God's Word: Route to Revival

You're so good to us to allow us the opportunity To study the word of god We thank you that you have placed your word into our hands Thank you lord that we can put your word in our hearts That we might be able to live a righteous and pure and holy life before you Tonight as we study your word, we pray that you would open our eyes that we might behold wonderful things out of thy law That we might learn more of the statutes of god and thus follow you with a the whole heart deep commitment That serves jesus only In your name we pray Amen Psalm 119 as we continue our study

We are in verse number 25 God's word is the route to revival It's that one element that revives the life of an individual Revival literally means to bring back to life So in other words if someone is near death or unconscious and you revive them you've brought them back to life so technically You can only revive something That is already alive And so we begin to understand that revival Specifically is for those who have experienced life but need to embrace a Aliveness about them for instance if you're growing up in the south like I did and you uh Went from place to place in small towns, there are always revival meetings I don't know if you have ever been to a revival meeting or not But i've been to quite a few of them when I grew up as a kid And usually a preacher would come to your town or to your village or to wherever it is You lived and there'd be these big signs out of the front revival meetings and people would come and hear the word of the lord and a lot of times they're very emotional times and people would would either Recommit their life to christ or they would get fired up for the lord because they were designed For the believers to understand what true life in christ really meant and to live that life on a regular basis And after that revival would take place there'd be a week or two or three where people would be fired up And then they kind of go off the scene for a while Until the next year when the new preacher came or a different preacher came to do another revival meeting And yet revival is something that's supposed to take place in the heart of a man in the heart of a woman on a daily basis on a regular basis Revival is important to the life of the believer In order that they might live the life that god has designed for them to live And so revival is a biblical word Nine times it's used in psalm 119 It's used in the very first verse

We will talk about this evening when it says revive me according to thy word It's spoken of again in verse number 40 Behold, I long for thy precepts revive me through thy righteousness And then you turn over to psalm 119 verse number 88 Revive me according to thy loving kindness so that I may keep thy testimony Or the testimony of thy mouth verse 93 I will never forget thy precepts For by them thou hast revived me verse 107 I am exceedingly afflicted Revive me oh lord according to thy word Then of course over in verse 149 hear my voice according to thy loving kindness revive me oh lord according to thine ordinances Verse 154 plead my cause and redeem me revive me according to thy word verse 156 Great are thy mercies

Oh lord revive me according to thine ordinances And then 159 Consider how I love thy precepts Revive me oh lord according to thy loving kindness the psalmist knew his need for revival And so continually he would come before his god and plead with him that he would be revived according to the statutes the ordinances the law of almighty god So we know that revival is that one element that comes because of the word of god So you don't have to wait once a year for some preacher to come to your town And do a set of revival meetings for you to experience revival It comes when you understand what god's word says about revival and how god's word is that Which is the route to a revived Life, and that's what psalm 119 verses 25 and following is all about here is a series of stanzas that deal with how the word of god influences a man to live No matter what his circumstances are for god I'll read verse number 25 You read verse number 26 In other words, I read the odd ones you read the even ones as we have been doing Okay, verse 25

My soul cleaves to the dust revive me according to thy word Make me understand the way of thy precepts So I will meditate on thy wonders Remove the false away from me and graciously grant me thy law I cleave to thy testimonies Oh lord Do not put me to shame the route to revival begins With the condition of the psalmist That's verse number 25 the condition of the psalmist psalmist says my soul cleaves To the dust This psalmist Maybe it's david

Maybe it's not no one necessarily knows for sure But the psalmist understands his humiliation The psalmist is at a point in his life where he begins to bow down in mourning in grief in sorrow So much so that he finds himself prostrate on the ground my soul cleaves To the dust He understands that his life is full of sorrow He's at a point in his life Where he is facing humiliation Now maybe it's because of some sinfulness In his life, maybe he's committed some sin

Maybe there is some guilt that's in his life because of that sin We don't know And that's a good thing Because sometimes we like to pass judgment on the characters of the bible because their situation is not like our situation That somehow our situation is always worse than theirs

It's their situation is not nearly as hard as mine So the psalmist doesn't tell us what it is that caused his soul to to cleave to the dust We don't know for sure we do know that over in verse number 28 it says my soul weeps because of grief And that tells us that there was some kind of pain Some kind of loss in the in the psalmist's life that would cause him to grieve Maybe he is clinging to the dust because he's made some wrong choices You know a lot of times we find ourselves Prostrate before god because we made some bad choices There have been people who have made a choice to get an abortion early on in life And when they get older their soul cleaves to the dust because they made the wrong choice There are some who who want to get married and they do it hastily And they choose somebody just to make sure they don't stay single for the rest of their life And they've made some wrong choices There are some who like to experiment with drugs and so they try to go that avenue and they find themselves experiencing the effects of wrong choices You know all of us make choices Sometimes they're good Sometimes they're bad Hopefully we learn from our mistakes not to make the same one again But whatever it was in the psalmist's life Here was a man who found himself cleaving to the dust Here was a man who found himself attached to the ground This man was having a hard time because of choices he made Because of maybe sin he committed Or maybe because of some loss or pain in his life that caused him great sorrow and grief You know, I don't know What the condition of your soul is? God does but I do not know that and so we come to church and sometimes we put on a mask or put on a front that Makes everybody think that everything's okay, but in reality we go home and we find ourselves prostrate on the ground cleaving to the dust because of bad choices or sinful choices that we have made The psalmist began to recognize his need for god to deal with him because his self resources were all gone There was nothing else he could do A lot of times we make a bad choice and we try to rectify it

We try to fix it You know, we're trying we're masters at fixing bad decisions And usually we just make worse decisions This psalmist was was at the end of his self resources He had nothing left his soul would cleave to the dust He had no answer He needed lifting He needed revival So he says my soul Cleaves to the dust and then he says revive me according to Thy word maybe your text says Quicken me

That's a good word quicken me cause me to stand erect Cause me to arise Cause there to to have something happen in my life where I am no longer in a position of prostration on the ground that somehow lord my life would be quickened And he pleads with god revive me according to thy word He he was going to make known his problem his situation to his god Now it's not like god didn't know his situation god knew But I want you to notice something he he has a problem We don't know what that problem is that caused him to be in the situation He was in in psalm 119 But he calls out to god He knows that God's word is his counselor

We learned about that last week in verse number 24 So he knows that god's word can counsel him god's word can revive him god's word can cause him to stand and stand erect God's word can cause him to be strengthened God's word can breed life into a soul And so he knows that in order for that to happen He will have to call out to god and talk to god about a situation Now that's very important Because he's not going to talk to anybody else about a situation He's going to talk to god about a situation You see something unique about the psalms all 150 of them

You begin to learn that the psalmist cries out to god That's usually the last thing we do we cry to somebody on the phone or we cry to somebody through a letter Or we cry to somebody nowadays through text messaging or through emails, whatever that is And we try to do all those kinds of things

We cry out to everybody, but we don't cry out to god Listen to what the bible says about that just in case you didn't know Proverbs 18 verse number two says a fool does not delight in understanding but only in revealing his own heart A fool is one who pours out his heart to someone else That's not the wise man The wise man wants understanding the wise man wants to know what's going on But you know the bible never tells us to spill our guts to somebody Now if you go to the psychologist or if you go to the psychotherapist, they're going to say well Let it all hang out Tell us how you're feeling

How does that make you feel? What's going on inside of you and the bible says you're just a fool if you do that So you can choose to be a fool Or you can save your money Come to church talk to one of your elders hear the word of god and stay rich Simple as that I mean how much easier can it be? What's so hard about that decision, right? And the psalmist knows and you read the psalms The psalmist is always crying out to his god because he knows there's only one with that solution And that's the lord god of the universe He's the only one He's the one who gives life

Listen to deuteronomy chapter 32 Deuteronomy 32 verse number 39 says see now that I I am he and there is no god beside me It is I who put to death and give life I have wounded and it is I who heal and there is no one who can deliver from my hand The lord god says i'm the one who gives life I'm, the one that can revive the soul. I'm the one that can enhance the soul because I am the life giver And god is the only one who can do that

He does it through his word He does it through his word And the psalmist realizes that in order for him to be revived It's going to be done specifically through the word of almighty god That's how it's going to happen

It's not going to happen to anybody else but through the word of almighty god And so the psalmist pleads Lord i'm going to expose myself to the scripture Because that is the greatest therapy known to man to expose myself to the scripture He says lord. I I need you to revive me. I need you to put new life into me I need you to give me a spiritual dose of scripture I need your word to strengthen me now listen Whatever your condition is this evening I don't know what it is, but the only solution to your condition Is the scripture is the word of god Maybe you're here tonight in and your marriage needs revival A lot of people find themselves in that boat The marriage is kind of stale it's kind of dull it's kind of Boring

It's just kind of this living together for the sake of the kids kind of thing Do you know how many people are in that boat? most Most marriages are in that boat They kind of stay together because of of the kids And after all the church looks down upon divorce, so we're not going to do that Well, we'll just kind of stick it out together And maybe your marriage needs revival It only comes through the scriptures It can only come because god strengthens you through the word of god That's the only way And maybe your spiritual life Maybe your own personal life is in the dull drums

Maybe it's Stagnant, you know for the life of me. I don't understand how a christian can can become stagnant in their walk with god I I don't understand why they want to do that Why they just flounder in no man's land and just kind of go through the motions spiritually Just kind of go through the motions by bringing their bible to church or going through the motions by doing things with people Who are of the church, but really experience no revival in their lives? After all we are Christians, we are the ones who say we love the lord

Jesus christ And yet you think that nobody loved us By the way, we acted sometimes And yet we find ourselves in a stale condition In our marriage and our family and our personal lives Whatever your condition is There is only one solution And jesus christ is that solution and his word is that which speaks to every situation that you encounter every emotion that you have Every decision that you make god's word is that which deals with it? And once you begin to go outside god's word to find the answers like the psalmist You'll have the wrong choices And you'll find your soul cleaving to the dust once again And so revival begins with the condition now some might say well, you know pastor I know my condition and my condition is not good and and i've been coming to church and i've been memorizing scripture In fact, i've memorized psalm 119 verses 1 to 24 Just like you've suggested and i'm on verse 25 this week and i'm memorizing the bible and i'm i'm in church And uh, and i'm teaching a sunday school class and and but but my life is just one big bore There is no revival in my life and my marriage is in the tubes and it's just not going good And things are just not going well in my life and and I know my condition My soul is cleaving to the dust and i'm in the word and things aren't changing Oh, there's an answer for that that's point number two and that's the confession That's the confession Listen to what the psalmist says I have told of my ways and thou hast answered Me I have told of my ways and thou hast answered me You see in order for there to be a restoration of the soul There must be the confession of the sin This is going to get real convicting here in a minute

So hold on to your seats Make sure you're ready for you to hear what god's word asks for you tonight because this is so important to your soul We we want revival, but we don't want to go the roots The bible says for revival to happen in my life And the psalmist says very clearly I have told of my ways and thou hast answered me He goes to the word of god And speaks to the lord god of the universe And when he goes to god's word because the testimonies of god are his counselor And he wants to be revived according to the word of god He begins to expose himself to who god is and he sees The grossness of his life and begins to pour his heart out and to explain his ways to god The bible says in proverbs 14 verse number 12 that there is a way which seemeth right into a man But the ends thereof are the ways of death not life You know we use that evangelistically and that's a good verse to use evangelistically because Usually there are people who in their own way think that there's a certain way to get to heaven and they trust in that way Not god's way, but in reality there is a way what seemeth right to us as believers That's why the bible says that we are to trust in the lord with all our heart and lean not unto our own understanding In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths But the psalmist said I have confessed my ways to the lord I have poured out my ways to god so he understands exactly Where I am not that god needs any information God's not looking for more information

He knows everything You're not going to tell him something

He doesn't know he already knows Confession is not to inform god of anything confession is to conform me to god That I might understand who he is Because confession is saying the same thing about my sin that god says about my sin That's what confession is And folks the reason there's not revival taking place in people's lives is because they're unwilling to admit that their ways are opposed to god's ways Listen to what the bible says book of proverbs Book of proverbs the 12th verse or 12th chapter in the 15th verse The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel The way of the fool is right in his own eyes Proverbs chapter 16 verse number two says it this way all the ways of a man are clean In his own sight, but the lord weighs the motives You know, there's a lot of things that we can do that

We think are just really good This way is the right way this way sounds good But god knows the motive god knows the heart god knows what's propelling you from the inside out god knows what's going on inside You can't fool god The way may look clean to you You might be able to convince people that it's clean way It's the right way, but god knows the heart of an individual Salma says i've told him my ways I've confessed my ways To my god because my ways are opposed to god's ways See, there's only two ways

There's the worldly way and there's the word way There are no other ways You either do it god's way or you do it Society's way You do it heaven's way or you do it hell's way

There is no in between It's either god's way Or it's your way And the psalmist knew he did things his way that's why his soul was cleaving to the dust He did it his way like frank sinatra used to sing that song. I did it my way Well, he did it his way and ended up in hell's way And we need to understand that the psalmist is coming to realize something very important That most of the time my ways are not god's ways that's why the lord says My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways As far as the earth is from the heavens So far are my thoughts from your thoughts and my ways from your ways God's way is so completely different than ours And until we come to realize that we can't take matters into our own hands You know, all we like sheep have gone astray each has turned to his own way Which way is that? Let's not toward the lord god It's another way

That's why the psalm was said in psalm one verse number six these words for the lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked Will perish the bible says in psalm 25 Verse number four these words Make me know thy ways Oh lord Teach me thy paths Lead me in thy truth and teach me For thou art the god of my salvation for thee. I wait all the day Here the psalmist was willing to wait as long as it took for god to show him the right way And then you go over to psalm 27 In psalm 27 verse number 11 It records these words Teach me thy way

Oh lord and lead me in a level path because of my foes The psalmist wanted to know the way Of the lord god, that's why psalm 18 30 says as for god his way is perfect God's way is always Perfect, but you know, is it not true that we always have another way? Is it not true that as parents we have another way To discipline our children rather than god's way of disciplining our children you ever notice that Happens all the time we have a better way than god has You ever notice that we have a better way to fix our marriage than god's way to fix our marriage We have a better way to handle our finances than god's way to handle our finances We have a better way to witness rather than god's way to witness We have a better way to run church rather than god's way to run church You see there's only one way and that's god's way and so the only way you're going to find God's way is to be in God's Word to know exactly what he says and the psalmist is very open and says I have told of my ways to the Lord because my ways have not been his ways and that's why my soul cleaves to the dust listen to this and thou has answered me now maybe your translation says and thou hast heard my cry you know God hears the heart of the one who cries to him remember psalm 66 18 if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me it's not that God can't hear he can hear he's not dull of hearing he's not a hard of hearing he hears everything but because of the sin in my heart God will not respond to the cry of my soul until there's been confession until there's been that admission of my ways being opposed to God's ways I can't think of a better solution for your family than to sit down before God and say Lord excuse me Lord I have led my family the wrong way could you imagine if if the men of the church sat down with their family and said listen guys I've led you the wrong way I have not been the proper example to my children I haven't been the proper lover of my wife I haven't dealt with integrity in the workplace I haven't been an example of purity to my children I've led the wrong way now I want to do it God's way do you imagine the revival that would take place in the homes and the hearts of people if just men would admit that their way was the wrong way but we're just too arrogant to do that we got too much pride to do that we think we're just too good to do that but the psalmist wasn't and that's why he experienced revival and that's why we don't experience revival it's because he knew that his way was opposed to God's way and so he told his way to God and what did God do God answered him God answered him God heard him and we as men we go around trying to lead our families we wonder why God doesn't answer us why God doesn't hear us it's because we're trying to do things our way we're trying to lead our family our way we're trying to work in the marketplace our way and then God doesn't answer because our sins have separated us from our God and then we become stale we become stagnant in our walk with God and we carry our Bible to church and we sit in the pew and just kind of go through the motions and then we begin to wonder is this Christian thing really all worth it it's not really what it's hacked up to be it's because there was no realization of the condition that would cause man to repent of his sin and enter into confession psalmist knew that though see why because he was willing to look into the word of God and let me tell you something the closer you get to God the clearer your sin is to you the closer you get to God the clearer your sin is to you ever met somebody who's really critical of somebody else's sin ever met people like that they're quick to criticize somebody else's sin those people are not very close to God because they didn't see their own sin listen to me if you're close to God you see your sins so much you don't have time to see anybody else's sin but those people who are critical of somebody else's sin it's because they're so far away from God that they can't even see their own lives because the closer you get to God the clearer your sin is to you because the more you see God the more wretched you see yourself that was a psalmist my soul cleaves to the dust what humiliation oh God revive me according to your word I made known my ways to God and God answered me God heard me you ever wonder if God hears you or not I love the story of Hagar and Ishmael and Sarah and Abraham go back to Genesis 16 with me for a second this is a great story you need to understand the implications of Genesis 16 this is so profound you know the story if you were with us in our study of Genesis it took us you know seven years to get through it so I imagine most of you were here at that time maybe you weren't but you know the story about Sarah and Hagar you remember it says in verse number one now Sarah Abraham's wife was born born him no children and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar now where did they get an Egyptian maid well you got to go back to Genesis 12 and realize that when a famine came in the promised land the land that God led Abraham to Abraham never sought the Lord he fled to Egypt and while he was in Egypt he got this handmaid named Hagar that's one of those wrong choices kind of things but God because of his sovereignty would work everything out after the council of his own will and you begin to see the plan of God at work and what God does here is very profound to Abraham's faith so Sarah couldn't have any children but she had a handmaid named Hagar so Sarah said to Abraham now behold the Lord has prevented me from bearing children please go into my maid perhaps I shall obtain children through her and Abraham listened to the voice of Sarah and Abraham had lived 10 years in the land of Canaan Abraham's wife Sarah took Hagar the Egyptian her maid and gave her to her husband Abraham as his wife and he went into Hagar and she conceived and when she saw that she had conceived her mistress was despised in her sight Sarah said to Abraham may the wrong done upon you I gave my maid into your arms but when she saw that she had conceived I was despised in her sight may the Lord judge between you and me but Abraham said to Sarah behold your maid is in your power do to her what is good in your sight so Sarah treated her harshly as she fled from her presence Sarah had a way it wasn't God's way but she had a way it was a legal way but it wasn't a moral way just because it's legal doesn't mean it's moral she had a legal way that was to give her handmaid Hagar to Abraham it was Sarah's idea Hagar conceived Sarah was bitter she became angry almost as if her soul would cleave to the dust because her way was not God's way she despised Hagar but God had a plan listen to this now the angel of the Lord first time the phrase is used in the Bible it's the appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ found her by a spring of water in the wilderness by the spring on the way to Shur and he said Hagar Sarah's maid where have you come from and where are you going and she said I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarah then the angel of the Lord said to her return to your mistress and submit yourself to her authority moreover the angel the Lord said to her I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they shall be too many to count the angel of the Lord said to her further behold you are with child and you shall bear a son and you shall call his name Ishmael which means God hears now God named her son God hears and he will be a wild donkey of a man and his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand will be against him and he will live to the east of all of his brothers then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her thou art a God who sees for she said have I even remained alive here after seeing him therefore the well was called Beelaharoi behold it is between Kadesh and Bered so Hagar bore Abram a son and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore Ishmael and Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him now what you don't understand by just reading the story is this God says you name your son God hears and you go back to your mistress you submit to her authority because your mistress Sarah and her husband Abraham need to know that God hears because evidently they have missed the boat they have forgotten that God hears all they have been in the land for 10 years God promised them a son they haven't had it yet so God must not be listening God must not hear all God hears God listens he hears all you go back to tell them that God hears and the way that will be implemented in their life is that this boy will be in that house and every time they see Ishmael they will be reminded that I hear them every single day you know I just think it's amazing how God works you know when you name your children you name your kid but let me tell you something God is naming your kid because in that name is a reminder of some lessons that God wants to teach you that you sometimes forget and Abraham and Sarah needed to be reminded that God hears because now you see Abraham is 86 years old he's not going to have his kid until he's a hundred years old so he's still going to have to wait quite a few years believing that God hears right so how does Abraham have a soul revived Romans 4 verse number 18 in hope against hope Abraham believed in order that he might become a father of many nations according that to that which had been spoken so shall your descendants be and without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb yet with respect to the promise of God he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully assured that what he had promised he was also able to perform Abraham learned a lesson that God hears if Abraham would have learned that lesson in Genesis 12 he would have never fled to Egypt had Hagar as a handmaid if he would have cried out to God knowing that God would hear so you come to Genesis chapter 16 Sarah has trouble believing that God hears because she's getting older she's not having any kids so she makes this wacky idea that it would all work out if they had the child through her handmaid Hagar she gets pregnant doesn't work that way God says listen you're gonna have a boy this is a name God hears because evidently Abraham doesn't understand that and Sarah doesn't understand that and you know what we have a hard time understanding that don't we but the psalmist not him God answered me God answered me because he believed that God could hear but he heard because of his confession he heard because of his admission of a sin God heard and responded and answered because he was willing to relinquish his way and follow God's way folks that's the key to revival you got to forget about your way and just do what God says and follow his word and that's where the psalmist was she began to realize that God would answer his prayer I have told of my ways and thou hast answered me what's the next phrase teach me thy statutes teach me Lord teach me the right way you see how do you know you have truly confessed your sin how do you know you're willing to relinquish your way and follow God's way the answer is simple once you confess your sin and realize that your way is opposed to God's way you now say God my way was wrong now teach me the right way teach me your statutes because whatever your statutes say I will do that's how you know you've confessed your sin that's how you know you've sought to get right with God that's how you know your heart is right with God Lord I have sinned against you my way is wrong okay Lord now teach me your statutes show me your way that I might follow your way and obey your word because now I know that my way is wrong and your way is right see that the confession comes because of the man's condition which leads us to number three the compulsion of the psalmist once he recognizes his condition and once he begins his confession there then lies a compulsion in the heart and soul of the psalmist he says make me understand the way of thy precepts see the compulsion there make me understand make me Lord you make me understand your ways because evidently I don't get them and I want to know Lord what it is you want me to do I want your ways he has to adjust his thinking because his thinking has always been centered on him following his ways but now he says Lord I want you to make me understand your way that's the cry of the heart that's truly repentant Lord make me know you make me understand your ways so I can follow you Lord I need to know your precepts they need to be a part of my life and then he says so I will meditate on thy wonders and maybe your text says so I will talk of thy wonders listen you can't have one without the other if you truly meditate you will truly communicate how do you know somebody is meditating upon God's word that's all they talk about because you always talk about that which you think about the most right the more you think about it the more it consumes you the more you want to talk about it so they go hand in hand like over in Psalm 105 I think it's Psalm 105 verse number two it says this verse one oh give thanks to the Lord call upon his name make known his deeds among the people sing to him sing praises to him speak of all his wonders and some texts say meditate on all his wonders you see when you meditate you communicate because you are you are what's the word I want to use you are enveloped with God so much so that you want to be able to communicate those things that you have learned Lord make me understand the ways of your precepts and I will meditate upon your wonders and upon meditate upon your wonders I will communicate your word so everybody will know exactly the way that you have led me this was the compulsion of the psalmist this is what moved him because he knew that it was the word of God that would revive his soul and when he studied God's word he would learn about his God we learned about his God he learned about his sin infested sin and felt compelled for God to make him understand his ways which leads to the third point of the fourth point and that is the contrition of the psalmist my soul weeps because of grief strengthen me according to thy word now how does that fit wait a minute I thought his soul already would cleave to the dust and now he's confessed his sin he is being strengthened through the word of God he is being revived through the word of God he wants God to make him know his ways and now he says my soul weeps because of grief why is that it's simple the closer you walk with God the more dissatisfied you are spiritually with your life and you grieve over how far you are away from God that's a psalmist he is grieving once again because he says Lord show me your ways and God begins to show his ways and he says oh man I am not even there yet God forbid that we should have any semblance of arrogance in our lives thinking that we have arrived spiritually or that we are better than somebody else because we're not and the psalmist recognizes that he he says man my soul is just grieve deeply because the more I see the ways of God the more I see how far short I fall from accomplishing what he asks me to do literally what he commands me to do I'm not even there oh God strengthen me strengthen me with that word again there's that contrition that contrite heart the broken and contrite heart God will not despise but if you read the psalms the psalmist lives in a state of contrition because he's always crying out to God and realizing how far short he falls of God's standard and begs for God to strengthen him through his word that's why Paul said in Acts 20 verse number 32 the to the Ephesian elders I commend you to God and the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all the saints he knew that was God's word that would build his people over in first John chapter 2 verse number 14 it says this I have written to you fathers because you know him who has been from the beginning I have written to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one it's God's word that gives you strength it God's word that causes you to overcome the evil one and the psalmist says Lord strengthen me according to your word the cry of a contrite heart is a cry that longs for God to give him strength and the only way that strength will come is one way and that's the word of God there is no other way if there was I tell you I would I promise I crossed my heart hope to die stick a needle in my eye I mean I would I would if there was another way I tell you there is no other way that's it and Satan does everything he can to keep you out of the word of God doesn't he the alarm clock goes off late you're too busy can't make it got family in town can't come to church gotta make the meal all kinds of excuses we give to God all kinds of things we say that we just don't have time to memorize the word of God to study the law of God to be strengthened by the word of God and we have every kind of excuse and you know what that is our way that's just the American way there's always an excuse as to why I can't do something instead of just admitting that I truly don't want to do it to begin with because there's always enough time to do what you want to do right come on let's be honest there's always enough time to do what you want to do if you want to be in the word of God you make time if you want to study the word of God you make time if you want to be with the people of God you make the time to be there if you want to go to church you go to church if you don't want to go to church you don't go there's always enough time to do what want to do

And the psalmist knew that it was God's Word that would revive him and cause him to be strengthened Then you have verse number 29, the consecration It says this, remove the false way from me and graciously grant me thy law So in other words, there was something about his way that was the false way And his cry was that somehow it would be completely removed Have you ever done that? Have you ever said, God, remove from me the false way Remove from me the way of lying Remove from me the way of deceit Remove from me the way of hypocrisy Lord, remove it from me

That's the heart of a person who truly confesses their sin They want nothing to do with the false way He says, and graciously grant me thy law You see, he knows that it's the law of God that will help him walk in truth Because God's Word is a truthful way It's the right way His way was the false way It was the wrong way And you know, it's almost as if he lived a lie Whenever you go the wrong way, you live a lie When you go God's way, you live the truth But when you go your way, you live a lie Let's know what 1 John says Chapter 1, verse number 6

If we say that we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth If we say we have fellowship with him, if we say we're a believer and we walk in darkness, we're liars. 1 John 2, verse number 4, says this, the one who says, I have come to know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him That's pretty clear, right? He's a liar, just a liar And so the psalmist recognizes that his way is the false way It's living a lie That's not the truth

And so he is asking God to graciously grant him his law because by his law he will be made alive He will be strengthened and walk accordingly Which leads us to our last point, and that is the conviction Listen to what he says. I have chosen the faithful way This is a conviction The Word of God has taken effect in his soul, and this is what he says. I have chosen the faithful way. I have chosen the truthful way. I have chosen the way that honors God It's not the compromising way It's the uncompromising way That's the faithful way

And based on the fact that God has graciously granted his law to this man and that God has strengthened him according to His Word and that he's going to revive according to the Word of God, he says, this is my choice This is what I've chosen to do. I've chosen to walk the faithful way Listen to what Charles Spurgeon says about this This is really good He says, men do not drop into the right way by chance They must choose it and continue to choose it, or they will soon wander from it Those whom God has chosen in due time choose His way

There is a doctrinal way of truth, which we ought to choose, rejecting every dogma of man's devising There is a ceremonial way of truth, which we should follow, detesting all the forms which apostate churches have invented And then there is a practical way of truth, the way of holiness, to which we must adhere, whatever may be our temptation to forsake it Let our election be made and made irrevocably Let us answer to all seducers I have chosen And what I have chosen, I have chosen. O Lord, by the grace lead us, or by Thy grace lead us, with a hearty free will to choose to do Thy will

Thus shall thine eternal choice of us bring forth the end which it designs." We need to choose the faithful way This was his commitment This was his conviction. I am going to choose the faithful way Listen to Proverbs chapter 28, verse number 20 It says these words, Proverbs 28, verse number 20, a faithful man will abound with blessings The psalmist says, I want that. I am choosing that way. I chose the faithful way And then he says this, I have placed Thine ordinances before me. I have placed Thine ordinances before me Verse 31, I cleave to Thy testimonies

And when we began the psalm, where was he cleaving to? The dust, right? He was prostrate on the ground And now what is he cleaving to? The testimonies of God Why? Because he knows that that is where his strength is That is where revival comes That is where restoration comes That is where life begins And so he says, now I am just cleaving. I am hanging on for dear life to the testimonies of God Because he knows there is nothing else to hold on to There is nothing else And then he says, O Lord, do not put me to shame Folks, if you don't cling to the testimonies of God, you will be put to shame

That is why the Bible says, study to show thyself a workman, needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth You study the Word of God You rightly divide the Word of God so you are not ashamed But if you don't cling and cleave to the testimonies of God, your life will become a shame As the psalmist knew, as he would cleave to the dust because he chose the wrong way He says, I want the faithful way. I choose that way. I place your ordinances before me

That's good, isn't it? They're right before me. I place them before me because I'm going to follow them, because you've taught me, you've made me understand your precepts, and they're right there. I'm going to follow them day after day after day And therefore, Lord, I'm going to hold on to them and cleave to them And then he says in verse 32, I shall run the way of thy commandments, for thou wilt enlarge my heart Folks, let me tell you something That's a revived life The revived life is a life that runs after the commandments of God

How do you know someone's experienced revival? They want to be in the Word They want to be under the Word They want to study the Word All they can think about is the Word of God That's a person who's experienced revival, because they know that that's what they've got to hold on to They cleave to it They cling to it They latch themselves onto it They put the testimonies of God before them and choose to follow the faithful way, because they've learned that their way is not successful Their way does not bring happiness and joy It brings sorrow It brings defeat It brings grief It brings mourning

It brings heartache and pain That's why his soul was cleaving to the dust and was in desperate need of revival And once the Word of God began to take effect in his life, he was alive, so much so that he would run the way of the commandments of God He would run those ways And as he ran the ways of God's commandments, his heart would become enlarged His heart would fill up with the Word of God and fill up with the love of God, because he continually ran the way of God's commandments, God's Word It is the route to revival Let's pray

Father, thank you once again for this night and the chance we have to study the Word of God What a joy it is to know the truth of the Word that you have given to us Lord, I pray for the condition of every soul in this room, the condition of every soul that one day will listen by way of radio or by way of CD or tape You know that condition There needs to be a confession There needs to be a confession of their ways, that they are away, truly away from the truth and the faithful way of God And there needs to be a compulsion to follow your Word

And there, Lord, there needs to be a broken and contrite heart, so they can make that consecration that says, I have chosen this way, the faithful way, and have a conviction that they will run after the commandments of God, and you will enlarge their heart for the things of truth In Jesus' name we pray Amen.