Sunday March 29nd, 2020
Hello, and I want to welcome you thank you for joining us again today. I am Pastor Clayton Murphy and this is Shining Light Baptist Churches Sunday message and I'm excited to bring this to you today. It was another opportunity for us to learn how to do ministry a different way. And that's exactly what we've been doing throughout this crisis. That's affecting. Our world is we're seeing Christianity kind of take on new responsibilities kind of get reminded of what our goal is and that is to get the gospel out into our world not just to meet together for church also is very precious to us and I miss my church family being able to get together with you worship with you hearing you pray praying with you. I'm hearing you sing. Those are things that I missed very much and we will get back to that until then we're continuing to learn new technologies and things churches and Ministries pastors are very busy during this time just because there are no Public Services. I want to know the passwords I've talked to in. What I've experienced myself is we're busier than we ever have been and we're learning how to do new technologies and we're learning how to minister different ways. But I've also seen Christians just like you step up and I'm very proud of my church. I were seeing you make phone calls and reach out through cards and Ministry in many different ways helping people and I am so appreciative to see how God is using this time to help us grow when you talk about that and just a little while but let's have a moment of prayer again. I miss being able to pray with you hearing you pray as well. But at this time I would ask you to just bow with me and join me in prayer and don't just listen to me for a but I invite you to call out to God at this time. I must thank him for this opportunity that we had to meet through technology and ask God's grace and mercy upon our country and Upon Our World. Really followers. I pray today. I want to first of all thank you. Thank you for another day to live another day to share the gospel another day to enjoy my family or the another day closer to a cure for this crisis this disease that is affecting our world and I do pray right now gone that you would meet this need that we have throughout our world to bring to us secure using the people you trained in developed in this world with science and Lord develop a medicine or something with God. If not pray you would miraculously take a cure to the disease provider hospitals in their staff Lord with what is needed that so many medical beds Lord ventilators things were hearing about the mass just a protective gear for the protection that they need to keep safe God. I pray that you would also throughout all this continue to do the work you're doing to call up Christians to service and to bring us out of our comfort zone put Listen to a place where we will call on you more often more frequently more Faithfully. I guess we should say going to tell you today that I love you. And I thank you that during this crisis. We had the ability to still communicate with each other through phones and social media, but also lowered through videos we can get sermons into the hands and homes of people and I want to thank you for that. So gone today. I pray that you be at the message that you giving me through the book of Psalms and ask you that you would speak to myself and to those are be watching this day Christ's name. I pray amen. All right, as I mentioned here Shining Light Baptist Church. We have been doing a study and Psalms chapter 119 and we started this before the crisis hit and I guess like a lot of pastors. Do we start to think you is there something I need to change do I need to address something specifically that's facing our nation with so many times in the ministry that I have experience is one. God has led me to study a book of the Bible a passage. Whatever it is it were particularly studying. He will use something from that to address the issues that we're going through as well. And that's what God's doing and Psalms 119 it one of my goals was teaching Psalms 119 is that we would become students and teachers of this chapter what I mean by that is I never just try to go through something. I try to learn as much as possible about it and try to teach it and I want you to be a student of Psalms 119 so that you are able to teach this Well, in other words, I don't want you to just be able to sit in a classroom typesetting but I like for you to be able to share information about Psalms 119 that's helped with the other people and to know as much about it as possible. So that's why we're studying that's let's do a little bit of a review. That's the one Psalms 119. There's a few main points. I would like for you to get about this particular chapter. First of all, you may remember this it is the longest chapter and is the longest chapter in the book of Psalms. What is also the longest chapter in the Bible and stoves Psalms 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible is the longest chapter in the book of Psalms has 176 verses now just a couple chapters before this. I believe Psalms 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible. So right here, you have these two things together something else about this chapter. We've been calling it an Anthem to the law of God. For an Anthem to the word of God now and Anthem is sort of a praise. And so this author that's riding this chapter that pin these words a he is done this as a praise to the word of God and it's not just out of formality because that's the next thing we learned in our review and these are the main points. I want you to take when you think about Psalms 119. Is that is this longest chapters? What is Anthem to the law of God and is spoken out of the experiences of the author what I mean by giving you a repeat of what he learned in Sunday school or learned in church or what his family is just said all the time. This is the author taking the Law of God the Commandments of God. He's now praising them because of what he experienced with them in his life. And so there's something about the Bible that we will learn and we learn it because we're taught that from the time were little or retarded from the time were saved but there's some more things that we learn about the Bible how to love it how to appreciate it not because someone else told us because we experience it with God our self and this author in this chapter has experience of wonderful things with God. It's changed his life and it's changed his view about God's Commandments and that's what he shares with us, which means it's an Anthem hip raises these things and it may be why is one of the longest in the Bible. So let's move on
What are some things that the song just learned through get this word Affliction? So what the song is learns to Affliction what I'm saying here is that the song this is going to say in here as I've learned something through the sorrow and the pain and the problems that I faced in my life and he's experienced it. He recognized God was teaching him something through the crisis that he was going in and that's what I want you to think about as we go through this book today in the versus will cover. What is God teaching you the crisis that you're in right now and the crisis doesn't necessarily have to mean the prices are world is facing many of you are facing individual battles. We have people in our church right now that have family members that are too really sick their stress has some of your being laid off of work or the crisis could be personal they could be the prices that you Having in depression. It could be so many different things. Whatever that is. I want you to know something the song as realized. I was teaching him something in this crisis. So let's look at verse number 65. This is Psalms 119 going to start with verse 65 again. If you see the word the first words that start the sections liked if the this entire chapter was written as an acrostic, which means that let me break it down this way every 8 vs is sort of a stanza or a section in each of those sections start with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet and it was done that way for memorization. They couldn't just pull it up on Google. They couldn't just have a Bible that they kept in their hand or their pocket and a lot of history a lot of scripture. Everything had to be passed down through oral tradition and have you memorized and so North do that. Sometimes they used these little tricks such as I using an acrostic for it and that's what they did here. So let's look now at what the song that said. He says thou has dealt well with thy servant. Oh Lord, according unto Thy word. Now when you first read this if we were just just open up your Bible and look in this verse you would think what years ago that everything's going well in his life and he's just so grateful for all the the peace and how will everything's going in his life. And he's so glad so he's just saying that God has dealt with us sermon only says according to the word. He's reminding himself and God that God you promised that you would do good to me. So the indication right here might would be that this particular person has Got everything going well, as long as I can sit just know life is good for him. But I want you to know as we unfold this a little bit more as we follow these versus down you going to find out that that's not really the case in this person's life. But what he's answering or stating here is got no matter what has happened to me, but no matter what you've allowed in my life. You have dealt well with me know the words. I can trust you God even with the pain or even with the Affliction of my life and I want to show you more about that. So again, he's not saying everything is good in his life. He's saying everything in his life comes from God and is good because of that God is merciful and gracious no matter the circumstance. As a result. He says teach me good judgement for I have believed that Commandments. This song that says we're up to first number 66 and the song that's has recognized something the word of God and God's law God's do's and don'ts he's recognized something very important in this they are valuable and they are precious. He says teach me good judgement again. He's putting himself in the place of saying God. I know things about you I know a lot but I need you to teach me and guide me when we come to the place that we realize we cannot make the right decisions for our life without God leading us then we come to a very turning point in our lives and maturity. Christian sometimes we are guilty of making decisions and then trying to pray later that God would change the consequences of those decisions with this song is the same God teach me good judgment and knowledge for I have to leave. Commandments in other words. He's saying God, I know that you have the right answers and I want to challenge you today to make sure you stop and think about this. What decisions are you making in the middle of a crisis is it is important to make good judgement decisions all through your life. You got to make good decisions now spoken to people this week and some of the decisions they made from not good decisions and they're sometimes looking for counseling for that. We can undo the consequences of that. We can make better decisions from this point forward good decisions about where we are now when you're praying it's not just about praying which is not always pray that God fix. Something that we have gotten herself into or fix something that I work, but we should be praying for God to give us discernment to make good decisions this week. Would you practice praying about your decisions? I mean praying regularly daily and consistently trust God to lead you but now as you pray understand this God's answers are in his word God's not going to contradict his word. If God has told you we just give a Farfetch'd, Lauren or just bring it this way when God says Thou shalt not lie or verify it's against God's law for us to lie. Well, That's God's law. We don't really have to pray about that. We just need to pray that God would show us sometimes I don't know where that's happening in our lives and we're not being fully honest with things there so many different things about this and good judgment. I'll give you another example. I've been really impressed and pleased seeing our church new looking for calling me sometimes and ask how do I send my tithes now that we're not able to meet together and I'll do another post later that kind of walk through that I've given a lot of information about it, but I'm impressed and happy to see Christians wanting to do their Christian responsibility of giving their ties not to the church only but giving that to God no God is tossed a tithe good judgement starts with obeying God. It's a look. I know what your law says help me to make that good decision. It's also in loving people near we're going to see how that we can love people. Except people make good judgments. So let me move on for this or I'll get hung up on it for a while. First number 67 brings us to a real heart of this section. Remember, there's eight verses in each section that we're going each week. And this one is key member started all offended the song that said that you got you have dealt well with me according to your word now notice what he says in verse 67 before I was afflicted. I went astray. Right there. This man is letting us know he had been Afflicted in his life and other words. This word Affliction means that there has been some type of suffering some type of pain discomfort on something severe is happened in his life. That's change things and notice what he's his start off saying God you have dealt well with me now, he's saying God before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept that word and hear with this person's telling us is before you allowed this Affliction in my life. I have one astray from you. But now after this Affliction I'm keeping that work. I'm obeying your Commandments. That is so big. You know, I've shared with my church family. So many times my own testimony, but I don't get tired of sharing that testimony to this verse fits. A lot of my testimony. I could have gotten this as a life verse for me and it's not a one-time thing in our life that we go away from God a we get complacent with God and that's the Sprint out the best word to use. Did we become insightful and I'm dedicated and committed?
But God bless things in our life that changes that I truly believe that the crisis our world is facing is to awaken the church to get our attention to say forgot. I want you to be active about the ministry. I want you to pray. May I ask you a question how many of you have prayed more since this has started a more Faithfully or at least you had some prayers since this whole crisis has started that's different than the pros you had week or two before, you know, when we find ourselves in need of God, we don't have the answers and we have is As Americans
It's easy for us to think we've always going to have the answers that are technology are professionals are y'all world is always going to figure it out. But right now we're facing a crisis that our world cannot figure out.
The wealthiest people can't find exempt from it are smartest. People can't figure it out yet. I believe God will give an answer but it's going to be God's answer and he might use these people to do that. But we have realized we have to pray we can't depend on technology. We're realizing things as Christians that you may go who to the grocery store near finding it harder and harder to find water and different things not talked about this before. The reason I mention is we taking for granted the ability to just have food everyday and every week but we're starting to see that we were going to struggle with that a little bit. Now that makes us do what makes us pray and through this time of Affliction. We're starting to turn our hearts back to God one of my fears and I want to say this and I hope that no one takes the wrong way. One of my fears is a guy would let this crisis in too soon and what I mean by that is It goes way too soon before we learn our lesson. Then the condition we were in of being unfaithful and less dedicated less determined to really not just not just talked about being in church, but praying regularly building a relationship with God studying the Bible and ministering evangelize the world if all the stops to easy, we'll just say well and everything is okay and everything will always be okay. It can make us a little harder instead of softer and humbler my prayer is that God will hear this. I would love seeing here at this week. But God is doing something more. He's maturing. He's fixing something in the hearts of Christians. Let me share a little bit of my testimony. You know, when I was younger boy. Let me start with I grew up in church. I will say they're very young age. I went to a Christian School. I have Christian friends. I knew right from wrong, but just like so many people and graduated even before graduation. I just was I was in church. I was glad to be a Christian but I wasn't kind of person that really spent a lot of time reading my Bible and I wasn't the kind of Christian that I witnessed the whole lot. I really even though I knew what salvation was had. It really didn't know how to talk to people about then explain. It might be one of my biggest failures that showed that to me was one time when someone we were in a conversation and they mentioned that they believed God and they mentioned a way of that that they were a Christian what causes that and I said, no, that's not how you get say when they ask me back. How is it that you get saved? I didn't have a good way of answering that for them. And just what I knew about God and what was in my mind, but it really know how to articulate that and share it and it it through me and it bothered me. Well, just like so many people was I said, I graduated I got out of church. I never become like a kind of person said I'm not a Christian. I just wasn't faithful and committed and my wife went in a major spiral. I was so miserable and whatever I was doing and I never what I still was not a person to ever start drinking, but I was around it house around although Non Christian people I wasn't around the right influences. That was my group. That was my it was the life. I was living and I was not Faith one church for people pray for me and God just let my life spiral out of control in a way that I lost a lot of stuff and I used to say I lost everything but I realize that's just not a true statement because I moved out of the apartment. I had lost the motorcycle that I had financially I was bankrupt, but God gave me a roof to over my head and food on my table and that's through my parents that he used them to help me. The one of things I knew is when I went back into that home that I would have to be going to church and I knew I needed that. The Affliction that came in my life there. The problem crisis account of my life turned me back to serving God and I'm a pastor now really because of that trouble that came in my life because that was the starting point that got me serious about serving God again and got me faithful when my faith have been tested to get out of church after that time. I looked at my life and I knew what God has done to me when I was out before how he broke me down. And so like the song this before I was afflicted. I went astray, but now have I kept at work. I want you to think about the crisis that your face and then doesn't have to be the coronavirus. It is part of what's going to affect you. But as it affects your home. I've already talked to people that said you know what I realize I should have been a better Christian already. We should have been calling our church members. I should have been praying for people differently. She's been teaching my kids differently you now parents are in the position to have to teach their children the Bible Christian should do that automatically children should learn at church, but they should also learn at home and parents are now in the place that hey the church is not here to teach you directly. So you're responsible for teaching your children about God. I wandered today. How many are you watching? This are going to make sure that your children watch a sermon and that you meet together as a family and pray and that you take the personal responsibility to making sure your family's spiritual protect spiritually protective is a good way to say it husband's protecting your wives as praying for helping your husband's to grow spiritually and we're realizing we cannot check off the list of going to church and thing That covers Us spiritually. So what's the prices but it can change us for the better. This song is so God, you've dealt well with me and he was talkin about suffering that came in his life because he says before I was afflicted I want to stray but now if I kept that word, he says that work good and do us good teach me that statues. He's saying got the gear you're good because you have brought me down and use that to build me back up and that's what you say now teach me your statutes. The statutes is another word for God's law is for us to do so many times. I talk to Christians that have gone through something they and they'll come to the place. Look. How was not serving God the way I was supposed to say I was going through the motions, but God brought me down. Those are the people that really appreciate the law of God and they no longer think that when the preacher is preaching the Bible that it's just his opinions. They recognize this is the law of God and it's invaluable to me because it's what I need in my life. He said the proud had forged to lie against me, but I will keep my precepts with my whole heart on the song as here is saying you know what God they've lied against me. That's hurt. He says but I didn't let that affect my Integrity with you continue to be a Christian. Don't let this world. Don't let any crisis you face. Don't let anything people say about you. Affect your integrity or your Christian character don't change me give you an example. I have heard Christian say this and it's hard but it does break my heart. It disappoints greatly prefer. People say will you know, I just that person makes me so mad I have just cuss are just that person makes me so mad I just do and they do things in retaliation. Would you God says that he is the person that retaliates on our behalf. That vengeance is he is also Jesus when people persecuted him. He never said that made me so bad I cussed her that made me so mad that I got even with them watching Christian character. Is the life of Jesus Christ the character Jesus Christ living out in the nuts. Do not let anything that's happening in your life. Change who you are as a Christian or affect your Christian testimony. We all get mad. We all do things but there should be no excuse for that behavior. We should repent of that and I mean it when that happens we could recognize while that got the best of me and then ask God for forgiveness, but then a lot of times God tell me how to do in order for real. I'm getting this to be sincere as we go and ask people to forgive us a I said something I shouldn't have said and that was wrong. We don't justify by saying I did it because I was angry, but I did it because I just felt like I needed to As Christians being serious about it. This person has a place. He says God I keep time precepts with my whole heart verse number 70 says their heart is as fat as Greece, but I Delight in the law of that statement because we just don't talk that way and what he saying is God, they are stubborn against the things of God, but you're most of us do not Delight when I was growing up. I gave you the the example in Delight in the law of God. I didn't just light and going to church now there is an anticipation. It's not the excitement of it. All is that I know what God's done in my life and that's why I want to be in his church. That's why I want to share his message. When you're one reason to preach the word of God 1 the reasons. I'm a Bible teacher is cuz I saw the need for it in my life and I saw the benefits I saw what God did for me and one I want others want you to have that but I Also love God so much for what he's done that I want to share it with other people. He changed my life and he can change yours to first number 71 says it is good for me that I have been Afflicted that I might learn by statutes.
Losses. Thank God for everything. In all things give thanks.
The song that started in you opened up, and he said God you've dealt well with me, and I said that we might witness take that to mean that everything is going good in his life, but we look as we unfolded this and we opened it up. We are what we are saying is the song as the saying something very different God. You've allowed trouble in my life in my life so that you would make me what I'm supposed to be or you would change me and mold me in the way that you I'm supposed to be. I guess he's saying God you help me become faithful and to love you more. One of my prayers is that through the crisis. Our world is facing by not being able to have church we will. Appreciate love and be dedicated Church all the more. And that will love God's word. Don't let this be all of God's word you get this week open your Bible read it read it and ask God to help you understand it. Get on your get on your knees will bow your head and pray. Spend time personally developing your own walk with God. Let me ask you a question. If we never are able to meet again, if if we if you never have the opportunity for me to teach you the word of God. Are you ready to grow on your own parents? Are you ready to be the spiritual leaders of your children? No matter how old they are. Are you ready to help your husband and your wife your mom and your dad grow spiritually? He said he was good for me that I have been Afflicted that I might learn. Thy statutes. God called us to be Christians not people to just walk into a church. I want you to be in practice your Christianity the last verse the law of that amount is better underneath and thousands of gold and silver hear the song to the saying God. No one could buy my Christianity from me. No one could be the fact that I obey your word your law. Some people have sold out there. Faithfulness for money to work on Sundays and that's not what I'm getting to. I'm getting to the park cuz again faithfulness goes far beyond Sunday faithfulness is what we do everyday of our life and many people have traded their faithfulness and commitment to God sometimes for money or wealth or other things. The song This Is Not Just folks in money. What you saying is God. Your word is the most valuable thing that I can have in this world. Are you at the place where the word of God is that valuable?
This whole situation where we're not able to have church on me ask you a couple questions.
One is a disappointing to you at all to some people they may be really excited. Like wow, I don't have to go to church. I can just stay home and watch it online. And that's even better. I hope that you miss church. If you do miss it. Do you miss it for the right reasons? Do you miss it because of the teaching because of the fellowship because of the church family that God has placed me an opportunity to worship him together with other people. Do you miss it for the right reasons is the word of God the most valuable precious thing in your life, but I'm afraid that it will be sometimes. The more God takes away from us. The more valuable he becomes to us. Let's learn our lessons and make the change this become more supposed to be as Christians and dedicate ourselves to him.
Let's learn our lessons today when I ask you something. What has this pandemic change our house or how is this pandemic change your relationship with God whatever you're facing your wife. I'll talk to people heard from people this week's I'm on our prayer list that are sick going through physical sickness is not related to this pandemic. How has that changed your relationship with God. Is it wrong? You closer? Does it help you to recognize that life is short that Now's the Time to serve and worship God put him first in your life. Again. This pandemic is one way that our relationship with God should make us better and make us stronger. I am convinced of a couple of things. I've mentioned it before. Let me say it again. The situation are churches are facing because of our country where we're not able to meet will do one of two things. It will make us stronger Christians where we Step Up become the spiritual leaders and our own home take responsibility for our own spiritual growth and make us value the worship corporate worship teaching and the preaching of God's word even more or it will do the opposite. It will make people thing. I don't really need church and I can just watch something on just kind of move on. He'll do one or two things. It'll make you stronger or it may reveal that there's not a serious dedication in your life for God his word and his church, but I hope this lesson helps us all come to a place where we really truly began to worship God and serve him on a thank you. For those of you that are supporting our ministry here Shining Light Baptist Church so that we can continue to broadcast this type of message out and teach the word of God as we're learning Psalms 119. I hope that you see this honest is experiencing something very familiar to what you're going through. May God bless you until we can come together again. My prayers are for you with you and I'm praying for you regularly. If you need anything, please reach out to us Shining Light Baptist Church if we can help you in any way church members church family continue to call each other continue to check on each other. Most of all continue to pray for one another look a little bit later. We'll be posting. Hopefully posting some more videos and some information for our church as well and will be giving out some phone calls later as well. Thank you and God bless.