(soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) - All right, good morning, church family, and happy Lord's Day.

Hope you had a good week in the Lord. This morning, I'd like to read from Psalm 95. And this is the Word of God. O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving.

Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods, and whose hand are the depths of the earth. The peaks of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for it was he who made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. So this morning, may these verses serve as our call to worship. (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Let me be as gold ♪ ♪ And precious silver ♪ ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Let me be as gold ♪ ♪ Your gold ♪ ♪ Refiner's flower ♪ ♪ My heart's one desire ♪ ♪ Is to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, Lord ♪ ♪ I choose to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, my master ♪ ♪ Ready to do your will ♪ ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Cleanse me from within ♪ ♪ And make me holy ♪ ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ Let sleep of my sin ♪ ♪ Sleep within ♪ ♪ Refiner's flower ♪ ♪ My heart's one desire ♪ ♪ Is to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, Lord ♪ ♪ I choose to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, my master ♪ ♪ Ready to do your will ♪ ♪ Refiner's flower ♪ ♪ Purify my heart ♪ ♪ My heart's one desire ♪ ♪ Is to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, Lord ♪ ♪ I choose to be holy ♪ ♪ Set apart for you, my master ♪ ♪ Ready to do your will ♪ ♪ I am ready to do your will ♪ ♪ Make me ready to do your will ♪ ♪ Do your will ♪ - Well, good morning.

Welcome to Berean Community Church. I have just two announcements for our newer people, and then I have two announcements for just the current members of the church. If you are a new person, a new visitor, we have a welcome lunch. It happens quarterly, and it's gonna be across the way in the Youth Chapel, which is literally just across the way next to the cafe at one o'clock.

And there, we'll just explain to you just our visions for the church. We'll be able to meet some of the leaders and some of the members. So if you're brand new, or you know someone brand new, usher them that way, and we'll take good care of them. Lunch will be provided, and that's at one o'clock today.

And if you are new, we are a church that practices membership, and our membership class is eight weeks, where it's very thorough. We explain to you everything that our church is about and what we stand for, and so that your eyes are wide open when you're coming in, right?

And so that membership class will start July 7th, which is next Sunday, and it's always at 9.30 to 10.45. So it'll be during this service, but that's also gonna be happening in the Youth Chapel, 9.30, starting next Sunday. So if you know somebody who's brand new, and they wanna become a member, point them in that direction, okay?

And then for the members of the church, we have a members meeting that is coming up on Sunday, July 28th. It's at two o'clock. Our Taiwan missions team will be providing lunch for a fee. It's a fundraiser lunch, so that they could raise funds for their trip, so you don't have to leave the campus.

But two o'clock is when we're gonna start, so please do make time for that, that there's gonna be a lot of important announcements that come up in the July members meeting. And also, if you are a member, and you're gonna be working with kids at our church at some point, whether it's the VBS, which is happening in a couple weeks, or down the line, we require you to be safety trained.

And so that's gonna be happening next week in the afternoon as well. So kinda keep that in mind. Right now, we're gonna take a time of offering. If you're providing your offering to the Lord physically, there is a box in the back. Otherwise, you can just give electronically. But let me go ahead and pray for our offering, and then we'll continue our service.

Heavenly Father, we're very grateful that you've gathered us here to worship. And we acknowledge this morning, Father, you are the reason why we're here. And I pray that you would remind us afresh of why we worship and who it is that we worship. And as you've given us all good things to steward, I pray that as we give our offering, we wouldn't just give just monetarily, but Lord, our affections and our hearts would be there as well.

Lord, you are God. And we ask, Lord, that you would be magnified in every element and aspect of our worship today. I pray this in Jesus' name. (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) - Church family, would you please stand with us and take a minute to greet those around you.

And we will continue to worship. (congregation chattering) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) (upbeat rock music) ♪ When the circle rises, we wait upon the Lord ♪ ♪ We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord ♪ ♪ When the circle rises, we wait upon the Lord ♪ ♪ We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord ♪ ♪ And now, we'll wait forever ♪ ♪ Our hope, our strong deliverer ♪ ♪ You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God ♪ ♪ The everlasting God ♪ ♪ You do not fail, you hold the weary ♪ ♪ You're the defender of the weak ♪ ♪ You comfort those in need ♪ ♪ You lift us up from the life destroyed ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ When the circle rises, we wait upon the Lord ♪ ♪ We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord ♪ ♪ When the circle rises, we wait upon the Lord ♪ ♪ We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord ♪ ♪ And now, we'll wait forever ♪ ♪ Our hope, our strong deliverer ♪ ♪ You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God ♪ ♪ You do not fail, you hold the weary ♪ ♪ You're the defender of the weak ♪ ♪ You comfort those in need ♪ ♪ You lift us up from the life destroyed ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Our God, you reign forever ♪ ♪ Our hope, our strong deliverer ♪ ♪ You are, you are the everlasting God ♪ ♪ The everlasting God ♪ ♪ You do not fail, you hold the weary ♪ ♪ You're the defender of the weak ♪ ♪ You comfort those in need ♪ ♪ You lift us up from the life destroyed ♪ (gentle music) ♪ When I fear my faith will fail ♪ ♪ Christ will hold me fast ♪ ♪ When the tempter will prevail ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ I could never keep my hope ♪ ♪ Through life's fearful path ♪ ♪ For my love is often poor ♪ ♪ In this holy place ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ For my Savior loves me so ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ Those he saves ♪ ♪ Those he saves are his to cry ♪ ♪ Christ will hold me fast ♪ ♪ Fresh as in his holy sight ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ He'll not let my soul be lost ♪ ♪ His promises shall last ♪ ♪ Brought by him at such a cost ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ For my Savior loves me so ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ All my life he bled and died ♪ ♪ Christ will hold me fast ♪ ♪ Justice has been satisfied ♪ ♪ Christ will hold me fast ♪ ♪ Raised with him to endless life ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ Till our faith is turned to son ♪ ♪ When he comes at last ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ For my Savior loves me so ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ ♪ For my Savior loves me so ♪ ♪ He will hold me fast ♪ (upbeat music) - All right.

Today, we're gonna be looking at all of Psalm 19. So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Psalm 19, and I'll read for us verses 11 to 14. Okay, Psalm 19, 11 to 14. It reads, "Moreover, by them your servant is warned. "In keeping them, there is great reward.

"Who can discern his errors? "Equip me of hidden faults. "Also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins. "Let them not rule over me. "Then I will be blameless, "and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. "Let the words of my mouth "and the meditation of my heart "be acceptable in your sight, "O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Let us pray together.

Heavenly Father, we ask that you would lead us in worship in this hour, would you protect the pulpit, and would you use the proclamation of your word to truly bring honor and glory to you. A lot of words have been prepared, but it's just human craftiness if it's not with your unction and your spirit.

So we pray that you would take the center stage and preach your truth to your sheep. And as we hear your word, and as we feed, and as we drink upon your truths, I pray that you would bear fruit in our lives, again, to magnify and honor you. So we pray that you would guide our time, give us sober spirits, give us alert minds this morning.

I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. So my wife, Becky, and I started formally dating in January 2004, January 18th to be exact. So less than one month into our dating relationship, there was a Valentine's Day that I felt the need to prepare for. So perhaps sensing a little bit of stress coming from my end, Becky being the sweet and considerate person that she is, she suggested, you know, Valentine's Day, it's such a silly holiday.

It's a fake holiday created by Hallmark, florists, and chocolatiers. Peter, you don't need to do anything. And I immediately felt like this was either a test or a trap. And I asked her, are you sure? To which she emphatically replied, and I quote, "Yes, we don't need to do anything.

"Let's not do anything." So being the naive, trusting simpleton that I am, when Valentine's Day rolled around a few weeks later, I did nothing. And I remember this day very well. Valentine's Day fell on Saturday that year. And that morning, Becky called me and asked me what I was going to do that day.

And I told her I had to finish up my sermon, that I was planning on running errands in the afternoon, and that maybe we can grab dinner afterwards. So she came over. And the final errand was shopping at a Korean grocery market. And then we just grabbed a quick dinner at the food court.

And then I think it dawned on her that I had really prepped nothing. I had planned nothing. That we were literally only going to run errands together and eat food court food. And at the end of the day, when I walked her to her car, she handed me a card that she had written in, and then teared up a little bit.

And I think she was surprised and a bit hurt that I literally did nothing. So here's a public service announcement, brothers. (audience laughing) If a lady says to you, "You don't need to plan anything," that's secret girl talk, for you should still plan something. Anyhow, in the following year, I wisened up.

I knew I had to do something to make up for the previous Valentine's Day debacle. So I had to at least give her a nice, thoughtful gift. And having dated her at that point for about 13 months, I felt I knew exactly what she, my girlfriend, would want. You see, I had been making observations and taking notes and becoming an expert on all that is Becky.

So 13 months, I noticed that Becky tried to be health-conscious in her eating. So no chocolates for Valentine's Day. I observed also that she was pretty frugal and didn't like spending money on frivolous things and on things that didn't last. So no flowers since they die pretty quickly. So with absolute confidence in my knowledge of her, I made my way to Target, and I bought Becky a nice exercise ball.

(audience laughing) A health-conscious gift, an economic gift. And to my astonishment, the exercise ball was not well-received on this second Valentine's Day. And Valentine's Day number three came around, and at a few weeks before this third Valentine's Day, Becky sat me down, looked straight in my eyes, and said, "My favorite flowers are peonies.

(audience laughing) "I like Ferrero Rocher three-pack. "Here is a card. "Write something nice in it. "Perhaps include a nice, meaningful Bible verse." So she spelled it out for me, and she gave me explicit and easy-to-follow instructions. She left nothing to guesswork. She left nothing to chance. And we have since celebrated 18 additional Valentine's Day, and since then, I believe I've done objectively well.

Valentine's Day does not upset my wife anymore. Since then, I have not once done nothing. There are always flowers on Valentine's Day. There's always a card. And I think it's been a combination of her lowered expectations, my growth and understanding of my wife's heart, and overall improvement in communication.

So you see, the problem early on was that Becky assumed I could read her mind. But she learned quickly that I'm pretty dense, that I could not read her mind, and over the past 20 years, she's left less and less of our relationship to guesswork. So here's a second public service announcement.

Sisters, if you want to leave it to chance and guesswork, you are setting yourself up for disappointment because we men will pretty much guess incorrectly 100% of the time. Amen? All right. I don't know if you should amen to that. And some of you guys are wise, you just kept it closed.

On this side of eternity, most of our relationships, and I'm not just talking about romantic relationships, they require some degree of guesswork. Many relationships require some trial and error, and then some adjustments. And on this side of eternity, because of sin, no matter how intimate a relationship between two people, communication will always be corrupted and flawed.

And no matter how deep a love shared between two parties, it's inevitable that someone will misspeak and that someone will mishear, and there will always be miscommunication. And sin and words spoken in and through sin separate people. They always separate. They always drive a wedge into every relationship. Our speaking is broken.

Our hearing is broken. Our understanding is limited. Our biases and our prejudices are strong. Our judgment is often imperfect and reckless. We are all broken and our communication is broken. The fall of man and the entrance of sin into the world didn't just damage human relationships, but it also greatly corrupted man's understanding of the things of God.

Man's sins separate him from his creator. And unlike sinful and corrupted man, however, God is incorruptible, God is perfect. There is no trace of sin or unrighteousness in God or in what he says. God is a perfect communicator. He has never miscommunicated. And we see in the scriptures that God does not lie and God cannot lie.

Man may misspeak, man may mishear, man may miscommunicate, but this is not so with God. God never miscommunicates. God never misspeaks. He's always been explicit and absolutely clear in communicating what he desires all people to know. And because our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we know that he will continue to be explicit and absolutely clear in communicating what he desires all people to know.

In Micah chapter six, verse eight, it reads, he has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love, loving kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. Some translations will read, he has shown you, oh man. The Hebrew word here is higith, which is a very rich verb, referring to a very clear telling.

So clear that it's almost equivalent to a showing. So the telling is so clear that you can almost see it. So here's the feel of this verse. He has, he gith you, oh man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you? So God never leaves his will to guesswork.

He never calls his people to guess what he's thinking or what he requires. God's will for you and for me is very clear, it's very explicit. And this has always been the case, and this will always be the case. The specific application of his will for our lives may differ in appearance or how it all unfolds, but God's will has, is, and always will be the same.

And broadly speaking, it is not difficult to discern the will of God for our lives. The problem is not in the clarity of God's communication, the problem lies in our not liking his will, rebelliously rejecting it, and then asking for another will. And we see through the scriptures that God's communication may be veiled.

And in the instances that it is veiled, it's veiled only to those who are perishing, 2 Corinthians 4:3. It's confused because unregenerate minds are blinded and deluded. And when God does speak in mysteries and parables, Luke 8, 10, he does so to those who have already hardened their hearts towards him, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

So God always speaks clearly, and he always proclaims his truths clearly, and in his speaking and in his proclaiming, he magnifies and glorifies himself in and through all of his creation, and in and through all of his people. So God will make himself known. That's the heartbeat of Psalm 19, which is our text for this morning.

God will make himself known, clearly. Psalm 19 is one of the most beloved of all of King David's psalms. C.S. Lewis has said of Psalm 19, "I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter, "and one of the greatest lyrics in all the world." It's basically a psalm delighting in God's self-disclosure to all of humanity.

All 14 verses, which are organized in a chiastic structure, are telling and declaring of the works of God. And in this psalm, I hope you will soon see, is also a very clear picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Psalm 19 is a testimony of the gospel of God.

And so for this morning, I'm gonna walk us through all of Psalm 19. I'm gonna break it up into three bite-sized pieces, into bite-sized testimonies, okay? Remember, what's a testimony? Many modern-day church testimonies focus on how a person felt or what a person did, but by definition, the word testimony is a declaration of truth or fact given by a witness.

You guys understand that, right? A testimony is a simple, factual telling of something one has seen or observed. So we'll be looking at the three groups of testifying witnesses in Psalm 19 and their testimonies, all testifying to the nature of God and to the good news of God. Three witnesses declaring what they are seeing God proclaim, okay?

So the outline of the passage and the outline of today's sermon will follow the thought flow of these three testimonies concerning God. First, we'll look at the testimony of the heavens, verses one through six, the testimony of the law, verses seven to 10, and the testimony of God's redeemed servant, verses 11 to 14.

So that's the big picture, the broad outline. And before we jump in, I'd like to make a little note on the poetic books of the Bible. When we're studying through the scripture, sometimes the genre of the book will force you to adjust how you examine the verses in the book.

With poetry, you don't need to analyze and assess every single detail given. In poetry, there are very few hidden meanings that you have to discern. Usually in poetry, the author is simply painting a picture with many words. So keep this in mind because for today's sermon, I'm not gonna be looking at every single word in each of the 14 verses, okay?

So let's jump into King David's Psalm. It'll help for you to keep your Bibles open to Psalm 19. Verse one, the heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. So verse one is a summary statement of the majestic creator God.

And the focus in this first half of the psalm is on God's creative power. The heavens and the expanse and all that it is contained within it are declaring God's glory. By the fiat of his power, God spoke the sun and the moon and the stars and the rest of creation into existence under this tent of the heavens.

And the creative power of God was observable in the beginning, and it's still very observable for us today. So everything under the heavens and under this expanse are telling the glories of God. That's verse one. So verse two reads, day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words. Their voice is not heard. So there's a paradox here. There's a ton of speech without speech, without words. Day after day, all of creation is pouring forth speech. It's literally flooding with speech and declarations on the nature of God. Night to night is revealing and showing knowledge, and the nights also are doing this without words.

These declarations are neither audible nor spoken, but on every fabric of creation, there is an imprint of the glory of God. God's fingerprints, so to speak, and his signatures are everywhere. And the knowledge of God and information about God is being declared through everything under the heavens, under this expanse.

Okay, verse four. Their line has gone throughout all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world. In them he has placed a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, it rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit to the other end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

So here David hones in on the splendor of the sun. From David's vantage point, this sky is the largest and vastest thing that he can behold in all of creation. And the little sun that he sees is the most glorious and mysterious thing moving through this expanse. It's something so bright that he could not gaze at it directly.

I mean, how many of you guys have tried to look at the sun? At least once in your life. Have you tried it again? Probably not. It's like, oh, right? It's brilliant. This little sun daily lights up the entire world, and I can almost imagine a young shepherd boy, David, laying on the grass, looking up at the sky, pondering the heavens and the movement of the sun.

In our culture, at a wedding, all eyes are always supposed to be on whom? The bride, okay? But in the ancient Near East, all eyes were on the groom. Sorry, ladies. In verse five, David likens the daily rise of the sun and its splendor like the entrance of a groom into a wedding banquet, okay?

He's dressed splendidly, super shiny, super glorious. And then King David likened the sun to a buff, strong, championed runner just running across his course. And then the sun sets, and I can almost imagine David enjoying the many colors, orange, red, yellow, sometimes purple, many colors of the sunset, and singing songs to God.

In verse six, he also reflects on the heat. And he writes, "Man, there's nothing hidden from its heat." I can also imagine a King David on a very hot Mediterranean day, feeling drained by the heat of the sun, just as you and I are. It is said that Jerusalem is one of the cooler and drier cities in all of Israel.

It makes me wonder if David set the capital in Jerusalem partially because his desire not to be hot, right? That's something that I won't know on this side of eternity. But the sun is beautiful. The world our God has created, all of scripture describes is as beautiful. Think of a beautiful scene of nature or some landscape that has once filled you with awe.

Last year, our family visited Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons, and they were glorious. The year before that, we took the kids to Utah, we saw the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon, we walked through Zion National Park, also glorious, also really hot. And those are just a few beautiful places in America.

The world that God has created is stunning. And some of you guys who enjoy traveling understand what I'm talking about. I've seen the Grand Canyon, too, once. Back in 2008, flying to Colorado, I've only seen the Grand Canyon from a plane. It was still grand. And I always think of God on airplanes.

I enjoy the window seat on airplanes, and I enjoy the world beneath me growing smaller and smaller as the plane gains altitude. And I always happen to just ponder the largeness of this beautiful world. There are many places and sites in the world that you can look at and marvel at and feel super tiny.

But you know, it's important to remember that our planet is nearly 3/4 water. If you were to somehow manage in your lifetime, which is impossible, to step foot onto every country in the world, onto every square footage of land, it's crazy to think that the land on which you have stood and walked does not even make up a quarter of the surface area of the planet.

Most of this planet is water. And man, that water is beautiful, too, right? Have you guys ever watched the ocean just standing there on a cliff, just beautiful, the sun reflecting off the ocean? The water is very beautiful to look at from the surface, but have you ever gone scuba diving or snorkeling?

Sploosh, different world. The planet on which you and I are living on is huge. And there are so many things that you can enjoy to cause you to be in awe of God's handiwork. But just for a little perspective, allow me to show you a picture of the sun.

And you can look at it, it's not bright, okay? And how it compares to our ginormous Earth. Do you see it? Are we feeling smaller yet? Scientists estimate that 1.3 million Earths can fit inside this sun. And though it produces fiery heat from where you and I sit, the sun looks so small, doesn't it?

I actually wonder how big David imagined the sun to actually be. Can you imagine how much David's mind would have been blown if he saw this image of the size comparison? While many pagan nations around worshiped the sun, David gave glory to the creator of the sun. I don't imagine that King David ever got to travel outside of the Mediterranean.

I don't believe that David ever got to see glaciers, jungles, or even tropical fish. But how much would David have marveled had he been able to scuba dive? You and I have likely physically seen more things and more places than King David ever had. But do we marvel? Do we stand in awe?

Do we give glory to God? Or are you so over-stimulated that you're like, eh? How could the stuff that we see around us ever just happen by chance? I pray that the Lord fill us with awe. The heavens and all things under the heavens are telling of the glory of God, and the expanse and all things under this expanse are declaring the works of his hands, and this is the testimony of this first witness.

Psalm 19, one again, the heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. Secondly, we're gonna be looking at verses seven to 10, the testimony of the law, the declared word of God. In verse seven, we have a shift in subjects from God's creation to God's law, the Torah, which is a comprehensive term for God's revealed will.

The word law here is used broadly, and not so much in reference to the Mosaic law, but just God's revealed word. All scripture is fiat nustas, it's all God breathed, and scripture has always been God's primary means of revealing his heart and his will to mankind. Through what has been created, we see God's nature, but through what has been declared and written, we see God's heart.

We are first taught that God is a jealous God, but we are taught that this jealous God, who has a right to be jealous, is unlimited in patience, is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. We are taught in the scriptures of God's desires. We are taught of his will, and his holiness, and his affections, and we're taught all of these things through what has been spoken and subsequently written down.

You see, God desires to be known. God desires to be known by you and by me, and he articulates himself very clearly so that you and I can understand, and his desire for all eternity is actually to know us and have us know him. John 17, three, now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Eternal life is getting to be awed and amazed and wowed by God and knowledge of God each and every day for all eternity. So God's word is what the focus is in Psalm 19, seven to 10. It reads, "The law of the Lord is perfect, "restoring the soul. "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

"The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. "The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. "The judgments of the Lord are true, "they are righteous altogether." So starting in verse seven, God is referred to as a more personal God.

He is El in verse one. The heavens are telling the glory of El, but in this latter half, the personal name of God, Yahweh, is used seven times. Now we don't need to go into each the details as to what the law, the testimony, the precepts, commandment, fear, judgments, what they specifically are.

All six of those are different terms for God's revealed will or God's word. But in this section, King David says that the word of God, it restores, it makes wise, it causes joy, it enlightens and illuminates, it endures. And the last statement is righteous altogether. And you can just understand this simply as the word of God makes whole.

It brings wholeness. There's a sense of shalom in this, restored as to how things should be. The Holy Bible is comprised of 66 books written in three original languages in multiple differing cultures, geographical, historical contexts. It spans over 1,500 years and it's recorded through more than 40 different men.

None of the men who wrote down the Holy Scripture were writers by trade. Moses was a prince and a shepherd, Joshua was a general, David was a king, Ezekiel was a priest, there were musicians, tax collectors, scribes, physicians and fishermen. 66 books, three original languages, 1,500 years, 40 different writers, but one author, the Holy Spirit of God, who again, clearly wants to make himself known to all people.

2 Peter 1:21 reads, "But know this first of all, "that no prophecy of Scripture "is a matter of one's own interpretation. "For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, "but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." And because the Bible was written by one primary author, there's a singular main message, one meta-narrative contained within.

And this is what it is. Holy God will reconcile sinful man to himself and redeem him through his own provision of a perfect savior and atoning sacrifice. And I'm gonna repeat that for you. Holy God will reconcile sinful man to himself and redeem him through his own provision of a perfect savior, atoning sacrifice.

Genesis to Revelation, one story. And in many ways, this statement here could be the summary of Psalm 19, verse seven to 10. We're a Bible church, so I won't expound too much more on the importance of the Scriptures. Most all of us will confess that the Scriptures are important.

Most all of us will confess that the Bible is central, that it's powerful, but I wanna pause and ask a question. And I'm gonna look at verse 10. And it reads, "They are more desirable than gold. "Yes, than much fine gold. "Sweeter also than honey "in the drippings of the honeycomb." Is this your confession?

Or in all honesty, would you rather have the gold than the honey? Or the job, the degree, the spouse, the baby? Are the words of God, that help you know the creator of the universe, is that invaluable to you? Is that more desirable to you than gold or honey?

Is the knowledge of God the goal of your life? Or is the knowledge of God a means to wealth, comfort, and pleasure? In the ancient Near East, gold was the most valuable commodity and honey was the sweetest substance known to people at the time. What King David is saying here is that the word of God is not just more desirable than some gold, but even more than boatloads of it.

Then all the money in the world, I'd rather have my knowledge of God. What King David is saying here is that possessing a honeycomb is like hitting the jackpot on sweet foods. It's having the most delicious thing known to man at the time just on tap. But here King David is saying the word of God is exponentially more precious and exponentially more desirable.

Is this true of you? Or are you just at a Bible teaching church? Just a gain-in-prosperity type of person? Just to gain some benefits. In verses one to six, we reflected on the testimony of the heavens. In verses seven to 10, we hear the testimony of the word of God.

But third and finally, we're gonna look at verses 11 to 14, the testimony of God's redeemed servant. The testimony of God's redeemed servant. Verse 11, moreover by them, your words, your servant is warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

Also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins. Let them not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. And let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

In verses 11 to 14, we see the testimony of a servant who's been transformed and who's been redeemed. Verse 11 connects the word of God and how it affects its hearers. As it says in Romans chapter 10, faith comes from hearing the word, right? So this sheep heard the shepherd's voice.

The law of God transformed and redeemed this servant of God. What you learn from this passage is that a sinner cannot come to an understanding of the weight of his sins and the error of his ways unless they are revealed to him. If you know that you are absolutely depraved in need of great saving, in need of a great savior, that's God's grace.

If you are absolutely desperate, your life, your heart is filthy and you know that, that was not revealed to you by just some frivolous thing. That was told you by the grace of God. The law of God first revealed to this servant his errors. The God of the age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, but God in his grace and through his word reveals this person of his sin and he convicts.

And the sins that were deeply rooted in the heart, the sins that have been hidden have been brought to the surface and expunged. The heart bent on presumptuous sins, in other words, a willful desire for sin, is restrained, and the tense of that word is being more and more restrained as time goes on.

And this servant is now a man who's rendered blameless. He has been acquitted of these great transgressions. This section does not speak on any merit of the servant. He didn't earn any of this. He was redeemed. No unregenerate person can call Christ his redeemer 'cause he's still in bondage to sin.

But this servant, King David, has met the Lord, his redeemer, and King David closes this psalm in worship. Psalm 1914, which closes the psalm. It's one of the most memorized verses of all the psalms, right? You guys are almost hearing the song in your head. ♪ May the words of my mouth ♪ You hear it, right?

Well, now you do, okay? ♪ Let the words of my mouth ♪ And that word let is let. It's not may. That translation bugs me, okay? But let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

So what happens to a man as he marvels at God's handiwork? What happens to a man as he ponders deeply the word of God? What happens to a man when God wipes away his sin, acquits him of all transgression, redeems his life from the pit? This man cannot but worship in awe and in fear and with much trembling.

The words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart is acceptable in the sight of Yahweh God. It has been accepted at the cross of Christ. It was confirmed at the resurrection of Christ. And for the person whose eyes, the scales have fallen off, the heart is transformed, accept it.

The more I meditate on this psalm, I'm seeing that verse 14 is not a request or a prayer. That's why I don't like the may and only the NIV translates it may. So most others, they all literally translate it let. This is not an inquiry. It's a declaration. The declaration of the heavens, the declaration of the law, the declaration of a transformed saint.

This is a declaration of a spiritual man, a redeemed man. When I was first preparing for this sermon, I titled the sermon Acceptable in His Sight 'cause that's what the verse says, right? But the more I chewed on this psalm, I changed the title to Accept Dead in His Sight.

Is this a declaration of your life? Is this your testimony? So how do you know? I mean, what if you asked, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, and God says, no. Yikes. So how do you know? The redeemed servant, when he hears the testimony of the heavens of all creation marvels and worships God.

The unredeemed man, the fool, says in his heart, there is no God, lives however he wants to, and worships the created thing rather than the creator. The redeemed servant, when he hears the testimony of the word of God, when it's proclaimed, the redeemed servant from the core of his heart says, amen, even if it's full of hypocrisy of the heart, his soul cries out, let it be, amen.

And he humbles himself before the word of God, and he desires to obey. And the redeemed servant wants to obey, and the redeemed servant wants to know the word of God more than he wants money, more than he wants pleasure. He wants God. His desire is not to use God, it's to know God.

And he hungers because God makes himself known clearly through the word. The unredeemed man says things like, I know that's what the Bible says, but. The unredeemed man, when confronted with an uncomfortable biblical truth, will change and distort the truth. Will surround himself with a great number of teachers who will say what he wants to hear, and say amen to lies.

He will gather around himself voices that will repeatedly tell him, you can continue in your sin because it's all about grace. And the unredeemed man will focus on studying only the parts of the scriptures that don't make him feel guilty in his disobedience. The redeemed servant, when he is shown his sin, is convicted, and he repents.

Woe is me. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. I believe, help my unbelief, have mercy on me, a sinner. The unredeemed man hardens his heart, shepherds grace, and then he continues in his sin. Ah, I don't hear nothing. Yeah, I could do whatever I want 'cause I went down the altar, I made a confession.

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. The Bible you don't read. That's the unredeemed man. Imagine that you are at the great white throne judgment described for us in Revelation 20. The books are open, and you declare, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer, and the judge on the throne declares, your words are filthy because your mouth is filthy, because your meditations of your heart are filthy.

They are not acceptable in my sight. You don't have the blood of Christ covering you. I never knew you, depart from me, you worker of lawlessness. Scary. So is this your testimony? I shared earlier that God never leaves his will to guesswork, he never calls his people to guess what he's thinking or what he requires.

God's will for you, God's will for me, is clear, amen? He makes himself crystal clear, it's explicit. Every Christian who has the Holy Spirit of God in him is supernaturally now hardwired to exalt and to glory in God, to delight in his word, to turn away from sin, and to obey.

Every Christian, in a sense, is now a God's mind reader. You have the mind of Christ that helps you to discern what he wants and empowers you to carry out God's desires. You, as a Christian, who has a Holy Spirit of God indwelling within him, have the mind of Christ.

First Corinthians chapter two. A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are utter foolishness to him. He cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises correctly all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one, for who has known the mind of the Lord that he will instruct him?

We have the mind of Christ. When Becky explicitly told me before our third Valentine's Day that she likes peonies, that she likes Ferrero Rocher, that she likes to read nice words on a card, I listened. I wanted to. Think with me, what would've happened if I ignored it? What would've happened if I laughed off these requests?

I could've just said no, right? Those are not things that would disqualify me from her hand in marriage. What would disqualify me from her hand in marriage and her heart is this revelation of my heart that has learned what she wants, but I still don't care. That knows what will make her happy, but I would rather prioritize my comfort than her happiness.

So the diso, okay, it's not obedience, 'cause she didn't demand, okay? The reluctance to apply what she desires is not any kind of prerequisite, it's symptomatic of what's in my heart. Imagine if the following year I bought her a treadmill. I don't think we'd still be married, and I don't think I would've used this in a sermon illustration.

My Valentine's Day performances would not make or break the quality of our relationships. Those are not things that are required of me. Those are things that I delight in. Why would I not do those things? If this giant God of the universe has reconciled himself to you, has promised you not just a great inheritance, but to be a co-heir with Christ, seated on the place of a throne, where you're given the authority to judge angels, how are you not in awe?

How are you not grateful? How are you not so just speechless and filled with love that you cannot but do what he wants? I wanna close with Romans chapter one, verse 18 to 25, and I want you to pay attention as I read this. It really speaks on Psalm 19 well.

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power, divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, their foolish hearts were darkened, professing to be wise. I have PhDs, I have experience, professing to have knowledge. They became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Therefore, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored among them, for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever, amen. You and I have been created by God and for God to love God and to serve God, that's our purpose, amen?

We exist for him, he doesn't exist for us. You and I have been created by God and for God to love God and to serve God. He is our rock, he is our redeemer, he's the reason why we live. So we desire to be a blessing to him and through him to all people so they would know how good it is, how good our God is.

Is that the heartbeat of your life, to be a blessing to God? May we be faithful in fulfilling our God-given purposes, amen, 'cause we will join in witness and in chorus for all eternity declaring the glories of God, amen? Let's pray together. Father, we pray that you would help us to disentangle our hearts and our minds' affections and place them solely on the person of Jesus Christ.

Guide us in this endeavor. The things of the world have great appeal, but help us to get disgusted more and more. The Lord, also help us to grow in great affection and compassion for the lost because that's your heart. So teach us how to live like you. In Jesus' name we pray.

- Let us stand together, we'll close in song. (soft piano music) ♪ May the words of my mouth ♪ ♪ And the meditations of my heart ♪ ♪ Be pleasing to you ♪ ♪ Be pleasing to you ♪ ♪ May the words of my mouth ♪ ♪ And the meditations of my heart ♪ ♪ Be pleasing to you, my God ♪ ♪ You're my rock and my redeemer ♪ ♪ You're the reason that I sing ♪ ♪ I desire to be a blessing in your eyes ♪ ♪ Every hour and every moment ♪ ♪ Lord, I want to be your servant ♪ ♪ I desire to be a blessing in your eyes ♪ ♪ In your eyes ♪ ♪ May the words of my mouth ♪ ♪ And the meditations of my heart ♪ ♪ Be pleasing to you ♪ ♪ Be pleasing to you ♪ ♪ May the words of my mouth ♪ ♪ And the meditations of my heart ♪ ♪ Be pleasing to you, my God ♪ ♪ You're my rock and my redeemer ♪ ♪ You're the reason that I sing ♪ ♪ I desire to be a blessing in your eyes ♪ ♪ Every hour and every moment ♪ ♪ Lord, I want to be your servant ♪ ♪ I desire to be a blessing in your eyes ♪ ♪ In your eyes ♪ ♪ May the words of my mouth ♪ ♪ And the meditations of my heart ♪ ♪ Be pleasing to you, my God ♪ - Father, grant us grace to remember for whom we are living.

Help us to be useful and help us to grow in faithfulness so that we can grow in usefulness. Lord, we love you. We pray that you would teach us how to be the aroma of Christ. And grant us, Lord God, your strength to remember why it is that we are here.

Now, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and love of God the Father, and then the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each and every one of us from now and forevermore. Amen. ♪ God sent his Son ♪ ♪ Behold him, Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to die ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To my heart it ♪ ♪ An empty grave is next to ♪ ♪ The Savior lives ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ No fear is gone ♪ ♪ 'Cause I know ♪ ♪ He holds the future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because he lives ♪ (audience applauding) (gentle music) ♪ Who else commands all the hosts of heaven ♪ ♪ Who else can make every king bow down ♪ ♪ Who else can whisper in darkness trembling ♪ ♪ Only your Holy God ♪ ♪ What other beauty demands such praises ♪ ♪ What other splendor outshines the sun ♪ ♪ What other majesty rules with justice ♪ ♪ Only your Holy God ♪ ♪ Come and behold him ♪ ♪ The one and the only ♪ ♪ Cry and sing holy forever ♪ ♪ Pour it out ♪