5-3-26 - Our Everlasting Inheritance

Good morning. It's good to have you all with us. We're going to continue in Psalm 119. We are on the noon section. I have a question for you.

How many of you like walking in the dark? Now, if you're like me, as a I often have liked walking in the dark. I still do in some ways. So let's change this. How many of you like walking in dark?

Not Indiana dark, where you can see from the light pollution, but dark where you can't see your hand when it's in front of your face. How do you like walking in the dark when you're down a path you've never been on before? And there's There's snairs and death traps filled with spikes that would skewer you. There are ravines that you can't climb up. The majority of those people who will guide you down the path are blind.

They'll tell you all the ways and the ins and outs and how you can walk this path and yet they're as blind as you. How interested are you in walking down that path in the dark? It's a path which no sane man would travel. However, it's the path that every one of us was born on. Life.

Every man, every woman is born into darkness. We're born as children of darkness, blind to the truth of God and the reality of the world that he's made. And this is the result of our sin nature. And men in their darkness hate any sight of the light. They hide.

They don't want to be exposed. This is the state of unregenerate. Sometimes they might flirt with the light, like a moth. But in the end, they hate it. It's the state all of us who are Christians were born into as well.

But

when God moves in a man or a woman, he uses his word to begin to open their eyes. God's word begins to give light the light that has come into the and so when we read the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the the the from him. And we

learn of God's mind and his thoughts. And the light that we need is and all things become clear. So my exhortation for us this morning is that we would turn to God's word, that we would turn and again and again every day to his word and in his word we will meet God. We will learn to see Christ and we will receive light and direction, and

so

and I will confirm it that I will keep your righteous ordinances. Law, and it's continually in my hand. Yet I do not forget your law, and it has laid a snare for me. Yet I have not gone astray from your heart. Now I have inclined my heart to perform your statutes forever.

To the end, this started school, you didn't know much. You didn't know simple addition problems. You couldn't add them. You didn't know how to do algebra. You didn't know how to do physics.

Addition, algebra, and a physics problem in front of a kindergartner, and ask them which one's the hardest one to solve, how would they know? Their ability to answer any of them would be equal. But as time progresses, as they go to class and are taught, they're lectured, they do their homework, they do their practice, complicated problems begin to unravel. They begin to be able to work out the solutions to the problems that they're given. They can solve them.

The student even begins to discern between what's a simple problem and what's a complicated problem. They can discern what's hard and what's easy. Because to be able to distinguish between what's hard and easy requires knowledge. If you have no knowledge, it all sort of looks the same. Well, this is in ways the law of God for us.

It's Christian. Outside of Christ, there is no hope. There is no salvation. We need Christ's righteousness to be applied to us. We need something to begin to enlighten us.

This is what the law of God does. It enlightens us. It gives us a -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And -And

And then, and then, you know, we have to have an understanding

for the problems and things that we run

into in life. Now, the

law teaches us how God thinks. It teaches us his mind. It teaches us his character. It teaches us who he is. This is in marked contrast to what the world does.

If you spend time in the book of judges The book of judges is sort of a miserable book to read. To to to to to to to the book of Judges. The book

of Judges.

And again and again, Israel Because

they

what's right in their own eyes. That brings blindness. When you're led by the nose of your with by your emotions. Ways in life, two paths that we could go on. One is to go on, follow man's wisdom.

We can do what's right in our own eyes, or we can do what's right in

God's eyes. But you can't do both. Man's wisdom is opposed to God's wisdom.

To find out what's right in God's Man's wisdom is opposed to God's wisdom. To follow one is to reject the other. And so what the psalmist here is teaching us is that and so, making decisions, what we should do, what path we should go. Every day we have innumerable plans and decisions that we're making. And the question is, do you stop and consider, consider What God has to say about whatever thing and problem that's come up in your life that you have to make a decision about?

Family conflict that you face. Now, one of the themes that we've seen in Psalm 119 is that the path that God God's path is straight. And this is also a theme in Proverbs that the wicked's paths are devious. Now. And so if we follow God's word, he gives us light to see the path before us.

How to act. And then you don't follow God's. And then you don't follow God's. Right. And then, and then, and then, and then, and then, and scriptures for

us

to think about in light of this is David, at the time when kings go to war, is not going to war. It goes up on his roof. And while he's there, he looks out and he sees Bathsheba, and he lusts after her. He has a decision. What's he going to do?

Is he going to repent of the lust, close his eyes, turn around, leave, or pursue? We all know what he does. Right? He pursues. That leads to him committing physical adultery, which leads to a pregnancy.

Now, he's faced with another choice. What to do? Lie. He chose to lie. He tries to cover up.

The cover up doesn't work. Now he's in a worse bind. What's he gonna do now? Oh, I know. Let's murder.

Not just Uriah, but all the men who died in the foolish attack when he sent Uriah to his death. Multiple murders. It doesn't end there. That sin directly leads to his son's own rebellion against him, and his son's adultery with his concubines. And so what I want to say is, sin complicates life.

It leads to destruction. It leads to destructive ways. But God's word is a light which gives wisdom. Into each one, right? He just goes.

This is example of just falling and falling into pitfall after pitfall, snare after snare. This is what happens when we follow our hearts.

Heart.

Is full of lusts and doesn't tell you the truth. You have to be warned against the lusts in your heart. We must abide by the truth of God's word. It warns you against the lust of your heart. At each one of those points where David is faced with another choice to go further and deeper into sin.

Or to It's always saying, Repent. It's the light. It's shedding light. It's telling you. Destruction is down here, right?

And so this is us. We must be students of God's word to know and to have light to be able to see. Because in worldly wisdom, keep covering up. Keep covering it up. But I'll tell you, the light of scripture does not just happen.

It's not just an automatic thing. To be enlightened by scripture, you must be devoted to the reading, meditating, praying, and obeying of gods. Right? It's something that just happens on a whim because you decided to open up God's word once in your life. It's something that is built and sustained.

If we don't have the Holy Spirit in our lives, and if we don't become students of God's word, then we won't have the lightning effect that it's meant to have, and the decisions that we have to do. And so one of the first lessons of this Psalm that are this portion of the Psalm is that light and understanding comes from the word of God. Where to We do not devote ourselves. Is the light. Then we will fall prey to snare after snare, pit after pit.

Sworn and I will confirm it that I will keep your right to your right to your right. This is something that I think all Christians are familiar with. Especially like when you're new and young in the face. Right? Really became alive, right?

There is this point where you were I am I'm beyond that. I'm you have this it is wonderful to have that resolve. And we should have that and and and and and and and and and and am resolved to follow. Now, this isn't something that we, in our own strength, can just muster up. You can't just If you and your own strength just resolve to follow God, it's like how long can you dead hang?

Well, you can white knuckle it for a time. But you're gonna fall. And in response to the work that God is doing, he then resolves to continue into the work. As we obey God, and we see the the fruit in our lives, and the richness, and the sweetness that comes from walking in God's paths, and and, and, and the joy that comes from obedience when it's and, and, and the joy that comes from obedience when it's and us a resolve and a desire. That's what we want.

And so we see the psalmist saying, I am resolving. I will obey. And so, we ought to ask and say, where have you resolved to a Have you resolved to obey? Are we selectively obedient? Or have we just resolved that we will follow God's ordinances?

Our resolve does not save us. Our resolve is in response to the work that Christ is doing in us. Teach me your ordinances. This is the difficult Remember where we started as we're born into darkness. We're born on this.

And men love what. Light, walking in the darkness, and men love darkness, resolved, I'm going to walk by God's word. I'm going to walk by the light. You're a light bearer. It's evident everywhere you go when you carry God's word, when you carry that light, it directs how you think, how you what you say, what you do.

The world will not like it. You follow God and it will be apparent to them. You follow God and it will be apparent to them. Some people, by God's mercy, will be attracted to it. But many will not like it.

And so they will oppose you. Because the light of your life will expose them. And they internal affliction. We

are fighting

we will begin to realize that the source of the affliction seems to be when we follow God and our adherence to God's law. And so you think about this in Pilgrim's Progress, Pilgrim is reading this book, scripture, and as he reads the scripture, he gets this big burden. And so the natural inclination of the heart is well, stop reading the book. It's putting a burden on your back. Well, that can be our natural.

Well, if following God is going to cause affliction, just stop following God. Make the affliction. It's as if the problem it's to say, well, there actually isn't a problem. No, there is a problem, right? It's like if you have And so what the psalmist says is, in the previous verse, right, he, he has resolved to follow God's word, even through the affliction.

Difficulties and temptations arise, but the psalmist turns back to God's word and looks for God's promises to life. He says, revive me. Revive me. And so here again, we ask, When you are discouraged and weak, where do you go for reviving? You're exhausted.

Where do you turn to be revived? Do you turn to alcohol? Do you turn to nicotine? Do you turn to sex? Do you turn to social media?

Do you turn to YouTube? We all have things where we're exhausted, we're tired, we're discouraged, will this will comfort me. Help you in your resolve to follow God. Prayer, turn to those who will speak God's word to you. This is what the soma does.

This is where he What you should do is Make a playlist of some of your favorite somms. And the favorite you know, there's so many set to music. Make a playlist of it. And instead of turning to all these things that the world wants to feed you to comfort you, to comfort you, or to make you feel alive and energized, instead turn to the sombs. Turn that playlist.

Right down God's promises. Call other Christians. Call other Christians. Go get coffee with them. Don't suffer an affliction by yourself.

Response of the Christian and difficulties is not harder. And again and again, what the psalmist does is he cries out to God to teach you. And again, this is getting back at this idea that reading scripture doesn't just magically enlighten you, but it requires God to It's one of the works of the Holy Spirit that he does is that he gives read through his word. And so again and again, we see the the Solmas, praying that God would teach him. And this is the response that Christians have to persecution and and it's meant to purge from us a love of this world and the things of this world.

Our hearts are so caught up in the world and the comfort. We said the words, we prayed the prayer, God saved us. Now we can just do life as we want to do. Affliction and trouble to wean us from this world and say, I've got something so much better for. And it's I think it was C.

S. Lewis who says, you know, we're caught up playing with and we're caught up playing with, and so often affliction is just trying to pry us from this world to teach us to love God and to turn to him, turn to his, your gone astray from your precepts. Recall, Daniel, it's taken, the Prophet Daniels, taken as a captive child, raised in captivity and and brought his life into his hands, when he refused the king's And, and God elevated him and put pressure on everyone else. His life. Again and again throughout his life, he followed God.

This culminates near the end of his life, when the wise men

of Babylon are so fed up with Daniel, they want to find

a way to get rid of them. But so fed up with Daniel. They want to find a way to And they want for an opportunity. And this is what they say. We're not going to find any ground of accusation against Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his draw.

Imagine that adherence to God's word. So they say we have to make a law specifically aimed at Daniel, a fake law. Knew the document was signed. And he entered into his house, into his rooftop chamber. He had windows opened toward Jerusalem, and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day praying and giving thanks before his god as he had been doing previously.

Daniel refuses to change his practice or height. He saw the snare that his enemies had set, but he refused to be scared, I mean, we might ask ourselves, where are we tempted to hide our obedience? Where do we want to close windows? So we can assuage our consciences, I'm still following God. I'm just going to do it secretly.

Visible faithfulness cost you right now? See, the psalmist is resolved to follow God's precepts. And if he were to hide it, where do you think his resolve would go? But it gets even better. In normal life, we expect at some point that we'll receive some inheritance.

There'll be some sort of inheritance. But any inheritance you receive in this life is temporary. You inherit. Maybe your inheritance lasts. Maybe it doesn't.

Things that you have. The reality is, worldly inheritance always temporary. You have brought nothing into this world, and you will take nothing in this world out. But, That is not true of the believer who appropriates God's promises for their own. If you take God's testimonies as your own, and you love them, and you follow them, and you obey them.

That is something that

can never be taken from. It's everlasting inheritance that is in God's word, and it will last beyond the grave. It will be with you, even into eternity. This is an inheritance that's greater than any earthly inheritance. It's of inestimable value.

Because it lasts. It doesn't ever go away. Now, this means we ought to to claim gods, ordinances, and testimonies as our own inheritance, And we ought to teach them to our kids. Teach our children to obey. Teach them to have an inheritance that's of inestimable value.

And we'll do this by reading God's word to them.

By by modeling our own reliance on God's word. And we'll do this by reading God's

word to them. By by modeling our own reliance on God's word. And by modeling our own reliance on God's word, teaching them to value this. This is an inheritance that cannot ever be lost. The that the word of God is not merely a duty, but it's the source of deep joy and delight.

Other joys of this life, wine, wealth, reputation, money are fleeting and ultimately empty. But the joy that we find in the testimonies of God is substantial, soul satisfying. What more could the Christian hope for? Finally, this almost says, I have inclined my heart to perform your statutes forever. To the end, we have work to do is Christians.

Darkness. And instead, fight to incline our hearts towards the statutes of a grace of God. Right? This is a this work is not something that we force or we begin. And, and, inclining our hearts towards God by the reading of his word, by praying and meditating, by examining ourselves and confessing our sin, and doing this every day.

Every day. Perseverance and constancy. Sob. We don't want to have temporary zeal. Our life as a Christian is a marathon.

It's not a weariness and trusting him to preserve us. So we started talking about being on a dark path that's full of pitfalls and snares and dangers. And that is the reality of our lives. You can't and is the light of the world and he stepped down into the darkness and lighted our Jesus has lived a perfect righteous life full of obedience. He's shown us the way.

And we'll walk with us and beside us. So devote yourself to him and to his When you're confused when you're confused when you're confused when you're confused When you're confused, go to his word. When you're tempted, go to his word. When you're weary, go to his word. He will guide us safely through all the treacherous paths of this life.

He's the light to our path. In him, there's no darkness. In him, we

can see our way.

Him, we can see our And there every step. Let's pray.