20-0712p Transcript

Preacher: Mike Mathis

(0:04) Good evening. (0:08) Once again, I’m glad to be standing before you (0:15) to present another lesson from God’s Word. (0:24) And it’s…​ (0:27) Now, tonight, I am going to present (0:34) the third and final lesson in Teach Me Your Statutes.

(0:43) Now, I intended on having this all wrapped up (0:48) while we were not meeting here (0:53) and having the conference call for the most part. (1:00) But technical difficulties interrupted the morning (1:07) and that the lesson I presented (1:11) or was going to present that morning was (1:16) because for some reason it just shut down. (1:19) And so that evening, I went on ahead with (1:24) what I intended to give on Sunday morning.

(1:31) And I still left me with the…​ (1:33) And I was going to have this third lesson that evening. (1:40) But I’m going to present it tonight. (1:43) And it’s Teach Me Your Statutes.

(1:47) But I’m going to begin in Psalms 119 and verse 67. (1:58) Or maybe in verse 66 where it says, (2:03) Teach me good judgment and knowledge (2:06) for I believe your commandment. (2:09) And in verse 67, he says, (2:13) Before I was afflicted, I went astray.

(2:19) That’s what many of us do sometimes. (2:23) We have it easy. (2:26) We are not suffering much.

(2:31) We think life is easy for us. (2:36) And we simply go astray. (2:40) And he said, This was before I was afflicted.

(2:46) I went astray, but now I keep your word. (2:53) Hebrews 12, beginning with verse 5, (3:05) the Hebrew writer tells the Hebrews that, (3:12) since you have forgotten the exhortation (3:16) which speaks to you as to sons, (3:20) my son do not despise the chastening of the Lord, (3:25) nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him. (3:29) For whom the Lord loves, he chastens, (3:32) and discourages every son whom he receives.

(3:37) If you endure chastening, (3:39) God deals with you as with sons. (3:44) For what son is there whom a father does not chasten? (3:49) But if you are without chastening, (3:52) of which all have become partakers, (3:56) then you are illegitimate and not sons. (4:01) Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, (4:06) and we pay them respect.

(4:09) Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father? (4:17) Now we may wonder, how does God chasten us? (4:24) Well, I’m not real keen on that. (4:29) Might be various ways. (4:31) We may have the chastening in the form of illness, maybe.

(4:36) We’re going through a pandemic. (4:40) I don’t know if that is chastening from God, (4:46) but we may go through other forms of what we call affliction. (4:53) But we may question these afflictions that we’re going through.

(5:04) We may wonder, well, why am I going through this and such? (5:11) You know what the psalmist says in verse 71? (5:17) It is good for me that I have been afflicted. (5:25) Can you imagine that? (5:27) Because the Hebrew writer says, you know, (5:33) Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful. (5:39) Nevertheless, after it yields peaceable fruit of righteousness (5:44) to those who have been trained by it.

(5:51) So there’s some good that may come from that. (5:54) And in this case, the psalmist said, (5:57) It is good for me that I have been afflicted, (6:02) that I may learn your statutes. (6:08) Because he said in verse 67, (6:15) But now I keep your word.

(6:23) And he, in verse 72, (6:28) Consider the law of God, (6:33) the law of your mouth is better to me (6:36) than thousands of coins of gold and silver. (6:42) So the psalmist had a good view of God and his word. (6:51) Now, when we look at the Psalm 119, (6:59) and he uses the word statutes, (7:04) he also uses commandments, the word, judgment.

(7:10) He’s talking about the same thing. (7:14) So he’s, when we see word, (7:21) that’s what he’s talking about. (7:23) Statutes, he’s talking about the word or the law.

(7:26) And so, and he’s saying that these things were good. (7:31) And he is saying, teach me your statutes. (7:36) In verse 68, he says, God is good.

(7:43) You are good and do good. (7:47) Teach me your statutes. (7:52) You know, we have a song in our song book, (7:56) but we’re not going to sing it.

(7:57) I’m just going to review it as we go through this. (8:03) It’s song number 83 that says, God is so good. (8:14) And we find that he is good.

(8:23) We learned that he is good. (8:27) And in 1 Chronicles 1634, it says, (8:34) give thanks to the Lord for he is good. (8:39) His mercy endures forever.

(8:43) In Psalms 118 and verse 1, that is what that says. (8:51) Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. (8:57) For his mercy endures forever.

(9:00) In the song, the second stanza says, he cares for me. (9:13) We find God cares for me. (9:16) In 1 Peter 5 and verse 7, we are told to cast all our cares (9:24) upon him, for he cares for you.

(9:29) And he does indeed care for us. (9:38) In Luke 15, we find three parables. (9:47) One is about the lost sheep, where one sheep goes astray, (9:58) and the shepherd leaves the 90.

(10:01) He has 100. (10:03) And one sheep goes astray, and he leaves the 99 (10:09) and goes after looking for the one sheep that is lost. (10:17) He finds that sheep, and we are told that he goes (10:23) and he invites others to rejoice with him, (10:28) that he finds that sheep.

(10:31) We’re told that heaven rejoices over one person that repents (10:41) than 99 just persons who need no repentance. (10:46) Then there is the parable of the lost coin, (10:51) where this woman loses a coin, and she searches diligently (10:57) for that coin. (10:59) She finds that coin, and she invites her neighbors (11:04) to rejoice with her.

(11:08) And again, Jesus says that there is rejoicing in heaven (11:14) in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents. (11:22) And then he talks about the lost son or the prodigal son. (11:30) The son that received his inheritance tells his father (11:42) to give him his inheritance, and he’s given that inheritance.

(11:46) He goes off into a far country and wastes it, (11:53) all that he has. (11:56) And he finds himself in dire straits because all that he had, (12:04) he spends it on fun and righteous living. (12:09) And he doesn’t have anything.

(12:12) And to make matters worse, there’s a famine (12:16) that comes in the land. (12:20) And then he works. (12:23) He works for someone that he is feeding the pigs, (12:30) and he wants, he desires just to eat the husk (12:36) that the pigs eat.

(12:38) He is so, you know, in want. (12:45) But what he does is he resolves to go back home (12:50) because, you know, his father’s servants have food to eat, (12:56) and there he is in a lowly state. (13:00) He’s starving to death.

(13:03) And he does go home. (13:08) Now, of course, he is not sure of how things are going to be, (13:16) so he makes up his mind that he’s going to tell his father (13:19) to make him his hired servant. (13:26) You know, that boy’s father is looking for him.

(13:35) He’s watching for him. (13:38) And he soon sees his son coming. (13:44) This typifies God.

(13:47) Now, the son, when he approaches his father, (13:51) he tells him, you know, (13:54) I’ve sinned against you in heaven. (13:58) He said, I don’t deserve to be your son. (14:02) Just make me your servant.

(14:04) But the father is so happy to have his son home, (14:12) he tells them to put a robe on him, (14:16) put a ring on his finger, (14:19) kill the best of the fatted calf. (14:23) The father is rejoicing. (14:26) That shows to us, typifies God.

(14:33) We are learning that God looks for us. (14:38) But you know what we’ve got to do? (14:40) We’ve got to look for him. (14:42) We’ve got to get up and go to him.

(14:46) You know, these three parables show to us (14:55) God cares for the lost. (14:59) He cares for those that are astray. (15:10) And he’s happy when one, just one, comes to him.

(15:18) And he says that the angels rejoice. (15:27) Then the third stanza of God is so good in the songbook, (15:32) says, I love him so. (15:37) In Matthew 22, which I read, (15:46) Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, (15:53) and he says that thou shalt love the Lord your God (16:00) with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.

(16:06) We are commanded that we are to love God. (16:11) According to this song, the one that arranges it says, (16:17) I love him so. (16:18) We should love him so because he is good.

(16:23) And he is good and does good. (16:31) And he said the second is like the first one, (16:38) is to love your neighbor as yourself. (16:43) But we are to love God, and it is the first (16:51) and great commandment.

(16:54) And then the fourth stanza and the last stanza says, (17:01) he answers prayers. (17:05) God answers prayers. (17:08) We can come to God in prayer asking him for things (17:18) for his favor.

(17:21) And we must know that he will answer our prayers, of course, (17:29) according to his will. (17:32) In Acts 12, we find that Herod the king stretched out (17:40) his hand to harass some from the church. (17:45) Then he killed James, the brother of John, with a sword.

(17:51) And because he saw it pleased the Jews, (17:56) he proceeded further to seize Peter also. (18:04) Now it was during the days of unleavened bread. (18:09) So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison (18:13) and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, (18:21) intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

(18:27) Now I want you to listen to verse 5. (18:31) Peter was therefore kept in prison, (18:35) but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. (18:42) They prayed for him. (18:49) And then were told, now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, (18:58) and a light shone in the prison, and he struck Peter on the side (19:04) and raised him up, saying, arise quickly.

(19:08) And his chains fell off his hands. (19:13) Then the angel said to him, gird yourself and tie on your sandals. (19:18) And so he did.

(19:20) And he said to him, put on your garment and follow me. (19:25) So he went out and followed him and did not know (19:31) that what was done by the angel was real, (19:35) but thought he was seeing a vision. (19:38) When they were past the first and the second guard post, (19:44) they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, (19:49) which opened to them of its own accord.

(19:53) And they went out and went down one street, (19:57) and immediately the angel departed from him. (20:05) Now you see, their prayers were answered. (20:10) Now I want us to look at the next few verses.

(20:17) Now I want you to look at something here. (20:20) Now when Peter had come to himself, he said, (20:25) Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel (20:30) and has delivered me from the hand of Herod (20:35) and from all the expectation of the Jewish people. (20:40) So when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, (20:45) the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, (20:50) where many were gathered together praying.

(20:56) So in this verse, they’re still praying. (21:02) And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, (21:06) a girl named Rhoda came to answer. (21:10) When she recognized Peter’s voice, (21:14) because of her gladness, she did not open the gate, (21:18) but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate.

(21:25) Now I want you to notice something. (21:27) Now they were praying for Peter, and Peter was released. (21:34) God answered their prayers.

(21:38) But now listen. (21:42) But they said to her, You are beside yourself. (21:47) Yet she kept insisting that it was so.

(21:51) So they said, It is his angel. (21:57) You see, they just didn’t believe that Peter really was there. (22:03) Yet they prayed for him.

(22:05) They were praying for him. (22:09) And we need to realize God does answer prayers, (22:13) not in this fashion, but He does answer our prayers. (22:17) We pray for the sick.

(22:22) We’ve seen the answers to those prayers that they’re healed, (22:27) that they receive healing. (22:31) It’s not miraculous healing, but it’s healing, (22:34) and He heals them. (22:37) But they just couldn’t believe that he was standing there.

(22:42) Now Peter continued knocking, (22:45) and when they opened the door and saw him, (22:49) they were astonished. (22:51) Can you believe that? (22:54) Praying for him, and yet surprised that he’s there. (23:03) But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, (23:07) he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.

(23:13) And he said, Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren. (23:19) And he departed and went to another place. (23:23) You see, God answers prayers, and we need to believe.

(23:28) And as the psalm says, He answers prayers. (23:33) He does. (23:34) He’s good.

(23:35) And we should give Him thanks for that. (23:43) Now, back in Psalms 119, in verse 108, (24:00) the psalmist said, Accept, accept, I pray, (24:07) the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, (24:10) and teach me your judgments. (24:14) That’s the same as if he’s saying, Teach me your statutes.

(24:19) He’s praying that the freewill offerings of his mouth be accepted by God. (24:29) In Hosea, the 14th chapter and verse 2, (24:37) we have a statement, a command there. (24:47) Beginning in verse 1, it says, (24:49) O Israel, return to the Lord your God, (24:54) for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

(24:58) Take words with you and return to the Lord. (25:04) Say to Him, Take away all iniquity. (25:09) Receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.

(25:19) You see, we can use our lips and offer sacrifices. (25:25) But how is that done? (25:26) Let’s look at Hebrews 13 and verse 15. (25:34) Also, verse 16, along with this, it says, (25:45) Therefore, by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God.

(25:54) That is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. (26:02) Notice, we are to offer the sacrifice of praise. (26:08) And he says, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.

(26:16) You know, we can do that in our teaching or preaching. (26:21) We can give thanks to God for what He does through our teaching and our preaching. (26:30) We can give thanks to God through prayer.

(26:35) As we pray, thank Him for His goodness toward us, for the things that He does. (26:45) And we can also offer the fruit of our lips by singing and giving thanks in this way. (26:56) And in verse 16, he says, (26:59) But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

(27:11) So, we see that we can offer to God the fruit of our lips. (27:21) And we can also pray that these offerings of our mouth be accepted as the psalmist did. (27:39) Now, in verses 135 and 136, (27:49) we have the psalmist asking or saying, (28:06) Verse 136, he says, (28:24) Yes, he weeps because he sees that men just, they don’t keep God’s law.

(28:32) They do not obey God. (28:35) And it upsets him. (28:41) And he is really bothered by that.

(28:46) You know, many godly people will shed tears for loved ones that are lost (28:56) because they realize that they are lost and they are not conforming to God’s will. (29:03) And he says that rivers of water run down from my eyes because men just don’t keep God’s commands. (29:23) And then I’ll close with Psalm 119, 124, where he says, (29:34) Deal with your servant according to your mercy and teach me your statutes.

(29:44) You know, I ended the second of these lessons with the earth is full of the mercy of God. (30:00) And it is. (30:01) And here he is saying, deal with your servant according to your mercy and teach me your statutes.

(30:15) Yes, you know, one of the things that we learned in the Roman class was that God presents to us his mercy. (30:31) And in Romans 12 and verse 1, where the command is, it says, (30:42) I will beseech you then according to the mercies of God. (30:50) Not just, you know, mercy, but mercies.

(30:53) There’s a lot of things that God does that he is merciful to us. (31:02) And these mercies are presented to us. (31:05) And it says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, (31:13) that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, (31:19) which is your reasonable service.

(31:24) Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (31:31) that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (31:39) And we also learned that we find out that God extends his gift, his grace toward us. (31:55) And what is for us to do is accept that gift.

(32:04) And we, hopefully, I see those of us, and hopefully, I don’t know if anyone is on the phone that can hear this that needs to, (32:24) but if he does accept the gift, believe the gospel, repent of your sins, (32:33) confess the faith in Christ that you believe that Christ is the Son of God, (32:40) and be buried in baptism for the remission of your sins. (32:45) Mark 16, 15, and 16, Acts 2, 38, and Romans 6, 3, and 4. (32:55) We need, then, after that, be faithful unto death. (33:02) If we’re an erring child of God, we should do as the prodigal son did, return, come back, (33:12) let the church pray for you if you need to now.

(33:18) Or if there is any other need that you need to make known to the church, why not do so now? (33:26) Let us have the attitude of, teach me your statutes, O God. (33:38) Let us have the attitude that the psalmist had. (33:41) He considered the law of God’s mouth worth more than silver or gold, the coins of silver and gold.

(33:56) And may we feel that way. (34:00) And let us, then, obey God and do so now. (34:06) Why not do so while we stand and while we sing?