DICAS PARA SERMAO DE JANEIRO

How to Survive Adolescence by Tim Byrd 

Psalms 119:9-119:16 

How to Survive Adolescence

Part 2
Sermon Series: A Word about the Word Psalm119
Date: February 2, 2003 AM Service
Place: Allendale Baptist
Text: Psalm 119:9-16

Introduction

For some 5 years, my wife and I felt the desire and had a deep
passion to serve the Lord in the Youth Ministry. In those some 5
years we were able by the grace of God to see many young
people come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. As
I have mentioned this several times, it is a great joy and blessing
to have some of these who are now out of college and starting
families of their own faithfully serving the Lord, going into the
ministry.

But for the ones we see growing we have seen many others fall
and stumble in their faith. Some have had children out of marriage
and others not in church at all.

I go back to a weekend retreat at Piney Woods Baptist

Encampment one Friday evening were I shared the Gospel with a
young man by the name of Chris. In his junior year at Conroe
High School, he did not come from a Christian family and had no
idea what we were talking about when we taught about a personal
relationship with the Lord Jesus. But that Friday evening at a True
Love Waits retreat, Chris came to me and said he desired to have
that peace and assurance of forgiveness. Chris that night gave
his life to Jesus Christ and for the next 2 years was a faithful
member of our Sunday school class.

I will never forget about two weeks after the retreat he came to
me and asked a very sincere question. He said Tim how can I life
a life that will please God? How can I be sure I will grow as a
Christian?
When I got up off the floor I told him if he would commit himself to
the Word of God and apply it to his life, I was sure he would grow
in his faith and know God’s will and direction for his life.

The psalmist seems to be asking this same question. How can

this young man keep his way clean? How can I grow in the Lord?

But he goes on to answer his own question.

I have entitled this message this morning, How to survive

Adolescence.
But I believe all of us, the young and old need to know how to
keep our way clean.

So, let’s examine 5 truths from our text this morning…

I. Memorize the Word of God

A. Psalm119:11 says; “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I
might not sin against Thee.”
B. Philippians 4:8; “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue (morality or merit), and if there be any
praise, think on these things.” 
C. Get the Word of God into your heart, hide it there, and
memorize it.
D. Remember what we said last week it will preserve you from
sin.
E. “If you were thinking what you ought to be thinking, you
wouldn’t be thinking what you ought not to think.”

Next you should…

II. Personalize the Word of God
A. Psalm119:12; Blessed art Thou, O Lord: teach me they
statutes.”
1. Underline the word me in your Bibles.
B. To the child of God, being lead by the Holy Spirit, the Word of
God becomes personal.
C. When we come to God’s Word we need to ask ourselves these
questions.
1. Is there a lesson to learn?
2. Is there a sin to avoid?
3. Is there a blessing that waits?
4. Is there a promise to claim?
5. Is there a thought to carry with me?

D. Sometimes I like to just let the Word of God become my prayer

to Him.

Next you are to…

III. Verbalize the Word of God.
A. Psalm 119:13; “With my lips have I declared all the judgments
of thy mouth.”
B. Declare means to make known.
C. We are to speak the Word of God.
D. What if I just stopped right now and began to go to some of
you and ask you to tell us what you have read, what God said to
you this week through His Word?
E. Can I go on to say this, many times God reveals a truth in His
Word to you that you might speak it as a blessing to some else.

IV. Vitalize the Word of God

A. Listen to some of the definitions of vital or vitality
1. pertaining to life or existence
2. extremely important
3. full of exuberance, full of health and spirit or full of creativity. 
B. Psalm 119:14-16
C. Listen to what the Psalmist says.
1. “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies.”
2. “I will delight myself in thy statutes.”
a. When was the last time you were delighted over God’s Word?
b. When was the last time you had an Old Fashion Holy Ghost
“spell” and rejoiced over God’s Word?
c. Well I have to say like that old chili commercial if you have to
think about it, “That’s too long.”

V. Internalize the Word of God.

A. Psalm 119:15
B. Meditate means to think deeply.
a. The psalmist says when he comes to the Word of God he is
going to think on it so deeply that it will consume him, become a
part of him and eventually take over his life.
C. Then he says he will contemplate God’s ways.
a. One of the definitions of contemplate in Webster’s dictionary is
to anticipate. 

I want to close by showing you the psalmist firm commitment to

follow God’s plan and will.
v. 10 “I have sought thee…”
v. 11 “I have hid thy word in my heart…”
v. 13 “I have declared…”
v. 14 “I have rejoiced…”
v. 15 “I will meditate…”
v. 16 “I will delight…”

Did the psalmist survive? Sure he did.

Close 
Some here this morning need to commit yourself, your life to
Jesus Christ. You need to surrender your life to Him today.
Will you accept Him as Lord and Savior of your life today?

Some need to return to Him and recommit your life to Him today.

Our prayer is you will respond as the Lord leads today…

Invitation

Tools of the Faith Part 6 : Meditation  by Andrew Moffatt 

Psalms|Psalms 119|119:9|105-119|119:16|105 

As you know we have been working through a series on the tools

of the faith. The last was on cleaning up the stuff in our lives that
hinders us and focusing on Jesus; and in doing so our Christian
journey is doable, this path is achievable.

Something that flows on from that is how we focus on, how we

consider, speak about, think deeply about, the word of God. Well
today is Bible Sunday – a day to celebrate the word of God to
spend sometime not just thinking about this book, the Bible, but
figuring out the value of God’s word in our lives. Why would we
bother to read this book, do we have to read it cover too cover,
why is it that some people get more out of it than others, does it
change lives, and is it really all rules?
Well the tool of the faith that relates most closely to those
questions to how we can approach the Bible is meditation.
Meditation may bring about images in your head like this! [Power
Point] Interestingly I goggled mediation images and there was
page after page of this eastern sort of mediation stuff.
The Bible reading today comes from Psalm 119:9-16. This is the
longest psalm and for those of you who have a far better
understanding of English and Hebrew than I do, it is an Alphabetic
Acrostic Psalm. The person, who wrote it, wrote it celebrating the
Hebrew Alphabet. Each chapter consists of eight verses all
starting with the same letter, one chapter for each letter of the
Hebrew alphabet.

Enough of that – Meditation what is it? The psalmist in this case

writes this song about God’s law and his absolute devotion to
God. He talks about meditation, about meditating on God’s
precepts, wondrous works, statues, promise, law and testimonies.
While for alot of us the word meditate may bring another word
‘OM’, and saffron robed bald men to mind; in the Judeo-Christian
sense meditation is something quite different. It directly relates to
musing on, considering, thinking about, speaking aloud, telling
and thinking deeply about. (repeat)
When it comes to the word of God – meditation on the word
relates to considering it as if it is a treasure!
What is it that you treasure? You know: something small and
expensive, a person, that thing of little monetary value that was
given to you by a favorite relative or friend, a favorite place, a
comment someone once made to you. How many times have you
thought about it, looked at it, taken in every aspect of it,
considered how it came into being, enjoyed being with it,
meditated on it?

The Psalmist gets that kind of Joy from the Word of God, Lets
look at Psalm 119: 9-16

So “How can a young man keep his way pure? (ask the young
men) By living according to your word.”
It strikes me as strange that so many people who have made the
commitment to follow Jesus as Lord and Saviour still struggle with
a weight of sin that they find hard to bare. 
This book is not rocket science. It’s better than rocket science, a
young man, a young woman even us older types can keep our
way pure. How, by living according to God’s word.
That’s why we should bother to read this book? 

1) To keep our way pure. When we understand God’s word, his

love for us, and his desire for us to live in a right relationship with
him, with one another, his grace in forgiving our sins. We can live
a pure life.

This can take some effort on our behalf, we see that the psalmist
has asked God, “do not let me stray from your commands, I have
hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

You might think well I can live a kind of pure life, I can sin a little
here and there, enjoy the odd stolen piece of fruit, well they say
“stolen fruit tastes sweeter”. Get involved in that scene that no
one else needs know about, just my secret, just our secret. 
In the short time that I have been in life and ministry, I have seen
enough damage that has occurred from people entering into an
arrangement with themselves to sin a little.
A little indiscretion that escalates to a full blown disease, a full
blown affair, a full blown crime, a full blown jail sentence, a full
blown broken relationship.
We can play our part to avoid this happening by hiding the word
of God in our hearts.
You may right now be wondering, how can hiding God’s word in
my heart be any different to hiding it on my book case, under my
bed, at the bottom of my school bag just to the side of that dried
up apple and the chip packet? How?

2) When the Psalmist uses the word hidden to describe what he

has done with God’s word, as in “I have hidden your word in my
heart so that I will not sin against you”, he uses a Hebrew word
that has a double meaning, this word also means ‘treasured.’ He
has memorised God’s word. It is now carried in his heart. With
God’s word learnt by heart he is living in devotion to the Lord. He
wants to have his life in sync with God’s Word and with Gods Will!
He has encountered life change by living this way.
In verse 12 he states “Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your
decrees.” The Psalmist is teachable and has a proper regard for
God. He wants to live according to God’s plan for his life.
God has a plan for your life. (Show building plans) If we think
about that plan we can see the Bible, God’s word as being the
specifications (Show some building specifications), specifications
are all the ways to look at getting that plan right, guidance on how
to do the job right. The Bible is God’s specifications plus a great
deal of history, life experience, spiritual guidance, some poetry,
and other really useful teaching.
3) I asked the question before, ‘do we have to read this book from
cover to cover?’ Well probably not, in fact there have been people
who have died and gone to heaven with out reading it cover to
cover. There is the criminal who was on the cross next to Jesus
cross, for instance.

I would say though, that knowing God’s word gives its readers,
those who learn it, a better understanding of how they fit into his
plan. Also how they can have that right relationship with him, and
in doing so they want to know more, to understand more, because
living in God’s will is abundant living. and when we come under
attack we have the word of God there in our hearts, in our
memories we can use it in our defense. Remember we are
involved in a spiritual battle.. This answers another of my
questions. Some people get more out of the scriptures, more out
of their Christian walk because they really seek to know God
through his word. 

Later in this Psalm we read the words, “Your word is a lamp to my

feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). 
Last week I spoke about how we should keep our eyes focused
on Jesus as we travel through life – lets also remember that his
word illuminates the path in his direction. It helps us not to get
caught up in false doctrine, wrong teaching about God, legalism
and religious blah. Instead we discover the Holiness of God, his
desire to be in relationship with us, his love for us, our ability to
encounter life change through the power of the Holy Spirit, His
Grace and our Salvation. We learn through his word that by living
in right relationship with God, our lives take on a dynamic that
was not present before. Is there someone here who can say ‘yes’
to this being his or her testimony? 

4) The Psalmist worded the 14th verse this way ”I rejoice in

following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches” 
Now this could be a bit confusing what is a statute? No it’s not
one of things made of marble. Well the flowery explanation from
the Hebrew is, “a stipulation regulation, the testimony as a written
copy of the precepts and stipulations of a covenant or a warning
given” did anybody get that? That comes from the Strongest NIV
Concordance. 
The Moffatt greatly reduced explanation is that a statute, ‘is a
directive or specification for living’. Remember though that I got
nowhere near the top in my class in English. It’s about guidance!

What the Psalmist was saying was that those directives that he
had gained for living from the Bible or what he would have had of
the Old Testament at the time he wrote this Psalm, he rejoiced in!
Not only did he rejoice in it he put in on a par with great riches!

What would you consider being great riches, flash cars, stately
houses, jewelry, land, fine clothing, gold, silver or precious
stones?
The Psalmist put the word of God on a par with these things,
great riches. He rejoiced in following God’s statutes, as one would
rejoice in great riches. Why?
Because he realised that being right with God was of immense
value. In verse 45 he states, ”I walk about in freedom, for I have
sought out your precepts.”(119:45) His knowledge of this book
had brought about freedom in his life, as he came into a right
relationship with God. 
He realised other things because of his knowledge, “I am a
stranger on earth.” (119: 19) He realised as God’s servant he
belonged to a Heavenly Kingdom. Though at times when he was
weary and sorrowful, God’s word would strengthen him. That
God’s commands were trustworthy, here was an individual who
lived in the promises of God’s word.
He had had his life changed by living in the word of God. We can
encounter life change by really understanding God’s word. (SBI)

5) So another of my questions is answered, does this book

change lives? Of course
It does, on a slightly silly note. Who would be here this morning if
this book the Bible did not exist? So even if you aren’t a believer
this book has effected the direction of your life already.

The book itself though will change nothing in reality, unless we

consider the ways of God that are contained in it. We can read it
cover for cover gaining nothing from it. 
We could go to the finest of University’s, study Theology under
the best of Professors gain diplomas, degrees, and doctorates
and still gain nothing from this book except a whole lot of head
knowledge, unless we consider the ways of God. 
Study is one thing – meditation is another!
Do the words of this book become hidden – treasured in your
heart, do you speak out the laws that come from the mouth of
God, are you rejoicing in God’s directives for living, are God’s
ways your ways? We can encounter life change by really
understanding God’s word. (SBI)
This book the Bible is God’s guide to life – it is not a book of rules
– it is a book of teachings that bring an understanding of how to
live a life in real freedom. We can encounter life change by really
understanding God’s word. (SBI) This book is guidance.

This book contains lessons for living, as I was working on this

sermon I started to think about how I could show you how to
meditate on the word of God. But no! It comes down to desire, a
desire to seek after God with all of your heart. 
Meditation on God’s word, deeply thinking, mulling over,
considering, speaking out God’s word will enhance your
understanding of and relationship with God. You can encounter
life change by really understanding God’s word. (SBI)
Belief is one thing – experience is another. 
May you understand the word of God,
May it be treasured in your heart,
Rejoicing in the freedom his teachings for living bring,
Experiencing his word at work in your life and the power of the
Holy Spirit at work in you.
Living Pure in an Impure World by Eddie Snipes 

Psalms|1 Peter 119|1:9|3-119|1:11|9 

Living Pure in an Impure World

Psalm 119:9-11

9 How can a young man cleanse his way? 

By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You; 
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, 
That I might not sin against You!

I have heard people ask on many occasions, "Why don’t we see

power in our churches anymore?" I believe it is because we are
impure in our hearts. God cannot use a polluted vessel. Look at
James 3:11-12:

11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same
opening? 
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear
figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

This passage is referring to the tongue, but the principle is the

same. A polluted spring cannot produce fresh water. God has
called us to purity and holiness. Without purity we cannot
experience God’s power. Romans 12:1-2 tells us to present our
bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God. Do not be
conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of
your minds. This is how we align ourselves and find the perfect
will of God. If we do not take care to renew ourselves, we will
soon be conformed to this world and become polluted in our
hearts and minds. Jesus said in Matthew 24:

37 "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the
Son of Man be. 
38 "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered the ark, 
39 "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away,
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
...
44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at
an hour you do not expect.
45 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master
made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 
46 "Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will
find so doing.

Jesus’ reference to Noah comes from Genesis 6:5-6:

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. 
6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth,
and He was grieved in His heart.

Jesus warned that in the end times the world would become as it
was in Noah’s day when God had to intervene. The entire world
was morally bankrupt. All we have to do is take a look around us
and we can see Jesus’ prophecy unfolding. There are many ways
that we can have sin in our lives, but none leads to spiritual decay
faster than immorality. Today we live in a society that is
completely obsessed with sexual immorality. You cannot walk
past the magazine rack in a grocery store without being
bombarded with sexual images. What used to be hidden inside
the covers are now displayed boldly on the cover. You can’t avoid
exposure to sexual advertising. Walking through a department
store, TV shows, commercials, movies, magazines and an
innumerable list of abuses of sexuality that pervert sex away from
God’s intended design and make living a godly life difficult.

How can we keep our ways pure in an immoral world? There is

absolutely no way that you cannot become polluted by the non-
stop bombardment of sexuality without a consistent time of
cleansing by renewing your mind. "Lord saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually", "As it was in the
days of Noah so shall the coming of the Son of Man be". It is not
easy to with a pure heart in this world, but we do have the
promise, "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world",
1 John 4:4. Accompanied with the promises of being overcomers,
we have the warning of Matthew 13:

33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time
is.
34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left
his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man
his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the
house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or
in the morning:
36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Those who are found watching have the promise of Luke 12:37
"Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes,
will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself
and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them."
What we really have to decide is, what do we value most? In
James 4:4 we are warned that friendship with the world is to be at
war with God. 1 John 2:17 says, "the world is passing away, and
the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." If
the world is passing away, it clearly is not a wise choice to choose
the world over God. It is also important to realize that sinful
pleasure will not satisfy. It may briefly gratify, but there will always
be an empty void left behind. This is because God has designed
us to have fellowship with Him. Only God can satisfy. If pleasures
are where our affection lies, then when the pleasure is gone, so is
what we have valued most. We are then left empty. The next lie
we are told is that if we go a little farther then we will be content.
The reality is that we are being drawn into the infinite trap of
satan’s hall of mirrors. Satisfaction through sin is a mirage and
always appears to be one step out of our grasp. Only God can
fulfill the promise of Psalm 36:7-8, "How precious is Your
lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their
trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly
satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink
from the river of Your pleasures." Pleasure was designed by God
and can only be truly fulfilled by God. It is only found in the path of
life and the path of life is only in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). If
you cannot remain in God’s presence, then you will never find the
path of life that God has designed uniquely for you. If you can’t be
pure in heart, you can’t abide in God’s presence because Jesus
promised that the pure in heart would be blessed for they shall
see God (Matthew 5:8).

I personally have talked with literally hundreds of men who have

struggled with things that pollute their minds and destroy their
spiritual lives. The vast majority of them are Christians. With very
few exceptions, each of them echoes the same feelings of
discouragement, guilt and hopelessness. They want to live pure
lives, but the trap has been set and they are enslaved by these
desires. Most Christians do not want to have lust as a part of their
lifestyle nor do they want impure hearts. Women can be equally
effected though it manifests itself different than with men. Most
men I talk to feel like they are on a roller coaster ride. They try to
commit to living godly lives, but just as they feel like they have
conquered their weakness, it is as if satan jerks the chain and
puts them back into his cage. Where does someone go for help?
Almost every person I have talked to says they feel like they are
alone in this struggle. Most men do not feel open to seek help
from other church members or their pastor. Churches and
Christians need to take notice. This problem is not going away
and it will only get worse with the direction society is heading. It is
the church’s responsibility to pave the way to deliverance through
Jesus Christ. Only at the foot of the cross can these burdens be
removed. Most people would be completely shocked if they knew
just how widespread this problem is inside the church. Jesus said
that He came to preach deliverance to the captives and promised
that the truth would make you free. 

This freedom is the main topic I want to talk about. How do we

become free when we feel enslaved? I believe freedom is only
found in Christ. It doesn’t matter what compulsive behavior we
have, Jesus has the power to make us free in Him. The problem
is that when Jesus sets us free, if we return to bondage we are no
better off. This whole message is centered around a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ. Without that relationship,
everything else is limited because you are limited your own
strength. If you do not have a relationship with God and would like
more information, please visit my website at
http://www.exchangedlife.com/howto.htm or email me. Once we
are free from our passions, we must put our faith into practice. If
we return to a sinful lifestyle, we also return to bondage. I believe
that there are seven key areas that we must commit to if we
expect to overcome and live pure lives and remain free in Christ.

Commit to study the scripture. The opening passage for this

sermon was Psalm 119:9-11:

9 How can a young man cleanse his way? 

By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You; 
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, 
That I might not sin against You!

We cannot renew our minds without God’s word. God equates His
word with Himself. If we don't have any interest in God's word, the
same will be true with our interest in God. God won't reach out to
someone who resists Him. He will call us to come, but will not
take hold of us until we choose to draw near to Him. Scripture
memorization is a key part of study. The psalmist said that he hid
God’s word in his heart. If you commit to consistently memorizing
scripture, it will change your life. You would be amazed at how
much you will memorize if you review memory verses once on the
way to work and once on the way home. Read the Bible daily.
The Psalms and Proverbs are good starting points for someone
who is not accustomed to studying the Bible. 

When it comes to study and memorization, there are a few pitfalls

to be aware of. When most people decide to commit to these
study disciplines, they see a tremendous spiritual growth and then
get excited about studying. Once the emotions fade, they usually
begin to postpone study times and soon abandon all study habits
completely. Like everything else in our spiritual lives, feelings
should not be our guide. Discipline is when we commit to follow
through even when we don’t feel like it. Don’t overwhelm yourself
or you will burn out. Instead commit to a timeframe that you can
handle and build from there. Once you get to the point where you
consistently study even when you don’t feel motivated, you will
begin to see steady growth in your spiritual life.

Remember your chains. When we look at scripture, the people

with the most passion are the people who remembered what God
did for them. Jesus cast out seven demons from Mary and she
followed Jesus faithfully. Paul was bound by his delusion to
destroy the church and he imprisoned and carried many
Christians to their executions. After Paul was converted, he never
forgot his past and often mentioned it in the epistles. He lived life
with a passion for Christ because he saw what Jesus delivered
him from.

I want to be careful to mention here that I am not referring to

carrying the burden of your guilt. Quite the opposite. Guilt is very
unhealthy and has no place in the Christian life. We have been
pardoned from our guilt by the grace of Jesus Christ provided to
us on the cross. The guilt is gone, but the joy of our deliverance
should remain with us the rest of our life. It is when we forget our
bondage that we forget God’s grace and love toward us. This is
why God gave Israel feast days as a part of the law. The whole
purpose of the feast of the Passover was to remember their
bondage in Egypt and how God delivered them by His might. The
people were instructed specifically to remember how God
delivered them from the house of bondage. 1 Peter 1:3-9
beautifully illustrates this point:

3 His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life
and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by
glory and virtue, 
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious
promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust.
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to
perseverance godliness, 
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 
8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to
blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old
sins.

Verse 3 promises us that God’s divine power has given us the

ability to live a godly life and verse 9 says that if we do not have
these attributes, we have forgotten that we are cleansed from our
old sins. When we forget history, it repeats itself. Remember your
chains and rejoice in your pardon.

Focus on Jesus Christ. Where our focus lies is where we are

going. Resistance is futile if we are looking at temptation.
Repentance is the key. Repentance is merely changing direction
by turning toward God. You don’t always have to be in sin to
repent. Repentance is not groveling in self-loathing. Repentance
is not striking a bargain with God; it is not putting off sin until a
later date or clearing up guilt with the intent to go back.
Repentance is committing to a change of focus. It is taking my
eyes off what pleases my flesh and changing my focus away from
selfish motives and committing to God’s plan by putting Jesus at
the center of my world. If I am focusing on the world, the world will
be my god. I will always give in when I am distracted unless I turn
away from the temptation. The problem most of us have is that we
are willing to turn our eyes away but we leave our mind on
temptation. Resistance is futile when we are in this frame of mind.
What we are really doing is trying to find a smaller compromise
that allows us to give in a little without feeling like we are giving in.
Sometimes we don’t want to give in, but we don’t think to refocus
on Christ. Then resistance is like pushing a heavy weight off our
chest. We may be strong at first, but in a short time we begin to
tire and soon we loose the battle. 

Resistance based on scripture is not to push temptation away, but

to turn from temptation and toward Jesus Christ. At the point we
turn toward God, we are not pushing away from temptation, but
pulling toward God. The Bible promises that if you draw near to
God, He will draw near to you. Look at James 4:7-8:
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from
you. 
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your
hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

According to this passage, the key to resistance is to submit to

God, then resist. It is the turning to God that enables us to resist
because it is only by His power that we are able to resist. We
must change directions and change our focus. When we draw
near to God, He will cleanse us and give us the ability to live pure
lives and get off that double-minded roller coaster ride. In James
1 we are told that we are tempted when we are drawn away by
our own lusts and enticed. We are first drawn by our eyes. You
cannot focus on Jesus and be drawn away at the same time. You
can only focus on one thing at a time. The only thing that stands
in your way is your will. Until you are willing to let go of selfish
desires, you can never trust God to fulfill your desires by the
abundance of His grace. Let Him be the God of your desires and
you will be satisfied.

Depend on God’s grace. When we begin to feel self-sufficient, we

will be blind-sided. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:12-13:

12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to
man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make
the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
Don’t be a target for failure. God is faithful and He will be your
strength and show you a way of escape. The problem is that
when we are not looking to Him, He can’t lead us out of trouble.
God will allow you to be tempted. Temptation strengthens you
when you turn to God but weakens you when you turn to the
temptation. How do we become righteous and rise above
temptation? Look at two passages.

Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not having my own

righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin

for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Our righteousness does not come from ourselves, but by the

grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. When we think we
stand by our own merits, we will fall. Righteousness and holiness
is imputed into our lives by faith in what Christ has already done.
That is why Romans 4:5 says, "Now to him who does not work,
but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
accounted for righteousness." God clearly tells us that His
strength is made perfect in our weakness. Look at 1 John 5:1-4

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and

everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is
begotten of Him. 
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love
God and keep His commandments. 
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.
And His commandments are not burdensome. 
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is
the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

If you do not have a desire to keep God’s commandments, you

should take notice and make certain that you have been born of
God. This is only possible by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ
means that you not only believe He is who the Bible says, but that
you trust in Him by inviting Him into your heart and committing to
make Him Lord of your life. 

Commit to an active prayer life. If you are not consistently praying,

your spiritual life will suffer. The Bible tells us to pray without
ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Key ingredients to an active
prayer life included setting aside a specific time for prayer. If you
don’t set a specific prayer time, you will not be consistent. For
many people, getting up an hour early is a good habit. Take time
to praise God for who He is. Acknowledge Him as God and
acknowledge His right to lead your life. When struggles arise,
acknowledge His sovereignty along with your petitions. Proverbs
3:5 says, "acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct
your paths". Let Him direct you even when you can’t see the end
result. When you acknowledge Him as God, you will be more able
to thank Him for what He has done and is doing. Thanksgiving is
critical. Confess sins and keep short accounts with God. Also
intercede for others. God strengthens those who obey Him by
praying for others. There is so much to say about prayer that time
doesn’t permit me to cover here. I have a study on prayer at
http://www.exchangedlife.com/bible.htm .
Make lifestyle changes. This is the final point I want to mention in
this study. When I was studying programming, the first thing we
learned is the acronym GIGO. It stands for Garbage In, Garbage
Out. If you put garbage into your mind, your spiritual life will be
garbage as well. At the beginning of this sermon I quoted James
3:11, "Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the
same opening?" Your life cannot be contaminated with garbage
and be spirit filled at the same time. Not only must you renew your
mind, but you must also guard your heart and mind from the
world. Determine what is really of value in your life. Will you regret
not watching MTV when you look back on your life? Does Jerry
Springer add anything of value to your life? Weigh the worth of
your movies, sitcoms and other sources of influence. Sometimes
we sacrifice what is truly valuable in exchange for what is truly
worthless. 

I am not trying to tell anyone how to live, that decision is the

responsibility of each individual. I can only give reference to my
life. I struggled to give up things in my life that I didn’t feel like was
necessarily wrong, but now that I look back, I can see the benefit
of removing things that had messages counter to my value
system. I believed that I could pick the good and ignore the
garbage, but I no longer feel that way. I have said this many times
before, but I believe it is worth mentioning again. The battle of
temptation is not lost at the point of temptation. It is won or lost at
the point we decide whether we are going to make that first
compromise or if we will stand firm and focus on God. The first
temptation to compromise is the point where we set the direction
for our life and determine which path we will take. 
It is an uphill battle. The stakes are high and our choice is critical.
I believe that God puts the same choice before us that He gave
Israel when they entered the promise land.

Deuteronomy 11:
26"Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 
27"the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your
God which I command you today; 
28"and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the
Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you
today, to go after other gods which you have not known.

We can make Him our God or we can make our desires god. A
sinful lifestyle is a curse in itself. I lived by my desires before I
knew Christ and I found no satisfaction. After I accepted Christ, I
did not have direction and quickly went back to my old lifestyle.
Once again, I pursued my own desires until one day I looked up
and told God that I had no enjoyment in my life. For years I
struggled trying to break free of the curse of my sins and could
not. Finally as a broken man I began to seek the God who at the
time seemed so distant. I did not give up and He delivered me
from the chains that I could not break. Solomon said it best. "I did
not deny myself any pleasure but my conclusion is that all is
vanity" – empty and meaningless. Pleasure outside of God’s will
always produces emptiness. Each choice of obedience since that
time has only given me more fulfillment and more satisfaction. My
prayer is that you commit to purity and trust God to be the One
who fulfills.
Proverbs 10:22, "The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and
He adds no sorrow with it."

How To Stay Clean in a Dirty World by Ron Theis 

Psalms 119:9-119:11 

How To Stay Clean In A Dirty World!

Psalm 119:9-11
Introduction 
A. A text with a vital question.

1. How can one stay clean before God?

a. In this old work a day world¡Khow do we remain unspotted?
b. Is it possible¡KGod says be ye holy¡Kso it is possible.
c. Is it important? 
d. So if it is important, and it is possible¡Kwhy does it seem that
we fail so much?
e. Why does it seem sometimes like we are a magnet to sinful
things?
f. Why does it seem that that pervasive attitude of anger and
aggravation seem to always simmer just below the surface?

2. Many have asked this question¡K

a. Because ALL of us struggle with this problem!
b. We have a genuine desire to be clean before the Lord.
c. Our minds are truly willing¡Kbut our flesh indeed is weak!
d. We have the best of intentions¡Kso what happens?
e. Is this a new problem???
f. Story of the laver¡Kbetween the altar and the holy place we
need cleansing!!! WOW
g. SO¡Kif this is not a new problem¡Kwhat is the answer?
h. As usual we find it in God¡¦s Word.
Psa 119:9-11 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
by taking heed thereto according to thy word. (10) With my whole
heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy
commandments. (11) Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I
might not sin against thee.

3. There are 4 components to the Psalmists question and his

answers we need to remember
BODY
A. The Psalmist¡¦s Desire

1. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?

a. The first step in cleanliness is a desire to have it.
b. You have to WANT to be clean before you can be.
c. You have to desire cleanliness more that you detest sinfulness!
d. You have to be tired of the sin that so easily besets you.
e. We must be weary of the broken resolutions¡Kagain and
again¡K

2. How many of you can identify with the cry of the young man?
a. Lord¡Kit¡¦s me again¡KI¡¦ve done it again!!!
b. Why do we commit the same sins over and over and over
again?
c. Don¡¦t we get it?
d. How can we say we love Christ and willfully commit the same
sins over and over?
e. Listen to how the Apostle Paul puts it¡K
Rom 7:15-21 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that
do I not; but what I hate, that do I. (16) If then I do that which I
would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. (17) Now then it
is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (18) For I know
that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will
is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find
not. (19) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I
would not, that I do. (20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more
I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (21) I find then a law, that,
when I would do good, evil is present with me.

3. Newsflash, if the Apostle Paul struggled daily with his sin

nature¡Kso will we.

4. But first, we must have a true desire for cleanliness each day¡K
a. Sin was defeated once¡Kand forever¡Kon Calvary¡K
b. But sinfulness is a daily struggle that must be fought daily¡K
c. Satan will not give up in his attempt to defeat you Spiritually¡K
d. We have to be just as tenacious in our defense.

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you.

5. This word resist infers the meaning to resist continuously!!!

B. The Scripture As A Detergent!

1. ¡§By taking heed unto thy Word.¡¨

a. Not by hearing¡Knot by reading¡Kbut by heeding.
b. To heed is to obey¡Ksuch as our traffic laws¡Kto heed the
speed limit is to obey it.
c. If God¡¦s Word is to take root and make life altering changes in
us¡Kwe have to heed it¡Kto heed it we have to understand it¡Kto
understand it we have to study it!

2. Now, it is important to note¡K

a. We have already been cleansed positionally by Christ.
b. We never have to get re-saved.
c. If we have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior¡Kthen
our position IN Him never changes.
d. We will never have to have the blood applied ever again.
e. We are saved and secured through the blood.

3. Yet we still need daily cleansing from walking thru this sinful
world in which we live.
a. Where do we get the cleansing that we need?
b. That cleansing comes from the Word of God.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you.

4. We live in an era that brags about the products we have to get

the worst of stains out of just about anything.
a. We have shout and oxy clean.
b. Something to clean up everything.
c. One for ink stains¡Kone for grease stains¡K
d. It seems like there is a ¡§Special Stain Remover¡¨ for
everything.

5. We are no different.
a. Our lives are as difficult and our stains are diverse.
b. There are many different things we stain our lives with.
c. The difference however is this¡K
d. We only have to apply one cleanser to all our stains¡K
e. That is the Word of God¡K
f. It is The Word that cleanses us¡K
g. No stain is too tough.
h. No sin can stand up to it¡K
i. Unlike the modern day cleansers, it cleanses completely.

6. BUT¡KBUT¡KBUT¡Kjust like the modern day cleansers¡K

a. If it is not applied it will not clean!!!
b. It does no good in the box¡K
c. Useless if it is not used.

7. How is detergent used?

a. It is mixed with water and then gently stirred.
b. Water is almost always a word picture of God¡¦s Holy Spirit.
c. Detergent without water is useless¡Kit won¡¦t clean anything¡K
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned.
d. Daily Bible reading is vital to the daily victory we desire.
e. The Bible will keep you from sin and sin will keep you from the
Bible!!!
f. We can¡¦t wait until we are filthy to clean ourselves up.
g. As soon as we see a little dirt, we need to remove it.
h. If we wait until the filth builds up, it takes a lot of scrubbing and
scouring to remove the built up filth and grime¡KWe wouldn¡¦t wait
six weeks to take a bath would we?
Eph 5:25-26 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the church, and gave himself for it; (26) That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

8. The recommended usage for this cleanser¡K

a. Gently apply generous amount gently to the problem areas.
b. Guaranteed to work every time.

C. The Psalmist¡¦s Decision

1. ¡§With my whole heart I have sought thee.

a. There is never any half-way with God!
b. It all starts with a definite decision!
c. We have to decide¡Ktoday is the day¡Know is the time¡KI will
make my stand here¡K
d. And then we have to stand!!!
e. Most people never reach this point!
f. They want to have one foot in the world and one foot in the
Lord.
g. It don¡¦t work that way!
Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

2. There has to be a point in time when you make a decision.

a. You are either going to live for the Lord.
b. Or live IN the world.
c. But we cannot do both successfully.
d. We have to choose one or the other!
e. There has to come a time when we draw that line and stand
fast.

1Co 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be
strong

f. Stand Fast¡Kthis is a military term that means to hold the line¡K

g. Folks we are in a spiritual warfare for the salvation of men¡¦s
souls¡K
h. The US Marines are not the only ones looking for a few good
men.
i. With a few good men Jesus changed the course of history.
j. I¡¦m convinced that with just a few good men we can change
this community!
k. Where do we start?

3. Most people start on the road to cleanliness by being convicted

of sin in their life¡K
a. Then they respond¡Kwith their whole heart.
b. That is the key¡Kit¡¦s not whether we respond¡Kit¡¦s how we
respond!
c. We are to respond to the Lord with our whole heart.
d. With no hypocrisy.
e. No holding back¡K
f. Giving it all over to Him.

4. God does not want just a part of us¡KHe wants us period.

a. He wants a relationship at the deepest level of our being.
b. He loves us unconditionally.
c. He deserves our best!!! No less!!!
d. When we give God less than our best, we cheat not only God¡K
e. We cheat ourselves as well.
f. God longs for us to come to Him.
g. To cast all of our cares upon Him.
h. Really get INTO Him.
Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

5. Folks, the decision to live for the Lord is one you will never
regret.
a. I have never understood the reluctance of God¡¦s children to
fully trust Him.
b. God loves us unconditionally.
c. He ALWAYS has our best interests at heart.
d. He is 100% trustworthy.
e. He knows the future.
f. Who else do you know that you can trust like God?
g. Why not give EVERYTHING over to his care today?
h. The number 1 reason why most don¡¦t¡KFEAR!
i. And like most fears¡Kthis one is totally irrational!

D. The Psalmist¡¦s Defense

1. ¡§Thy Word have I hid in my heart¡¨

a. The ¡§secret¡¨ of keeping ourselves unspotted from the world¡K
b. The carrying of God¡¦s word in our heart.
c. But¡Kto carry God¡¦s word in our heart means we have to study
it enough to be able to bring to remembrance His words as we
need them!
d. In other words¡Kwe have to KNOW the Word of God.
e. We have to not only know it¡Kbut we have to know how to
apply it!!!
f. Knowledge is KNOWING the Word.
g. Wisdom is knowing how to use it.
h. Nothing is more dangerous than knowledge without wisdom.
i. Where do we get the wisdom we need to apply the Word?

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

2. The Psalmist doesn¡¦t want to fall back into the old devil¡¦s trap.
a. He wants total victory.
b. He doesn¡¦t want to waver back and forth like a unstable
person
c. He wants his life to be steady¡K
„« Grounded in the faith.
„« Rooted in Love
„« Led by the Spirit
„« Lived for the Glory of God
d. How many of you here would say that sounds like a pretty good
life?

3. To fight the enemy who does not want you to have that takes
only one weapon!
a. The Word of God.
b. It is the only offensive weapon we need.
c. In Paul¡¦s great writing on the armor of God in Ephesians
chapter 6 we see the description of how we are to arm ourselves
in this fight we face¡K

Eph 6:13-17 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done
all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with
truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (15) And
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16)
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (17) And take the helmet
of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

d. Notice two things¡K

e. The only offensive weapon in God¡¦s arsenal is His Word!
f. Once we have strapped on our battle gear¡Kour mission is to
stand!
g. We are to hold our ground.

4. We have Christians have failed miserably in this country to hold

our ground.
a. Little by Little we have continued to give ground to the enemy
until our great country is nothing more than a shell of the country
that was so blessed of God.
b. We are giving ground so fast today that it must look like the
Church of God is in full retreat.
c. It¡¦s time to stand¡Kand stand now.
d. And it begins right here¡Kright now¡K
e. We are going to draw a line at Holland Baptist Church.
f. You need to decide¡Kwhich side of it are you going to stand on?

5. Let me ask you a question¡Kwhich team do you want to be on?

a. The winning one¡Kor the losing one?
b. What if you could know which team was going to win before
you picked sides?
c. Which one would you choose?
d. I¡¦ve read the back of the book¡Kand we win!!!
God's Word brings about in his life.

I. CLEANSED BY THE WORD , 9-11.

II. BLESSED BY THE WORD, 12-14.
III. DELIGHTED BY THE WORD, 15-16.