Sermon Tone Analysis

Turn to Psalm 19 P. 480 at the bottom

Why this message today?

Rhythm of Preaching Calendar:

Colossians in the Spring

Psalms in the summer

Exodus next fall - “Approaching Sinai” (Ex.

15:22-19:25) - leads us right up to the ten commandments...

Advent 2020

And then we’ll be back here again on the last Sunday in December (before we know it) and saying, next week it’ll be 2021!

(If the Lord tarries)

Most every year, there is a Sunday after Advent but before the New Year begins, and I want to use those Sundays as a reminder for us as a church to refocus our hearts and minds on Spiritual Disciplines for the purpose of Godliness or Christ-likeness.

That’s why today’s all about making a 2020 resolution!

How many of you make New Year’s Resolutions?

There’s a lot of wisdom in not being consumed with making outlandish or unachievable goals.

But from time to time we all need a “reset” of sorts, and for me, personally, the beginning of a calendar year is a natural point to stop, reassess and reprioritize.

For all of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ, we should constantly have it as our goal to become more like Christ, so really every sermon is an opportunity to reprioritize and refocus on becoming more like Jesus.

Romans 8:29 says

God has a pattern, or a mold if you will that he is shaping us into - the image of Christ.

When we gather together as Elders to pray for our members by name every month - there is no higher priority, no more fervent prayer that we have than that you are becoming more like Christ every day.

That’s one of the reasons why the Elder’s book nook contains a new edition for 2020: “Christ Formed in You,” by Brian Hedges.

Both Allen and I had the privilege of reading through this book, and we wholeheartedly recommend it.

It is not about doing, striving, to do lists, greater resolve, or more will-power.

It is about the gospel, grace, Spirit-led living - and it puts Spiritual Disciplines in the appropriate context of the greater goal: which is your Spiritual formation into the image of Jesus.

Let me read you an excerpt:

“Finally, remember that the purpose of spiritual disciplines is to form you more and more into the image of Christ so that you will reflect his worth and glory to others through a life of love.

We stray in our thinking about spiritual disciplines when we forget their purpose.

The disciplines are not rungs to be climbed on a ladder of meritorious works that secure favor with God.

Neither are they divinely prescribed yardsticks for measuring spiritual growth.

You cannot determine your status with God or discern your level of maturity by the number of chapters you read in the Bible each day or the length of your prayers.

Nor do the disciplines themselves change us.

Jesus changes us through the application of the gospel by the power of the Spirit.

The goal of the disciplines is to help us keep Christ central.”

I like that.

I want that in my life.

I don’t want wrote, boring, legalistic Bible reading.

I want to become like Jesus.

I don’t want monotonous, rigorous, repetitive Scripture memorization, I want God’s word formed deep in my heart so that I might not sin against God.

I don’t want long-winded, distracted, impotent prayers, I want to pour out my heart to God in an expression of my utter dependence upon Him for transformation.

Don’t merely give me more to do - give me Jesus.

How do we get there?

How is it that we see the discipline and the training of Godliness like that?

Don’t strip away delight from the disciplines.

If your disciplines are merely duty, they will be lifeless, dull, boring and a waste of your time.

But if you delight in God and his Word, you will be revived, made wise, filled with joy, enlightened, purified, and transformed.

I believe Psalm 19 can help us be the kind of people that delight in the Word of God.

This psalm says there are inexpressible delights when we meditate on Scripture.

Psalm 19 (bottom of p. 480)

Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word

You may be seated

If my new year’s resolution was to invest $1,000 in a sure-fire stock that would make me a millionaire, and to eat more sweets so that I can lose weight and gain muscle - I could keep my 2020 resolution.

Make a profit on my investment?

Enjoy the pleasure of peanut m&m’s and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?

That’s is my kind of resolution!

It sounds almost too good to be true!

But it’s not.

Psalm 19:10 says the Scriptures are:

You’ve got something for the older, more sensible investor: Gold.

And you’ve got something for the younger, more passionate pleasure-seeker: Honey.

Psalm 19:7-10 teaches us that

The Word of God is the source of great profit and pleasure because it satisfies the deepest needs of our souls and reveals the character of God.

Allow me to show you

Six Sweet Specifics about the Worth of the Word

These come from verses 7, 8 & 9 which are all couplets - so three verses with six statements about God’s Word.

1st...

1) The Word of God renews our souls.

Some of you more advanced Bible students will get a little tripped up when David speaks of the Law being perfect.

You have read Paul before.

You know how he speaks about the law - that it saves no one.

I have a few things to help ease your mind this morning.

First of all, the way David uses multiple synonyms here in Psalm 19 for the Scriptures intends to point out the comprehensive nature and benefit of all of what God says.

David is saying in many different ways that all that God reveals to us in his Word is good.

Secondly, Paul himself does not see the LAW of God as bad.

In Romans 7:12 he corrects any misunderstanding of his teaching...

The law didn’t do anything wrong to Paul - it merely showed him he was a sinner and it proved how utterly evil sin is.

Thirdly, David is saying that the Word of God is what restores, refreshes or revives our souls.

We know this to be true today in the New Covenant - because God writes his law on our hearts and causes us to obey his statutes.

The law was always intended to be believed by faith and not accomplished by works.

The law is not bad.

Without the Word of God, none of us would be saved:

One of the ways that helped me analyze this passage is to look at the implied deficiency of the person reading this.

If the Word of God restores our souls, the clear implication is our soul is in need of restoration.

We are all marred by sin and will never be made complete until we submit ourselves to the Word of God.

When you come to understand that the Word renews and restores your life, that is really sweet.

That’s honey on a ritz cracker sweet.

The psalmist goes on to say that the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple...

2) The Word of God makes us wise.

Now, let’s use our same method from before to turn this part of verse 7 upside down.

If the Bible is able to make us wise, what is the implication??

We’re foolish.

We lack wisdom.

On our own, we are foolishly headed toward destruction.

Proverbs says

But the Word of God is trustworthy, and Psalm 19 says it will teach us the wisdom of God.

In our day and age, there is something extremely valuable about wisdom.

We have no shortage of knowledge in the world.

But finding a man or woman of wisdom is becoming increasingly rare.

The Bible is so sweet, and so valuable because it can transform our simple-mindedness into wise living.

But in addition to renewing our lives and making us wise...

3) The Word of God satisfies our hearts.

I want to ask everyone in the room here today a critical question.