How God’s Word Challenges Us
Psalms 119
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
The Bible contains our job description. Our job is to follow Jesus Christ, to live life according to His teachings and example. We find His teaching and example throughout the Bible.
The Bible engages with us on different levels.
- The Bible Directs our Behavior
- Behavior at the level of specific instruction:
Psalms 119:
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
You shall not steal.
You shall not lie.
- Behavior at the level of foundational attitudes:
Psalms 119:
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
You shall be a giver.
You shall treat others as you would like to be treated.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength! (All of these are internal attitudes which will energize behavior!)
You shall make your words plain and uphold them.
You shall do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
- Behavior at the level of spiritual discipline:
I have meditated on Thy precepts
37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
Matthew 6:3-5, 16
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Service retrains the desire for personal acclaim.
You shall practice looking out for others and their interests.
Phil 2:3-5 (Disciplines of engagement with service)
Fasting (self denial) to retrain personal pleasure seeking.
(Disciplines of abstinence)
Giving to retrain personal greed.
(Discipline like service, engagement with giving)
Prayer: Discipline of engagement with God. This retrains our pride and reminds us of our need for God.
(like study, meditation, memorization etc.)
In the model prayer:
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
(both temptation and evil are inside of us)
First the Bible gives us direct instruction. Think about this as the Ten Commandments. We are to not make any idols of God and worship it. That is the instruction. We are not to steal. That is the instruction. But, we might find ourselves stealing from others without thinking about it. We might steal their time, their love, their energy etc. We might even find that the current generation can be stealing from future generations by using up natural resources without thought for the future. The more we delve into the specific aspects of what it means to steal, the more we realize that the command actually has a much deeper root in our behavior.
A lot of sin is rooted in selfishness. Pride is behind selfishness. So, when we think about dealing with selfishness, we see Biblical admonitions to trust God with all of our heart. To desire Him and His ways above all else. This is not a direct admonition to not steal, but deals directly with the underlying issues that lead one to steal.
If you deal with the underlying issue, then you will stop theft early on in the temptation process.
If we learn to be givers, to give as our default principle in life, then we will not be takers, we will not steal.
You shall not steal.
You shall trust God as your provider.
You shall be a giver!
This is how the Bible engages us and challenges our behavior. Next, I am going to talk about where in our lives we should focus the application of Scripture. Where do we most need the Bible to change us so that we might have life!
- Where is my Behavior Most Important?
- At home
Marriage and family
Primary blessing.
Primary importance.
Primary curse.
Greatest potential for life and chaos.
Many of you have seen the positives and the negatives in your marriages, or in your family, either now or growing up.
What causes the chaos?
Wrong priorities. Husbands, the most important relationship in your life is with your wife. She is God’s blessing to you, and you are God’s blessing to her. There is no other relationship that God joins together. And God has created your family. The two become one flesh. Bless your wife. Love your wife like Jesus loves the church. Provide for her. Serve her.
Let’s review:
Phil 2: 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Wives your husband is your most primary relationship in life. Even above your children! You are to be his partner. He needs your help, your support, your encouragement, your love. You make his sacrifices meaningful, or meaningless!
Be suitable helpers to each other. God made you to be a blessing to your spouse.
What will make this happen?
Take this on as your responsibility.
Love God with all of your heart…
Figure out what help your spouse needs. And then do that!
Be a giver
Be a servant
Be a lover
- At work
Work hard as unto the Lord, not with eye service like a man pleaser. Treat bosses and fellow employees well, God is the God of others, just as He is you. Give proper respect!
You shall practice looking out for others and their interests.
Phil 2:3-5
Acknowledge that you were made for work.
Kids, you were made to learn, to grow to grow in knowledge, but more importantly, to grow in character. Work hard at your school work. You need to have fun, but you are gonna need to learn to be responsible in life. It starts by doing your work at school, being cooperative and helpful with your teachers and classmates.
You shall be a giver.
You shall treat others as you would like to be treated.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength! (All of these are internal attitudes which will energize behavior!)
You shall do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
III. Your Behavior Toward God
David’s Prayer of Gratitude
II Samuel 7:
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them[d] great and awesome things by driving out before your people,[e] whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken.
- There is no one like God
There are no other Gods. And there is no one or no thing that can do what God has done. Only God creates. Only God is good. Only God loves perfectly. Only God is holy. Only God can judge. Only God is all knowing, all powerful and always present.
- Be humbled by His grace
In a marriage, God takes the initiative. He serves first. He sacrifices first. He loves first. You experiences in marriage should teach you about the way that God treats you.
At work, God serves first. He sacrifices first. He does not wait until things are even and reciprocal. (Don’t only love those who love you!)
And He is this way with you directly. Your experiences at work should show you how God treats you.
When God acts in your life, recognize that you do not deserve it and be grateful! The truth is that your life is connected to all of God’s saving acts in history. Just as God worked in the life of any person in the Bible, He seeks to work in your life.
- Ask God for more
II Peter 3:
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Go from being a child, to a partner, to God’s representative. The task is too great for you, but God can get it done!
Ask Him to continue to work.
Ask Him to continue to bless.
Ask Him to continue to reveal Himself.
And then do what He says! Be like Jesus.
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