologically a result of our regeneration is that we desire to keep the words of God But even the psalmist here is already a believer.

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He desires life so that he can obey God and Look how the psalmist

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Thinks right The testimonies of your mouth

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Chew on that for a moment listen The psalmist is saying empower me

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O God that no matter what comes I may walk in holiness Do we long for physical deliverance?

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Amen. Yes, it's not wrong. By the way, you don't have to have a martyr complex You can request and pray for physical deliverance

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But more than that we love the words of God's mouth so much that we know our obedience to him

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Doesn't depend on our circumstances Circumstances cannot ultimately shake the psalmist love for the word the gospel reminds us of God's love and Causes within us a love for God a love for his ways.

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And again, I draw your attention this let me press this a little bit a Love for the testimonies of his mouth

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Now think about that for just a second the testimonies He says the psalmist says to God the testimonies of your mouth

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The psalmist understands that the Word of God is not men's words,

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I Can't trust the Bible is written by men No, you understand throughout the Bible the people of the

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Bible understood the Bible as the very words of God Some people ask me does

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God still speak to his people today my answer of course he does He speaks to his people.

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He speaks to his people through his word He speaks to his people through the

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Bible. The Bible is Literally the voice of God in written form

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The Bible is the testimonies of the mouth of God When I was studying for this sermon this week,

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I found a note It's kind of weird I surprised that I found it it was a note

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I'd put in Lagos about this text But this is from ten years ago. It says this is a note.

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I wrote to myself No matter what it cost me. May I seek to live according?

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to the truth revealed in the word I Hope that's still my resolve and I hope that you're resolved in your steadfast.

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Love give me life that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth

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Friends the Bible children. The Bible is the words of God's mouth

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It is just as if God were standing here this evening Right here in front of us and speaking to us as a friend speaks with a friend these words flow from the mouth of God Feels like I just wish

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God would speak to me. He has spoken me. I wish I could know God's will He has revealed his will right?

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We don't need to enter some sort of super spiritual state where God utters Sweet nothings in our ear.

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Whatever God has spoken to us in his word. These are the words of his mouth

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So you're gonna find this funny Let's conclude tonight by looking at seven ways

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The psalmist loved the word deal. We'll go these quick. Jake pastor Jake. It gives me a hard time. I guess

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I do this Too much but in conclusion seven points First How does he love the word he hopes in it verse 81?

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My soul longs for your salvation. I hope in your word the word gives us Hope my heart and my flesh may fail right?

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But God is the strength of my heart my portion forever I hope in its word secondly, he desires it verse 82 my eyes long for your promise.

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He hopes in the word He desires the word. He's not rescued yet. What is his eyes keep looking for the promise?

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Hey, have you spent time on your knees over the Word of God? Think about this with tears coming out crying out to God in prayer

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Maybe not understanding your circumstances, but such an intense desire for the word that you continue to just read it

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I don't understand everything that's going on. I don't understand what's happening my life I don't understand what's going on our country, but I'm gonna continue to long for your word

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I encourage you with something Do you have a Bible Maybe stained with tears

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Pinmarks Worn out from use I get it. Listen, listen, listen I get taking care of your

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Bible and we should we should take care of our Bible but if you're actually Interacting with your

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Bible a lot It's gonna get beaten up a little bit, isn't it? I'm not saying throwing it throw it on your floor in your car

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That's a terrible way to treat your Bible But if you're really carrying this Bible around and if you're really opening it up if you're really pouring over it daily

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Your Bible is gonna be stained maybe with some teardrops. Maybe you say I don't want to write my Bible I'm not gonna argue with you about that I think probably you should have a

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Bible somewhere that you're willing to write in and circle and I think it's just a great way To interact with the scriptures, but if you have a main

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Bible that you don't want to write in that's that's fine I'm not saying that but I am saying likes

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Charles Spurgeon He said something along the lines of a Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone whose life is not

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What does he mean by that? It means a Bible that's well -worn Maybe you've got a few pages that you've had to put some tape on like I do

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Maybe you've had to put some duct tape on the spine. Why is that because your Bible doesn't just sit here in the pew

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Sunday to Sunday and then you pick it up and I would even make this argument and I know we have some younger people in Here I would even make the argument that praise

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God for technology. Praise God for reading your Bible on your phone I read my Bible my phone at times

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But there's something to be said about a physical copy of the scriptures Open that and read it put your phone away put the iPad away put these things away and hope in the

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Word of God and Desire the Word of God Thirdly, he memorizes it verse 83 for I've become like a wineskin in the smoke yet.

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I have not forgotten your statutes How do we know that the psalmist loved the word he hopes in it.

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He desires it. He memorized it Memorizes gotten God's statutes.

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What does that mean? He memorized him. He loves them the the things that we love We commit to memory

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If we love the word we commit it to memory thirdly he trusts in it verse 86 all your commandments are sure all your commandments are

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Sure, the Bible is trustworthy. It is right Will we trust this word

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Bible every word will we trust that all it says is good and right and sure will we like when? We take the the book of Nahum on Sunday mornings

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Will we understand that? Yes, the Bible says God is love, but a Bible also says God is a jealous

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God And when we take it in its totality and trust it fifthly, he cherishes it verse 87

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I have not forsaken your precepts How could I even in the midst of persecution even in the midst of trial?

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How could I God I cherish your word? This word is precious to me no matter what no matter what here

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I stand I think about the boldness of Martin Luther. Where can I go? But from your word,

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I think it about the the disciples in John 6 everybody Departs from Jesus except the disciples and and he says where are you guys gonna depart to and Peter's like where else can we go?

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You have the words of life Right. So where else can we go from this book? We can't abandon what the scriptures have to say we cherish it six

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Lee. He enjoys it He says in your steadfast love give me life that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth

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In other words, here's the point this is what he wants to do I Want to keep your testimonies, this is how some people supposedly live the

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Christian life Oh, I got to go to church today. Oh, I got to read the

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Bible today. Oh, I got to be obedient today That's not the Christian life

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That that that's that's a sad life if that's the way someone looks at Christianity. Oh I got to obey my parents

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No, the Christian life is one of joy in the Commandments. We find joy. The Commandments are not burdensome

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Not not not we're not low in the standard of the law It's the reality is that we've been born again and now we seek to follow

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Christ and we know that when we fall short and we fall short every day that we're our sins Are atoned for in Christ and we desire we want this is what we want to do and your steadfast love

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Give me life that I may keep the testimonies your mouth. This is the desire of the Christian He enjoyed it and then seventhly

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He submits to it. So I remind you again what it says in Your steadfast love give me life that I may keep the testimonies now.

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Listen again of your mouth So when the psalmist wants to keep the testimonies he is acknowledging here the authority of God Now some people would say things like this.

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They try to be real. It's really stupid to be honest Jesus is not or the

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Bible is not my highest authority. Jesus is Like what are they trying to say? Usually when someone says that they're trying to find a way to get out of what the

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Bible says Right in that foolish, but you understand that we have a text here that says tonight that the testimonies of God the

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Word of God is the mouth of Christ In other words, you're like I Yeah, you're like my wife has told me what she want, but she's not

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I don't have to listen to that I just do I do what I think she wants or whatever, right? Like what does my wife want for anniversary like for my wife?

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She wants flowers, but you know what? I'm not gonna do that I'm gonna get her a monster truck tickets or something, right?

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Like my wife doesn't want that How do I know cuz she's told me with her mouth? I like flowers, right?

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So it's similar silly analogy, but it's similar why would we look at the scriptures and say you know what that's not my highest authority

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I'm gonna do what Jesus wants and normally what we're doing is we're making what our highest authority Ourselves our heart whatever

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I feel like doing that's what I'll do. But the psalmist says no. No, I'm gonna submit my life to your

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Word, these are the testimonies of your mouth We do not sit in judgment upon the scriptures.

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They sit in judgment upon us friends There is no higher authority than the

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Word of God Even in our own life. I just remind you of this even in our own church life We hold to the 1689 second

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London Baptist Confession of Faith, but we don't put that on the equal of thought We don't say that that's the words of God We don't put that on equal authority with the scriptures

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What we're saying when we say we subscribe with that confession if we're saying we believe this is

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Articulating what the scriptures teach us and we always appeal To the

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Bible and if ever we find a situation where the confession and the scriptures are in conflict

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It's not even a question Like what do we go to the scriptures the scriptures are the mouth of God the psalmist?

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Submitted to the scripture because he he loved God's statutes now this psalm

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Has taught us and this particularly this section But the whole psalm has taught us the reality of suffering and we've seen that the entire

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Psalm really points us ultimately to Christ who suffered for us who died for our sins and rose again

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So that we may be restored to God That we repent of our sins and believe the gospel and that being restored to God We want to live a life even if it cost us dearly and it will but Jesus says those who inherit the kingdom are those

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Who are persecuted right? Just like the poor and the poor in spirit. So to those who are persecuted

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Matthew 5 3 and then Matthew 5 10 That's a bracket there for the Beatitudes So the reality is the gospel brings us into this relationship with God through Christ and It is so often a path of suffering, but we want to remain faithful Why because we've been given a new heart we want to love the

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Word of God We continue even on the hard days to open up the Bible to read it

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Personally to read it with our families even on the difficult days. We want to come every

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Lord's Day We want to sit under the preaching of the Word of God why we love it. This is the

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Word of God okay, think about this we're talking about the Omnipotent the all -powerful all -knowing sovereign king of kings and Lord of Lords the one who holds

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Galaxies who makes galaxies his footstools the one who speaks in the universe comes into existence the one who has planned and decreed and ordered all things after the council of his will the one who who predestines and the one who who hardens and the one who shows mercy and the one who shows grace and the one who bestows justice this

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God Has spoken to us And so we want to take up this book

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We want to fill our mind With what's this book has to say? We want to our heart to be governed by what the scriptures have to say.

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We don't want to just spout out Christiany sayings or nonsense. We want to be a

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Bible people and we want this church to be a Bible Church friends tonight

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I know that This is the Sunday night crowd So If you're a believer, which

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I assume that most of the adults here you are believer the exhortation to you tonight is to take up the book and even in the midst of persecution and sorrow and suffering that your response would be

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I Love this book no matter my circumstances. There are some perhaps in this room children

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Maybe there's an adult even If you're playing games, you don't know

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Christ you say I don't really treasure the word friends the invitation tonight is to remember

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That Christ has atoned for our sins and the only way for your life to change

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Is for you to turn to Christ Turn away from sin and self and turn to Christ and God is able

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I could never love the Bible Yes, you could if God changed your heart you could That's why

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God says that's why Jesus says to Nicodemus you must be born again God can change us.

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Yeah, but if you're saying he's sovereign over that there's nothing I can do about it. Well in one sense There is nothing you can do about it

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But another sense that's not how the Bible tells us to respond The Bible tells us to respond by calling on the name of the

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Lord Would you call on the name of the Lord? Would you plead to God for mercy? Would you be like would you be like the man that Jesus says

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I believe help my Unbelief you call out to God and see if he's not faithful To respond in his grace.

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Let's pray father. We thank you for your word Help us to be a people who love it cherish it live by it and we pray that you would bless us