5 God s Word Is Always Relevant When have you gotten swept up in a trend or fad? QUESTION 1 #BSFLspoken BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 45
THE POINT God s Word reflects His character and power and always will. THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE Weight loss is consistently the top New Year s resolution each year. What isn t consistent is how we go about that weight loss. The 1910s emphasized chewing your food 32 times once for each tooth. The 1930s gave us the Grapefruit (or Hollywood) diet. The 1950s fed us the Cabbage Soup Diet. The 1970s started the trend of over-the-counter diet pills. The 1990s gave us low-carb, high-protein diets. Who knows what s next on the horizon? What s trendy in dieting is based on what this year s experts say is relevant but that relevant information changes as much as our waistlines do. Our lives should be based on something far more reliable than the latest trend. Psalm 119 points to the one Source that is always consistent, and therefore, always relevant: God s Word. God s Word is always true and relevant because God is always true and relevant. 46 SESSION 5
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Psalm 119:89-91 (HCSB) 89 Lord, Your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness is for all generations; You established the earth, and it stands firm. 91 They stand today in accordance with Your judgments, for all things are Your servants. The Word of God is absolutely permanent. Two things will last beyond this world: the Word of God and the souls of people. To spend eternity in heaven with God, we must commit our eternal souls to God and to the truth in His eternal Word. Verses 89-91 affirm the timeless nature of God s Word in two ways. God s Word is affirmed in the heavens. Lord, Your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven (v. 89). Here, the psalmist expressed God s view of His Word: it is certain, firm, established, and can t be changed. Like God Himself, His Word is eternal with no beginning or end. What is the nature of its trustworthiness? It is firmly fixed (v. 89). When pillars are set during a construction project, they are put there to stay. If the pillars are moved, the building will collapse. The Word of God is the pillar that upholds our lives. It is perfectly grounded and stands firm. Where is it fixed? It is firmly fixed in heaven (v. 89). God s Word is transcendent; it is above and beyond us. It is outside the reach of human opposition on earth and spiritual opposition in the heavenly places. What is the duration of its trustworthiness? Your word is forever (v. 89). Nothing else in the world is so firmly fixed perfectly grounded and established forever. The Bible is not the book of the week or even book of the year. It is the book of the ages! Isaiah declared, The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever (Isaiah 40:8). When did you first encounter the Bible in a meaningful way? QUESTION 2 BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 47
THE POINT God s Word reflects His character and power and always will. God s Word is affirmed on earth. We see God s faithfulness in His creation and the world around us. God spoke the created order into existence, and because it stands firm, we can trust that all God speaks stands firm. We see the faithfulness of God by gazing up and looking around. Verse 91 refers to the heavens and the earth when it says, They stand today in accordance with Your judgments. They do not stand on their own; God sustains them. The remainder of verse 91 explains why: for all things are Your servants. God is in control, and creation serves Him. This, then, is the confidence we have in God s Word. He is in charge, and His Word on our behalf is timeless and faithful. Psalm 119:92-93 (HCSB) 92 If Your instruction had not been my delight, I would have died in my affliction. 93 I will never forget Your precepts, for You have given me life through them. The psalmist focused on the faithfulness of God s Word to help us in all our troubles. Even as God s Word is unchanging and settled (vv. 89-91), in verses 92-93 he told us its instruction and precepts are sufficient. God s Word is sufficient for whatever we face. A devotion to God s instruction did not keep the psalmist from affliction, but his delight in God s Word sustained him through it. Note the progression and relationship between affliction and God s Word. Why is it important to know that God s Word will never change? QUESTION 3 48 SESSION 5
How have you experienced life as a result of God s instruction? QUESTION 4 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word (v. 67). It was good for me to be afflicted so that I could learn Your statutes (v. 71). If Your instruction had not been my delight, I would have died in my affliction (v. 92). The Word of God was an anchor of the soul that held the psalmist fast in the midst of the raging storm. He experienced rescuing grace because he had a proper attitude toward God s Word. The psalmist found joy in God s Word, a joy that carried him through any situation. This delight led the psalmist to vow: I will never forget Your precepts (v. 93). Forgetting God s Word is a matter of the will. Consequently, remembering God s Word requires more than just thinking about it. Remembering includes doing and persevering. The psalmist s pledge of obedience reflected sincerity, not perfection. He had determined in his heart to please God. When pleasing God is our heart s determined desire, it will be clearly and consistently evident in how we live. At the point of death, the Word of God revived the psalmist and had given him life. This is the power of God s Word it can put us back on our feet again. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 49
THE POINT God s Word reflects His character and power and always will. "A well-marked Bible is the sign of a well-fed soul." CHARLES SPURGEON WITHOUT LIMIT When you think about Psalm 119:89-90, what captures your attention? Describe, list, or sketch your response in your notes. Lord, Your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven. Your faithfulness is for all generations; You established the earth, and it stands firm (Psalm 119:89-90). 50 SESSION 5
Psalm 119:94-96 (HCSB) 94 I am Yours; save me, for I have sought Your precepts. 95 The wicked hope to destroy me, but I contemplate Your decrees. 96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your command is without limit. God will always take care of those who belong to Him. Confident of this, the psalmist prayed: I am Yours; save me (v. 94). This specific prayer for salvation was not about forgiveness of sins; it was about deliverance from affliction. If you belong to God, not only will you be with God in heaven one day, but God will be with you in the midst of trouble. The psalmist gave a specific reason why the Lord should save him: for I have sought Your precepts (v. 94). God s help is not contingent on the perfection of our lives. If so, we are all doomed. But thankfully, God is the God of grace; He gives us what we do not deserve even as He took upon Himself the sin and death we do deserve. God saves those who seek Him. Walking with God, though, does not mean we will be immune from trouble. The psalmist certainly knew and experienced this. The wicked hope to destroy me (v. 95). We will face opposition. Like the psalmist, we can still stand firm on God s promises and His Word. Facing these enemies, the psalmist declared, I contemplate Your decrees (v. 95). Surely as he contemplated the decrees of God, the psalmist saw how perfect God s Word is. I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your command is without limit (v. 96). The Hebrew word perfection speaks of the intended end or completion of a thing. Even the best things in this world are limited, finite, and tainted. Nothing in this world is perfect: not people, places, experiences, or achievements. Everything this world offers is inadequate, incomplete, or insufficient. What makes God s instruction different from other guidance we encounter in life? QUESTION 5 This is not so with the Word of God. Your command is without limit (v. 96). This is a poetic way of saying the Word of God is perfect, complete, sufficient, limitless, and undefeatable. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 51
THE POINT God s Word reflects His character and power and always will. LIVE IT OUT How should you respond to the truth that the Word of God is always relevant? Get outside. Psalm 119 says that even the heavens affirm the trustworthiness of God s Word. Find a time this week to spend outside and observe God s creation. Pull up Psalm 119 on your smartphone and read it in the context of God s handiwork. Pledge to respond in obedience to what God s Word says to do. It s easier to take steps of faith if we ve already decided to do so. Ask God to make His guidance for you clear and for strength to follow His Word in obedience. Share the love. As a group, make it your goal to collect and donate Bibles to those who don t have one. Whether it s visitors who come to this group, children who attend VBS, or another outreach ministry of your church, giving a Bible to someone communicates the treasure that it is. God s Word reflects God s character; it s timeless and perfect. Trends and fads will come and go, but God s Word will always be true. This week, don t take this gift for granted. Spend time in God s Word and be ready to put it into practice. My thoughts 52 SESSION 5 Share with others how you will live out this study: #BSFLspoken