Finding Mercy in the Midst of Affliction

• Affliction and Persecution [00:02:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that spiritual and physical affliction are results of godliness in a hostile world, citing the conflict between Cain and Abel and the suffering of believers.
• Christ as Advocate [00:09:41 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Jesus pleads the cause of God's people before the Father, referencing 1 John 2:1 to show that if Jesus advocates for sinners, he vindicates the faithful.
• Divine Revival and Mercy [00:16:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses how the Lord revives believers out of mercy, contrasting the wicked who do not seek God with the faithful who must rely on the Spirit and the Word.
• Discipleship and Priorities [00:19:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor warns against letting work and responsibilities crowd out time for the Lord, urging believers to meditate on the Word and seek mercy continually, not just in crisis.
• Spiritual Foundation and Meditation [00:18:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that wandering and deception stem from a lack of firm foundation in the Word, urging strong meditation and prioritizing time with the Lord over work and responsibilities.
• Persecution and Faithfulness [00:20:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > Drawing on Psalm 119:157, the pastor explains that believers should not turn from God's testimonies despite enemies, viewing reproach as a badge of honor and a sign of battle, similar to Christ's experience.
• Disgust for Sin vs. Love for Law [00:26:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The third point contrasts the believer's growing disgust for sin (sanctification) with the world's celebration of it, emphasizing that Christians must repent for their own sins and seek personal revival.
• The Truth and Infallibility of Scripture [00:34:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor affirms that all God's word is true and infallible, rejecting the idea that parts are folklore, and cites 2 John and 2 Thessalonians to show that God's truth and peace endure despite worldly persecution.
• Truth vs. Lies [00:38:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the lies heard in the world with the truth of God's word, asking the congregation what they hear more of during the week.
• Divine Election and Love [00:37:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that God chose the church for salvation from the beginning of time, emphasizing that God speaks to His beloved bride with sincere love.
• Perseverance in Faith [00:39:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor urges the congregation to stand fast, hold to the traditions taught, and take comfort in the Lord's judgments and justice.

• Sermon Illustration [00:06:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of Elijah, who, despite a major victory over the prophets of Baal, became despondent and fled from Ahab and Jezebel, thinking he was the only faithful servant left.
• Sermon Illustration [00:08:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes King David, who was elevated to captain and son-in-law of the king, yet lived in constant danger from his father-in-law Saul, who persecuted him despite David's heroism.
• Sermon Illustration [00:13:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of being on a boat in bad weather, where the boat moves up, down, and sideways, illustrating that believers must hold on to the Lord to avoid being 'knocked out' by life's instability.
• Sermon Illustration [00:23:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a soldier wearing a ribbon on his uniform to represent that he has been in battle and prevailed, illustrating how the reproach of the world upon a Christian should be viewed as a badge of faithfulness.
• Sermon Illustration [00:21:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the historical example of Abel being murdered for his godliness to contrast with Jesus, who was attacked for His righteousness, illustrating that forces of disbelief often join together to attack the faithful.
• Sermon Illustration [00:28:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor critiques modern media, noting that movies and TV shows often celebrate sin rather than highlighting its ugliness, illustrating the cultural contrast between the world's view and the believer's growing disgust for sin.
• Sermon Illustration [00:37:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of interpersonal relationships to explain God's love, noting that it is nice when someone you care about and respect says 'I love you' sincerely, comparing this to God speaking to His church as His beloved bride.

• Pastoral Charge [00:00:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > Open Bible to Psalm 119:153
• Pastoral Charge [00:13:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > Resist the devil and remain steadfast in faith
• Pastoral Charge [00:19:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > Evaluate and increase time spent in Bible reading, meditation, and evangelism
• Pastoral Charge [00:18:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > Meditate strongly on the Bible
• Pastoral Charge [00:20:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > Seek God's mercy continuously
• Pastoral Charge [00:31:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully
• Pastoral Charge [00:31:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > Reflect immediately on God's love and Word
• Pastoral Charge [00:39:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stand fast and hold to the apostolic traditions taught by word or epistle.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] We're back to Psalm 119. We're getting close to the end of this particular psalm, so please open your Bible, and we're going to start at verse 153. Psalm 119, verse 153, verse 160 will be our text, our title today.
[00:00:21] Consider my afflictions and deliver me.
[00:00:26] Let's hear God speaking to us through his holy word.
[00:00:32] Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.
[00:00:38] Plead my cause and redeem me.
[00:00:42] Revive me according to your word.
[00:00:45] Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.
[00:00:52] Great are your tender mercies, O Lord.
[00:00:55] Revive me according to your judgments.
[00:00:58] Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from your testimonies.
[00:01:06] I see the treacherous and am disgusted because they do not keep your word.
[00:01:15] Consider how I love your precepts.
[00:01:18] Revive me, O Lord, according to your loving kindness.
[00:01:21] The entirety of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever.
[00:01:32] And may the Lord add to us the blessing of hearing his word.
[00:01:36] Let us pray.
[00:01:37] Heavenly Father, we pray that you would bless us and strengthen us.
[00:01:41] Give us attention to your word, and may we meditate upon it.
[00:01:46] May we apply it and live in accord with it.
[00:01:49] may we structure our faith with the revelation of yourself and of your faithfulness and of your promises and thus speak to us we pray in jesus name amen so as we look at the first two verses
[00:02:10] today as we begin this stanza we will consider christ is your christ is your advocate he knows your afflictions. And as we consider the Christian faith, and as you became a Christian, you're born into the faith, whether from the womb or sometime in your life, you're born into
[00:02:39] affliction in this world. Indeed, the world's peace will not and nor can keep, be kept by the believer. We don't want the world's peace.
[00:02:57] The world's peace is in denial of Christ. And so when we do have kind of peace in the world, it is not necessarily for a great length of time. So spiritual affliction, and sometimes spiritual affliction can be combined with physical affliction and
[00:03:14] persecution, is a result of godliness among the godly. The world pretends it does not regard or know the teachings or the precepts of God's law and behaves in the most cruel manner towards the faithful keepers of God's word.
[00:03:38] And this is the storyline we have ever since the incident of Cain and Abel and the conflict between a righteous brother and a wicked brother in this world.
[00:03:53] Now, if you live in a godly manner and speak clearly as a follower of Jesus Christ, you know the world will gain up on you.
[00:04:07] The whispers, the slander, the exclusion, the hostility against you is felt in degrees for stating biblical truths, promoting truth and righteous ways of the Lord.
[00:04:28] And you may be denied advancement in the workplace.
[00:04:32] you may suffer the loss of close friends maybe you don't get the raise but the first line of the stanza of this psalm the verse 153 119 153 shows both the individual suffering of the
[00:04:55] righteous one jesus christ but also the suffering of his faithful people and when we suffer we suffer for him. That's interesting to consider. He suffers for us, and we in turn must be willing to suffer for him. Psalmist speaks first for Christ, but every follower of Christ remembers
[00:05:24] and keeps the law to the Father's honor. We want to glorify God, and we keep the law for that chief reason now the world may dishonor the christ and all who believe in him but if we
[00:05:42] are stricken by the world in some passion for staying for god's truth we must say so let it be in fact the christian's commitment to love is highlighted in isaiah 63 verse 9 where it says
[00:06:00] and all their affliction, he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them in his love, and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bore them and carried them all the days of old.
[00:06:19] That's a beautiful promise, a great expression of the Lord's sincere care, tender care for God's people.
[00:06:31] Afflictions that you experience are not a little thing to the Lord.
[00:06:36] But how easily discouragement comes upon the righteous.
[00:06:42] Think of Elijah, that great and mighty and powerful prophet of the Lord in Israel.
[00:06:52] There was a battle, there was a contest between him and him alone with the 450 false prophets of Baal.
[00:07:00] Whose God is the real God?
[00:07:03] And indeed, the Lord showed victory by bringing fire down, accepting the Elijah's sacrifice and not the sacrifice of the Baals.
[00:07:16] Then there was the death of those 450 prophets.
[00:07:19] You think, Reformation is here to Israel.
[00:07:23] And then there was also great rain that came after three and a half years of drought.
[00:07:29] The great opportunity to rejoice and celebrate of God's presence and God's mercy.
[00:07:36] And yet that was not the mindset of Elijah because he was labeled as the enemy of Israel by that wicked royal couple of Ahab and Jezebel.
[00:07:54] And so Elijah ran for his life, and he ran a long way.
[00:08:00] He was scared.
[00:08:02] He was despondent.
[00:08:05] He thought he was the last faithful servant of the Lord on the earth.
[00:08:10] And then we have David, righteous David, who was lifted up by the Lord, who was given victory over the great enemy among the Philistines, Goliath, the giant.
[00:08:26] And he was elevated to be a captain in the army.
[00:08:29] He was elevated to be the son-in-law of the king of Israel.
[00:08:34] And yet he was always a step away from death.
[00:08:39] As Saul, King Saul, his father-in-law, had a murderous intent.
[00:08:44] and even as think about David's dilemma that the nation of Israel celebrated every day of Saul's reign. He was a great captain of the army. He was a great hero in Israel. Indeed, they said David
[00:09:05] slayed his thousands and Saul only thousands. But you don't hear the people murmuring about Saul, that he was a persecutor of the righteous.
[00:09:17] He labeled a righteous, faithful soldier and his son-in-law as a traitor.
[00:09:25] And then, of course, we can think about the Lord Jesus Christ, how he was misunderstood by the leadership of Israel, and they hated him.
[00:09:36] They either misunderstood him or they just hated when they did understand him.
[00:09:41] But understand, saints, the Lord argues for you.
[00:09:48] He is the perfect advocate for God's people.
[00:09:54] He pleads your cause before the Father.
[00:09:57] Indeed, he will before the world.
[00:10:00] Last day, we have this wonderful truth in 1 John 2, verse 1.
[00:10:05] My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin.
[00:10:11] And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
[00:10:21] So consider that if Jesus is your advocate, when we sin, how much greater can he bless us when we serve in a manner that glorifies him and promotes his truth.
[00:10:41] He always vindicates the faithfulness of his people.
[00:10:47] And so the psalm says, revive me according to your word.
[00:10:55] Friends, the Lord does not bring us low simply to keep us low.
[00:11:03] The Lord is sovereign.
[00:11:07] And so he does, when we are brought low, he does bring us low.
[00:11:11] but in order to exalt himself first, and that is a good and needful thing.
[00:11:21] And also when we're brought low, perhaps we have better ears to hear and to learn a greater dependence upon him, to hate sin deeper, and to love the Lord more.
[00:11:41] Yet, in it all, the Lord never intends to keep his people low.
[00:11:47] He never keeps them in a place of desolation.
[00:11:53] You see this even as Israel, as a nation, unless the nation chooses that, embraces that.
[00:12:04] Remember Peter, a man of faith?
[00:12:07] He experienced both the folly of his sins and the blessing of trusting Christ.
[00:12:15] with humility. And by the Holy Spirit, Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 5 through 10, verse Peter 5, verses 5 through 10, likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility,
[00:12:35] for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time.
[00:12:52] Cast in all your care upon him, for he cares for you.
[00:12:55] Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
[00:13:08] Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
[00:13:21] But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
[00:13:38] to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
[00:13:46] And so in these afflictions you have to hold on to something.
[00:13:52] I don't know how many of you have been at sea on a boat and if the weather got bad and boats aren't stable they move. They go up and down. They go sideways and sometimes they do that
[00:14:05] both at the same time. You have to hold on to something or else your teeth will get knocked out.
[00:14:13] In our afflictions, we need to hold on to the Lord.
[00:14:17] We are called to action to exercise the faith, trust the Lord, believe in the Lord, go to the Word, examine ourselves, confess our sins, reiterate the promises of God, continue in faithfulness.
[00:14:35] As any good army needs to train constantly and be prepared for battle, Likewise, the saints need to grow in sanctification and must never stand idle in their faith.
[00:14:53] We are a society that sits a lot.
[00:14:57] Sometimes we don't know how to get around that.
[00:15:01] But let us not be idle in our faith.
[00:15:05] We need to grow.
[00:15:06] We need to grow in our faith.
[00:15:09] And how the Lord uses affliction, let us get greater understanding.
[00:15:14] even unjust affliction that go by the hands of the wicked are used to further his powerful ways for us to grow perhaps grow in prayer perhaps to further trust in the Lord not with a half heart but with a full heart
[00:15:40] in the hostile seasons of persecution or to resist great temptations of the world and the devil then perhaps we need affliction to understand the great evil of a sin that we are inclined towards.
[00:15:59] There's usually multiple reasons why the Lord brings affliction to us.
[00:16:05] Second point, the Lord revives his own out of his mercy.
[00:16:09] Verses 155 through 157, let me read again.
[00:16:12] Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.
[00:16:19] Great are your tender mercies, O Lord.
[00:16:23] Revive me according to your judgments.
[00:16:27] Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from your testimonies.
[00:16:40] Now, here's a problem.
[00:16:41] It's like Psalm 37 or Psalm 73.
[00:16:45] We can be tending to be envious of the wicked.
[00:16:50] but no envy should be allowed toward the wicked or the reprobate they do not possess the favor of God we should pity them we hate what they do now the reprobate they're resolved in their guilt
[00:17:12] and their sin to continue in it the wicked do not draw close to God and will not find salvation for they are not given a burden in their soul to seek the Lord. Now, of course, I'm talking about those who never do turn, those who are not
[00:17:31] awakened by God's grace. The wicked hate God's commandments and do not consider the beauty and blessing of those commandments. They don't have eyes to see. We cannot continue without the means of strength. But may the Lord bring strength to us. But the Lord wants you
[00:18:05] to ask. The Lord wants you to cry out to him for that strength. For without the Spirit working in us, in the light of the written word, you and I would testify faithfully that we are prone to
[00:18:27] wander, wander aimlessly. This is why people at times have been fooled by false teachings.
[00:18:37] in any other season of their life.
[00:18:41] Maybe they have been manipulated by the ungodly, deceived to follow a false spiritual system.
[00:18:50] It is due often to our lack of a firm foundation in the Word.
[00:18:59] We need to meditate strongly in the Word, but when we don't, we're not trusting in the Lord.
[00:19:10] Perhaps we give ourselves too much to our responsibilities and duties.
[00:19:14] Now, we have to give a lot of time to our work.
[00:19:20] You know, you spend more time at work than in your free time of the day, if you're living normally.
[00:19:29] But if it is all work, where is the time for the Lord?
[00:19:38] Don't let your discipleship suffer.
[00:19:43] Now, young Christians lack knowledge and maturity, but if we are not in such a situation, then why are we easily beside ourselves?
[00:19:54] How much instruction do we seek out from God's Word?
[00:20:00] How much Bible reading and meditation do we do in a day?
[00:20:05] Can we give it even a time frame for how much or when we do it?
[00:20:10] Do we spend any of our free time in evangelism and fellowship?
[00:20:18] And, of course, I know we do here, but these are things to think about.
[00:20:27] We should seek mercy from the Lord continually, not when we're in just the hot seat of persecution.
[00:20:36] We want to seek communion with the Lord and his teachings first.
[00:20:40] We need to set our priorities right, and we have a lot of priorities in this life.
[00:20:47] Verse 157, many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from your testimonies.
[00:20:55] See, in the flesh, the tendency is to turn from the testimonies and just to think about, oh, I'm hurting so much, it's painful.
[00:21:04] When will this stop?
[00:21:07] Indeed, the Lord Jesus knows this truth.
[00:21:10] And for himself, he incorporated in his prayers a heavenly dependence upon the Father.
[00:21:20] He was always dependent upon the Father.
[00:21:22] He was always meditating upon the Word.
[00:21:25] He was always using the Word for himself.
[00:21:28] and as Abel was murdered for his godliness and his faithful devotion and honoring the Lord so likewise one far greater than Abel and far more righteous Jesus the Christ was attacked for his righteousness and putting the Father first in all things
[00:21:51] all forces of disbelief and wickedness joined together to seek to destroy the Savior And sometimes you may think all the forces of evil are joined together to destroy you.
[00:22:07] Now, not all the forces, but certainly forces are employed against God's faithful people.
[00:22:16] Now, another way perhaps we could read verse 157 is, regardless how many persecutors count themselves as my enemies, I will not stop obeying the Lord and observing his commandments.
[00:22:33] See, this is a vow, not just an intention of the believer.
[00:22:40] So if we have an ounce of maturity in the faith, we know we will have a cross to bear.
[00:22:48] Reproaches await us at any turn, where we are aligned with Christ, and Christ is the enemy of the world, and there's sin and iniquity.
[00:23:03] There is a cost.
[00:23:04] but the reproach of the world upon the Christian is a ribbon like a soldier would wear on his uniform to show that he has been in battle and that he has prevailed.
[00:23:25] Indeed, are you ready to receive mocking from the world?
[00:23:31] Perhaps a misunderstanding of your faith or of your practice of godliness.
[00:23:37] Christ knows about that.
[00:23:39] He experienced that to a far greater degree than you and I will ever.
[00:23:47] But can we accept it?
[00:23:50] Because I've served the Lord and will continue to serve the Lord.
[00:23:55] By faith we can turn attacks against us into motivation to remain faithful to the Lord.
[00:24:05] Your faith will allow you to do that.
[00:24:08] If you don't have faith in time of attack, you receive the attacks and you cry.
[00:24:16] You melt.
[00:24:17] you say woe is me is there a way out and when you start thinking that way you're going to think of how can i be known as the righteous how can i fit in among the ungodly but understand if
[00:24:34] you're truly attacked for your faithfulness use it as a motivation to persevere and follow the lord you will not turn away from the testimonies of the lord if you are his Now, you may feel disdain of ugly words and hateful actions against you,
[00:25:00] but they are attacking God.
[00:25:04] They can only reach you.
[00:25:07] But understand, the Lord is behind you, in front of you, in you.
[00:25:13] The Lord lifts you up even when you are low by the standards of the world.
[00:25:19] The Lord does not forsake you, but we are to forsake sin.
[00:25:24] and be faithful to the commands at every turn.
[00:25:30] So we must take up the cross before we are handed a crown.
[00:25:38] The Lord works mercy by the saints, keeping God's word.
[00:25:44] And the greatest works of faithfulness are manifested in the times the hottest persecution.
[00:25:52] Read your church history and you will find that is true.
[00:25:57] Our third point, the great contrast between disgust for ungodliness and love for the law.
[00:26:05] The last three verses, I see the treacherous and am disgusted because they do not keep your word.
[00:26:13] Consider how I love your precepts.
[00:26:16] Revive me, O Lord, according to your loving kindness.
[00:26:21] The entirety of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever.
[00:26:29] The Lord knows his people are faithful.
[00:26:34] We're called to examine ourselves, to see where we are.
[00:26:39] Are we staying away from sin?
[00:26:41] Are we repenting from the sin we committed?
[00:26:43] Are we confessing?
[00:26:45] But the Lord knows our faithful.
[00:26:49] But those who are not his manifest rotten fruit.
[00:26:52] The ungodly manifest ugliness and receive disgust from the Lord.
[00:27:00] and only the Lord himself speaks in these terms of hating all sin.
[00:27:09] You can't do that perfectly.
[00:27:13] Neither can I.
[00:27:15] You and I both have preferences for certain sins, maybe certain sins we might laugh at.
[00:27:22] Maybe we might think, oh, it's not a big deal.
[00:27:25] Look at this.
[00:27:30] Whether it be our coveting, our pride, self-righteousness, It seems like a list goes on.
[00:27:39] But the Spirit works in God's people.
[00:27:42] 2 Corinthians 7, 1, Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
[00:27:56] See, non-godly don't want to perfect any holiness or godliness.
[00:28:00] They don't want to consider it.
[00:28:02] They don't want to be subject to it.
[00:28:04] And definitely, they're not showing a fear of God.
[00:28:06] but this is the way of the faithful and through sanctification we learn to hate sin we understand over time the nature of sin how cruel it is, how evil it is how wretched it is and how it does
[00:28:26] pollute our mind and our heart and we grieve that our Lord was wounded for our own particular sins And so we should grow in disgust for sin.
[00:28:40] But God already is there.
[00:28:42] He is already disgusted by sin.
[00:28:46] You know, we have movies that celebrate sin.
[00:28:49] Here's the challenge.
[00:28:51] Look up any TV show or any movie, more and more books as well, definitely, that don't highlight a sin and celebrate it.
[00:29:05] It's one thing to highlight a sin and show the ugliness and the moral failure and how it undoes people, but there's a celebration of sin.
[00:29:19] But we will grow further and further in disgust.
[00:29:22] We have a disgust for sin, but we're just not as consistent yet.
[00:29:29] But we should hate our sin most of all, because that's the sin you can repent from.
[00:29:36] Wouldn't it be fun if we could repent for our neighbor's sin?
[00:29:40] We would put that first on our list.
[00:29:43] If I could repent for my neighbor's sins, my family's sins, and I do some action where there can be repentance, that would be my priority.
[00:29:53] But God is giving you the priority of your sin and your sin alone.
[00:29:58] We can speak out against sin.
[00:30:01] We can exhort the ways of the Lord, which we should, but we can only repent for our own sins.
[00:30:07] We condemn ourselves so that the devil can't condemn us.
[00:30:13] And we should condemn ourselves far greater than the devil could.
[00:30:17] But we know that we seek and we'll find forgiveness in the Lord.
[00:30:22] So we need revival.
[00:30:24] We need personal revival.
[00:30:26] I'm not saying any of you are in a spiritual crisis.
[00:30:30] You're on the edge of going apostate.
[00:30:33] But at times we need true revival to our own soul.
[00:30:38] We need a refresher to comprehend the goodness and the holiness of the Lord, the faithfulness of the Lord, the power and might and the beauty of the Word of God and the commandments and the gospel promises.
[00:31:00] We must not put off for a long time reflections upon God's magnificent love or what he has said in his Word.
[00:31:09] We need his Spirit to work in us in a great and powerful way.
[00:31:13] So, Christian, if you feel stagnant in your walk of faith, double your efforts, not of the flesh, but of the Spirit.
[00:31:25] Do you pray deeper?
[00:31:27] How about this?
[00:31:27] Do you pray more consistently this year than last year?
[00:31:33] Now, we all have spiritual goals, and usually the spiritual goal is one thing.
[00:31:37] You know what that is.
[00:31:41] I'm going to try to read through my Bible in a year.
[00:31:45] But you can have other goals.
[00:31:47] You should have other goals as well.
[00:31:49] pray be more consistent talk more about your sins than what you want from the lord we all have wants we all have needs but we all must develop more and more spiritually and this is not to discourage
[00:32:07] you but to spurn you on do not be complacent where you are spiritually don't beat yourself up but do something positive? Do we exercise humility in this prideful age? Do we guard against the ego
[00:32:26] because it comes upon you? Are you engaged in worship? Or is it something you sit through and wait for something to move you in a special way? How are you putting away the fear of things
[00:32:48] that hinder you? We all have fears that are not centered on the fear of God, but the fear of the failure of fear of being judged, the fear of not pleasing somebody.
[00:33:02] And these are sinful things.
[00:33:04] We must conquer our fears.
[00:33:08] But know the Lord revives.
[00:33:12] The loving kindness of the Lord is always working.
[00:33:18] But we have to be seeking it.
[00:33:21] We have to be acknowledging it.
[00:33:23] We have to be desiring it and praying for it.
[00:33:27] The Lord is not hindered from us, but the greatness of seeing and knowing the presence of the Lord is an exercise of faith.
[00:33:46] The mercy of the Lord, his love, and that alone is worthy of a week's meditation to spurn us to forsake the world and the flesh, to serve the saints, to share the gospel, to be able to be persevering in the face of opposition or affliction
[00:34:07] or outright persecution.
[00:34:10] Verse 160, the entirety of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever.
[00:34:18] And here we might echo the truth in our confession of faith in our catechism.
[00:34:25] All God's word is true.
[00:34:28] It's infallible.
[00:34:30] Praise the Lord for that.
[00:34:32] Indeed, a sound Christian is one who embraces every chapter of Scripture, does not dismiss a book of the Bible or a passage and say, well, it's folklore.
[00:34:45] That's Satan's talk.
[00:34:48] That's not a talk of a Christian.
[00:34:50] That's not the talk of a sheep that hears and recognizes the voice of their shepherd.
[00:34:58] We apply the whole counsel of God to our faith and to our walk.
[00:35:05] And it is the devil, remember, who wants you to believe that nothing is eternal.
[00:35:14] Death is just for a moment.
[00:35:16] It is one of his lies.
[00:35:17] And the wicked will always be in power and they will prevail.
[00:35:22] That's another lie.
[00:35:25] And where I hear that from, where the wicked will always prevail, I only hear that in Christian circles I don't hear it in unbelieving circles because the unbelievers don't refer to themselves as wicked but it is even
[00:35:42] reformed circles where I hear the wicked will always be in control well I guess the God we worship must be really small, a puny God a weak God, not a true God if that were true
[00:36:01] but it's not but we have a strong reminder that god's word is truth and recall that jesus declared for the comfort comfort of all his disciples these two passages first i take you to second john
[00:36:17] chapter one verses one through three the elder to the elect lady and her children whom i love and truth this is to the church and not only i but all also all those who have known the truth
[00:36:32] because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.
[00:36:43] That's a great comfort right there.
[00:36:44] It goes on, grace, mercy, and peace will be with you.
[00:36:53] Even in this world, this fallen, cursed, violent, turbulent world that persecutes the righteous.
[00:37:05] God's grace, mercy, and peace will be with God's people from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
[00:37:21] Then I want to bring you to another passage in 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 13 through 15.
[00:37:29] But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord.
[00:37:35] it is nice it's really nice when someone you care about somebody you respect and somebody you love says to you i love you and you know it's true you know it's completely sincere so god is speaking
[00:37:59] to his church his beloved for it is his bride because god from the beginning chose you for salvation. From the beginning.
[00:38:13] Not the beginning of your days, but from the beginning of time. Through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. What do you hear more of during the week? Lies or truth?
[00:38:33] We don't want to dismiss so many lies that we just don't think about how many there are. But it is the truth and the Spirit. Verse 14.
[00:38:43] To which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We live for the Lord. We're ready to die for the Lord. We don't know when that'll
[00:38:57] be, the dying part.
[00:38:59] But every day, you know, it's the living part. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
[00:39:15] Saints, we know the judgments of the Lord stand. Justice is the Lord's, and we in faith take that as a great promise.
[00:39:29] That provides continued comfort, that promise, in these troubling times. And so we are to love the law of the Lord. It proceeds from our great lover, Jesus Christ. And never forget, Mercy and love is the Lord's way towards his people,
[00:39:55] all who take refuge in him, and indeed all who abide in Christ.
[00:40:02] Let us pray.
[00:40:03] May Father, we pray that we would grow in our dependence upon you and our trust in you, and may we feed upon your word.
[00:40:13] May we truly digest it, dwell upon it, apply it, remember it speak of it to ourselves and to one another even as we sing your psalms Father may we always understand in our afflictions you will be exalted
[00:40:34] you'll be glorified may we practice faith in those afflictions may we not suffer as a evildoer but may we suffer as a Christian if it is your will and so Lord help us to bear
[00:40:49] witness of your redeeming grace of your eternal mercy that is realized in your beloved son Jesus Christ our Lord amen