I have had the pleasure of traveling fairly widely thanks to my job. I travel so often, and at times for such short periods, that I don’t always mention on the blog when I am away. But there is one country that I tend to look forward to visiting more than almost any other. I am of course talking about the USA, often referred to affectionately by us Brits as “the other country”.

I look forward to my trips to the USA because I feel so at home there. I have so many friends there, and so many American Christians from different backgrounds have been kind enough to read my blog.

A year on from my longest trip to the USA and by the time you read this I will be in the air on my way across the pond for just a long weekend. It is going to be a great time, and I am looking forward to traveling with my friend and pastor Tope Koleoso, and to attending the Newfrontiers Mobilise USA conference. This time last year I got to know a number of my Newfrontiers USA brothers and sisters and I am looking forward to seeing them again, and to meeting some more. If you will be there, do come and say hi!  Being part of the body of Christ means you have family on every continent. Being part of a family of churches with a shared spiritual DNA only strengthens that feeling.

A lot has happened over the last year, and I am very grateful to God for it. But I start 2011 excited about the future. It is going to be a good year, of that I am confident. May God bless you richly in it, and may he be close to you, and may he use my blog as one of many means of encouragement in your life.

I start the year with three words ringing round my head: favor, breadth and depth. May these three words be true for me, for those I love, and for each of you as well.

Favor – May we know in the large things as well as the small the good hand of our God upon us. May he find us parking spaces when we need them, and open the big doors of opportunities when we need those. May we experience the carrying power of the Holy Spirit. May our lives hum with the efficiency that can come when we are doing exactly what God intended us to do. May we spread the fragrance of Jesus. May others be blessed as their lives come into contact with ours.

Breadth – May our influence for Christ extend. May our churches grow. May many souls be saved. May backsliders return to Christ. May our words and writings encourage, comfort, strengthen and instruct many more than they have previously. May our careers advance. May we know, in short, great blessing.

Depth – Jesus said “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) We could add to that, ” . . loses his family.” 

Over this blogging break I have found myself feeling closer to my delightful wife Andree than ever before.  I am enjoying married life greatly.  We can’t quite put our finger on what it is that has prompted this, but be very clear, if too much time blogging puts that in any way in jeopardy expect more blogging breaks this year.

There really is nothing to gain for me in being some kind of success outside of the home (and how fleeting and relative any such apparent success truly is!) and a failure within it.  I want this year to deepen my love for my family, for those closest to me, and for my God.  Without deep, deep roots, any blessing God sends in the “breadth” department risks actually being damaging to the soul.    I want to become more Christ-like this year.  I want to know God more in order that I can make him known. I pray that the same will be true for you.

How easy it has frequently seemed to me to neglect the quiet place before God.  How easy to busy myself thinking I am serving a God who I do not honor with sufficient of my time and attention. How easy to forget that my prime responsibility before God is to my family, and then to a small number of people he has put in my life.  This year, with God’s help, and by his grace, I will not neglect those closest to me in order to strive to help people on the other side of the world.

And yet, I am more convinced than ever, that if I do not neglect the hidden parts of my life, there will be an overflow.  We are supposed to put depth before breadth, and yet so often, as even in this list, we reverse the order.  I am more and more convinced that if we resolve to fulfill our private duties better, then grace will overflow and our public duties will actually benefit.

I often tell my children I love their mother better than them.  That seems to give them security.  And, I am sure that because such a statement is true, I am actually a better father to them than I would be if I was looking to them for my primary affirmation.  Putting Jesus first, above family, above church, above ministry, above career, does not rob those other things. For God is no man’s debtor.  If we seek first the Kingdom of God “all these things” will be added to us as well. I don’t pretend it will be easy, and I am sure that I will at times slip back into bad, lazy, habits.  But, will you pray for me as I am praying for you right now as I write this article: 

God please help us this year to put You first, family next, and then content ourselves to fulfill the assignments you have given us, so that we may be truly useful to others.

When reading the story of the resurrection in the gospel of John, my friends and I (all ladies) noticed a small detail which showed yet another way in which Jesus is our ultimate example.  Jesus, having been crucified, spent three days dead in the tomb, was resurrected, and did not think twice about neatly folding his grave clothes before departing the tomb.  He didn’t just step out of them like some men do with their trousers!  Jesus didn’t make any excuses but tidied up after himself.

Now, Adrian mentioned this passage last Sunday in his sermon, but did he notice this fact?  I think that its probably something only a woman would notice!!   Adrian insisted that I write this down as he thought it was so funny.

Following just over a month of this self-imposed near-total break from my online life (obviously not including my paid work!) what have I discovered?

1. WordPress’s auto-publish feature is bullet-proof and a real gift
2. You hardly missed me as a result of 1. and my kind guest bloggers. Indeed, traffic remained pretty high considering it was August.
3. Phil Moore is better than I am at explaining why digital fasts are so important.
4. A week is definitely not long enough It took me much longer before I even began to experience digital withdrawal symptoms.
5. It really is hard to stay away from the Internet for several weeks. My “fast” wasn’t total as the weeks drew on. I did scan-read Twitter, Facebook and a couple of blogs a little towards the end. I also started to write this post 20 minutes or so before my deadline,  and last week even wrote a couple of tweets ready for publishing later when my wife had gone away (the observant may have noticed that they appeared in my Twitter stream and were quickly deleted!) I also and scanned and deleted most of my accumulated emails on the same day. Finally, I started an Omnifocus to-do list to capture a small handful of ideas for things to blog about when they began to hit me about a week or so ago.
6. The harsh truth is that I really don’t care about what my readers think about me as much as I thought I did (despite 5)   I trust I will continue to remember this and make sure that I take more care over being kind to my wife and children than I do over looking after you all!  Funily enough, I somehow suspect that the more I focus on pleasing my God and family, the more benefit I may be to you in any case.
7. Learning more about how to not believe your own publicity is a vital result of such a break.  I can’t improve on what I said about this last year. Running a blog can appear to be self-serving at first glance. There has to be a good balance, however, between arrogantly pushing oneself forward, and on the other hand hiding whatever one can share with others under a bushel.  I am not sure I always navigate that tightrope entirely correctly, but, you have to believe me that I know that of myself I have nothing to offer you.  I will not ever apologize for shouting about my savior, and his death and resurrection for us. I know that if I can point you towards him, and to good resources that will help you in your spiritual journey I will have fulfilled one of the roles that God has for me in this life.  It is not the most important one, however.  That is clearly being a husband and father, which is much harder than helping at least some of people who read this blog for a few minutes a day.
8. I remained really quite busy with secular work, preached three times, was on the radio once, and yet removing the digital piece resulted in me now feeling remarkably rested and refreshed. I may need to find some ways to lessen some of the burdens I carry.  Perhaps I need a secretary or something!
9. Just hanging out with the kids in the evenings watching TV, playing Scrabble & Risk with them on the iPad, and being beaten at chess by my 11 year old son is a whole lot of fun. I need to carve out more time to do this better even with the blog up and running. If I could be a better husband and father and a worse blogger that would be fine with me.
10. Having a break has made me itch to write again, and I have really enjoyed writing this post.  I won’t be giving up permanently any time soon!

Mrs Warnock and I have enjoyed married life for 15 years today.  As I reflect on those years I thought I would share some of those thoughts with you.  Truth be told, marriage has been both the most challenging and the most rewarding thing I have ever done. As society seeks to destroy family life, it is crucial that we fight for a true understanding of something that reflects the heart of God himself. Through marriage I have become more aware of my own weaknesses and sin. I have grown immeasurably in so many ways. There is no doubt that Andrée has had the greatest influence of anyone on who I am today. She has supported, encouraged, rebuked, comforted, helped, instructed, and most of all loved me. Knowing that someone has promised to stick by you no matter what is a most precious feeling.  She has been a far better wife than I have deserved.  She has definitely been the person who has most made me want to be a better man, and a better husband.

I am glad for grace, as without it I do not know how anyone can get through even one year of marriage.  Without grace I would wallow in guilt for all the times I have failed her as a husband. Without grace how can anyone carry on?  She is my best friend, my confident, my partner. I hope people realize that when I say she plays a massive role in contributing to everything I do, they do not think I am saying mere words.  She helped edit every page of my book. She helps me often here on the blog.  She cares for my children. She releases me to do things outside the home. The hours and hours of conversation about everything that concerns us both have shaped me. She is patient and kind. I am so grateful to God for the woman that he designed for me.  Happy anniversary Andrée. Here is praying for many, many more!

I was chatting with my wife, Andrée today as we were getting the notes from Terry’s talk ready to publish. I felt like what she had to say was so insightful that I decided to ask her to share it here. So here is a rare guest blogging appearance from Mrs Warnock:

As Terry was speaking today I noticed he mentioned the word ‘transition‘ to describe the stage we are at as a family of churches. I found myself thinking about that word, and how it is used to describe a stage of labor before the baby is born.

The term transition is used to describe the stage of labor immediately before the painful pushing stage begins. It is often characterized by an emotional compulsion to give up, and a sense that it is all too much and can no longer be endured. It is also very painful. There can be an irrational feeling that nothing is progressing and that the baby will never arrive.

I felt that there may be some parallels to be drawn out here, for us as churches. The transition stage is a stage which often does not feel productive. But it is not a time to do nothing but to gather strength and resources for the task ahead. The transition stage requires resisting the overwhelming temptation to give up and call in quick fixes and give in to impulse decisions. It is the time to think of the joy that lies ahead, and to draw on the strength and power and grace of Jesus. The pain will continue and even increase, but we are nearing the fulfillment of promises and God is bringing our spiritual offspring to birth. He is bringing us into our destiny.

Isaiah 65:23
They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them.

My lovely wife and I were both sitting here on our laptops next to each other in the lounge while the children were quietly doing things upstairs. It was a truly idyllic scene as my darling was editing the latest chapter of my book that I’ve been working on in some spare time over Christmas. I hope I haven’t neglected the family too much this Christmas—we have had some fun. Anyway, I must confess that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the scene hasn’t always been this peaceful this holiday, but it was about to get even better. All of a sudden we heard a patter of feet and my second daughter, Charis, presented Andrée and me with the following messages, which is certainly the nicest thing I’ve read so far this year!

DAD

My Dad has brown hair, as brown as chocolate that shines like the stars above. He has light blue eyes, as blue as the sky above me. They shine like the shimmering ocean down below me. His teeth are as white as mints. I just wanted to let all of these readers know that I love my Dad and I’m sure that he loves me too!

MUM

My Mum has brown silky hair that shines like the stars up above. Her eyes are as brown as chocolate and they are as delicate as a diamond and they shine like the ocean below. Her smile makes me feel safe and cosy. Her teeth are as white as mints. I just wanted all of you readers to know that my mum is my hero!

Well . . . I’m here! And the Brighton conference has begun. The sense of anticipation and excitement is incredible. Joyful reunions of friends who have been on separate continents are happening everywhere. We are really a family. We are really on a mission.

At the beginning of the week, I would ask that you pray for me. It is a busy week for me with typing, interviewing, and, of course, just meeting friends. My jet lag is improving quickly. I was also determined this year, more than usual, to press into God in the worship time. Sometimes when live-blogging, it’s possible to feel a bit detached from the goings on just because you’re typing away. Please pray for me about that.

Also, please pray for my long-suffering wife, Andrée , who I have left at home with our five children. May God carry her and give her real grace as what she is doing is more important than what I am doing. No one is going to die if I mistype a word here! I am already missing her and looking forward to seeing her again at the end of the week.

Right from the start I wanted to ensure I focused on God. Sitting near the front, and being intentional about it, I certainly found myself carried into an awareness of the presence of God by the thousands in the room, the worship band, and the wonderful words of the songs. We learned a great new song. It began, “His name is Jesus, Risen Savior” and was a triumphant celebration of the death and resurrection of our Savior. The song is from Lou Fellingham’s new album, which can also be bought as mp3 downloads. Vibrant is not a strong enough word to describe the feel of this worship time.

As Nigel Ring prepared to introduce our first speaker, he told us that 20 per cent of the world’s nations are represented at this conference. He read out the name of each country, and there was a corresponding “whoop” after each nation was mentioned. There are 52 nations in attendance:

Stephen directed us to Daniel 1 and read the entire chapter for us. He entitled his talk Prevailing Under Pressure. You can download the mp3 of his talk or listen to it here:

More posts from this conference can be found on my TOAM08 label page.

Stephen set the scene by explaining the terrible trauma experienced by the Jews in being exiled. What was worse, these events were not random. They had been determined by their God who had saved them, and had now judged them. Their sin was to make God surplus to requirements. They had been warned not to reject him. They had been wooed.

Galatians 6:7-8 warns us that God cannot be mocked. Persistent rebellion against God will not go unpunished. God is faithful to all his promises, including the promise to punish the disobedient. This might seem discouraging, but because of what it shows us, we can be encouraged.

1. GOD IS IN CONTROL

   He is sovereign. By verse 4, it is no longer Nebuchadnezzar who had carried them off into captivity; rather GOD claims that HE had done it. There is an historically correct perspective, but the destiny of the people of God is in the hands of God.

   We see in Daniel changing kings and an unchanging God. We meet superpower kings who come and go, but our God goes on forever! He is the one true King. Our God is the author of human history. In the midst of international dangers and everything else that is going on, we must hear that OUR GOD REIGNS.

   When we know that God reigns, we not only survive difficulties, we prevail. He is also sovereign over the very details of our lives. Verse 9—God causes an official to show favor. Verse 17—God gave knowledge and understanding. There is no area outside of God’s control.

   We all have challenges. We bring our own challenges and other people’s with us. But because God is in control and wants to give us hope and a future, we can be bold. Our confidence is that he is in charge. This is HIS world, and he cares about it. Jesus is ruling and reigning FOR his Church (Ephesians 1).

   God has an eternal purpose—to glorify his Son through his Church. He has a unique plan for each of us that fits in with that bigger plan. Our prayer meetings and our missions will be different if we really appreciate that God is in charge.

2. GOD IS A REDEEMER

   Even in the midst of punishment we see the mercy of God. “Young man, no defects, etc.”—that’s the list of requirements for the average Christian woman looking for a husband today!

   The key leaders were brought to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, but God had a plan. God sent a group ahead so that there was grace to the people of God. They lived for God in the midst of the culture without compromise. Daniel is part of praying in the promise of God to send the people back.

   Before God disciplines a hard-hearted and rebellious people, he is already working on the solution! He sends a group on to be part of the redeeming purpose before he even punishes. God is more gracious than we are.

   For example, in Ruth, while Naomi is ranting against God, he is preparing her redemption. We serve a Redeemer. If we think our life is a mess, God can fix it.

3. GOD WANTS US IN THE WORLD, BUT NOT OF THE WORLD

   Daniel is deported and bombarded by this alien culture. Was he to avoid it? Was he to resist it? Was he to protest? Was he to assimilate?
   

   “It is comparatively easy to be faithful if we don’t care about being contemporary. It is also easy to be contemporary if you don’t care about being faithful. It is the search for the combination of truth and relevance which is exacting.”

   — John Stott

   How can we reach out without selling out? How can we be faithful and relevant?

   On external things, Daniel was flexible. He studied a foreign language. He changed his name. On the internal issue of his walk with God, he was inflexible.

   Daniel resolved not to defile himself. For Daniel, it wasn’t really eating the food or wine, but rather because the food had been offered to idols. He demonstrated incredible courage. After all, you didn’t want to offend Nebuchadnezzar!

   Daniel says it like it is. He doesn’t want to defile himself. This is real moral integrity. It is theological integrity also (see verse 17). Daniel had a great intellect. He had great gifting and ability naturally. He was also anointed. But Daniel demonstrated integrity by not trusting his ability, or even the amplification of his ability. Daniel humbly embraced the gifts. It was not Daniel’s brilliance that won the day, but rather the intervention of God. (Daniel 2:27-28) Daniel gave God the credit.

   He also demonstrated spiritual integrity by guarding his relationship with God with his life. He was in it for the long haul. In Daniel 6, they could not find anything to pin on him. They knew that if they banned prayer, Daniel would still pray. He wouldn’t stop his communion with God.

   Daniel shows us a panoramic picture of a sovereign God. He remained faithful, committed to the purposes of God. Compromise is not inevitable. Not everyone has a price. Daniel did not cave in. People who pursue God will make a difference.

   “Those who honor me, I will honor.” 1 Samuel 2:30

   Eric Liddell was faithful to God, not only because he would not run on the Sabbath—he relocated to China to preach the gospel. During the war he was in a prisoner of war camp. Churchill arranged a prisoner exchange, but he decided to give his prisoner exchange to a pregnant woman who was in the camp. He died so someone else could live.

   You can live your life for God. You don’t have to give in.

More posts from this conference can be found on my TOAM08 label page.

Hi, Andrée here!

People often ask if Adrian ever sleeps; well here’s the answer . . .

Imagine my delight to read this post on my darling wife’s blog. It was very kind, slightly cheeky, and brought real joy to my heart. It is easy to feel disconnected from the real world while at a conference. But just in case I needed a reminder of the fact that my real delight is back at home with my family, the surprise of seeing such lovely words from my delightful wife was more than adequate.

Family really does come first for me, and so should they. I am so thankful to God for Andrée and for all she does to enable me to do what I do, and to care for the precious five children. I hope that being here will help me to be a better husband and father when I get home. If I didn’t believe that, I would not be here right now. I look forward to seeing them real soon!

This sermon was preached by me on the UK’s Mother’s Day, which was on March 2nd. The audio can be downloaded or played here.

Isaiah 66:13
“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 49:15-16 Good News Bible
“Can a woman forget her own baby, and not love the child she bore?
Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you.
Jerusalem, I can never forget you!
I have written your name on the palms of my hands.”

Luke 13:34
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”

Isaiah 40:1-2
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.”

Psalm 131:1-2
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

1. GOD IS LIKE A MOTHER, BUT HE IS A FATHER

We are right to talk of God as a father, for the Bible speaks of him repeatedly as a father. The verses we have read liken God to sharing attributes of a mother. There are, however, no verses that say God actually IS a mother; however, God is compared to a mother, and he is even likened to a hen brooding over her chicks. But we should no more worship him as “Mother God” than we should pray to God the Holy Chicken!

Since men and women are both created in the image of God, it should really be no surprise to us that God reflects attributes of mothers as well as fathers in his dealings with us.

Matthew Henry, writing more than 300 years ago, reminds us that God comforts us and he does so “not only with the rational arguments which a prudent father uses, but with the tender affections and compassions of a loving mother.” (Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Complete and Unabridged in One Volume, Isaiah 66:5 (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, c1991).

Some things never change!

2. GOD IS COMPASSIONATE LIKE A MOTHER

Women tend to be compassionate, although one mum said when I spoke to her this week, “It depends on the time of day!”

When an accident happens in our home, my instinct is to ask what happened, how did the child get hurt, where is the bruise, was one of the other children somehow responsible? Andrée often says, “Darling, please just pick them up and give them a cuddle.”

God created the world. Is it any wonder he should feel the same intense degree of warm love and care towards his children that a mother so clearly demonstrates to hers? In one of our verses God says in effect “no way would a woman reject her own baby,” before acknowledging that, then as now, sadly there are a few women who do indeed forget the child they bore. But God can NEVER forget! Why? Because of what happened on the cross when he “engraved our names on his hands.”

3. GOD IS SACRIFICIAL LIKE A MOTHER

Mother with a baby might say, “O-o-oh, do you need a nappy change, poor little boy?” But Dad might say , “O man, could you not have waited to do that? It was changed only a few minutes ago!”

Women put their careers on at least a temporary hold, and go through the pains of pregnancy and childbirth to have a child. Jesus once said when that “when a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” (John 16:21)

God understands the pain that mothers go through, not just in labor but in the decades that follow. He has seen us his children go astray and reject him, but still he loves us. How amazing knowing that he was going to a city that had killed prophets before and would kill him, that he doesn’t go in as a conquering manly warrior king. Rather, he says, “I am like a mother hen, cooing over you, wanting to gather you under my wings.” Surely God understands the thankless task of trying to win over kids when they are rebelling and think you hate them. The thousands of sacrifices the average mother makes for her children reflects upon the ultimate sacrifice of his life that Jesus would make.

Jesus died so he COULD gather his unwilling creation, like a mother hen would gather her chicks. He is hunting for them and searching for them right now to love them, forgive them, cleanse them from their guilt and shame, and make them into true children of God.

Jesus scorned the shame and pain of the cross because of the joy set before him— the joy of US as his children.

What a wonderful cry we heard from the prophet Isaiah—it was only made possible because of the cross. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.” (Isaiah 40:1-2).

4. GOD IS COMFORTING LIKE A MOTHER

When it comes to hugs and kisses, especially if they are upset, my kids look to their mum for comfort. They say I am prickly and need a shave! Do you think of God as prickly?

Just as a skillful mother is able to pacify and soothe the woes of her child, so is God with us. Who here is distressed? God will soothe you. Who is sorrowful? God will calm your troubles. Who here is stressed? God will cause you to rest in him.

God is the God of ALL comfort. Jesus told us he was sending “another comforter” to replace himself, which tells us that his role and that of the Spirit was to comfort us.

Our response to being comforted?

We feel understood, We feel calmed. Stress lifts. Anxiety passes. Our problem now belongs to the one whose wings we shelter under.

This is surely the perfect description of the mature Christian:

“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (Psalm 131:1-2)

If you feel you are not there yet, you are probably right! Which of us is? But, that is our goal, arriving at a place where we trust God so much that we are not worrying about the events of our life, where we are calm and able to face the day.

5. GOD WANTS US TO OFFER COMFORT TO OTHERS

Perhaps you struggle with the question, “Why, God?” when you question something that has happened to you. There are a myriad of different circumstances life throws at us that make us ask that question. Bereavement, divorce, abuse by others, disappointments, sickness.

There are no easy or complete answers to the question “Why?” One answer is that God wants you to quiet yourself, stop examining things “too lofty for us to understand,” and instead be comforted by him so that you, too, can comfort others. But perhaps you need the comfort of others today . . . maybe you are far from the place that you can help someone else. Who here needs a touch from God? Maybe you need a touch from your neighbor.

Who here already knows from bittersweet, personal experience the truth that “God is the God of all comfort” — it is time you learned to pass that on! He comforts us SO THAT WE CAN COMFORT OTHERS. “But,” you say, “I am not a pastor or a theologian.” “I say,” “God tells us to comfort each other with the comfort he has given us!” Church, are our conversations seasoned with the salt of comfort? Do we listen to the troubles of each other and show that we care? Do we help each other to find the strength that only God can give?

RESPONSE: Salvation, need of comfort, need to comfort others.

Yes, it really is true that we managed to take all the above photos during a single day at the Animal Kingdom this week. Back on Wednesday, which seems an age away now, we spent a fantastic day on the wilder side of Disney. Actually, we got there closer to lunch time than opening time. (We are now firmly on American time and are no longer waking very early every morning as we did for the first few days!)

We saw everything we wanted to and had no need at all for Fastpass. The rides were good, but not too scary or dramatic. The safari was fantastic, and walking through the park a true pleasure. We were glad to see that the tigers were firmly behind walls which appeared totally unthinkable for them to jump over!

The less dangerous animals were close enough to touch from our safari truck. Those people (such as my darling wife, Andree) who have been to Africa will have to confirm this, but it seemed to me that Disney has done a pretty good job of at least trying to get a flavor of the real thing.

Animal Kingdom was definitely a treasured experience, although it was very different to any of the other theme parks we’d experienced.

After a quieter day when we went back to Islands of Adventure to revisit some rides we especially liked, we moved to the Pop Century Hotel at Disney.

One major advantage of being here at this time of year is that we were able to do almost everything we wanted to do at EPCOT despite arriving just before lunchtime.

We still had to use FastPass, however, for Soarin’ and the Test Track. Soarin’ is an “unmissable” hand glider experience. A 3D movement effect is produced that makes you think you’re flying over parts of America. More than once I found myself moving my legs to miss the rapidly approaching trees!

The Test Track brought you to speeds of 65 MPH in a small open car, close to the track. The crash into a wall test was genuinely scary for a moment.

What felt like the strongest G-forces I have yet experienced occurred on the Mission:Space ride. In fact, it is the sustained nature of the 2G force that makes it feel stronger. Other rides produce over 4G (the biggest being Hulk), but do so for a matter of a few seconds (see http://www.local6.com/news/5423136/detail.html). We worked up to the Mission:Space by doing the no-spin version first, which seemed a good strategy, especially after hearing that someone had died on it!

We enjoyed the shows such as the Circle of Life, O Canada, and the 360 film of China. The way in which the park is laid out—exhibits of different nations around a lake—made for a lot of walking. But, especially for those Americans who never leave their own state, it made for an interesting introduction to some of the cultures around the world, even if they were a bit stereotypical.

The American history show was surprising for a Brit. The level of self-belief and pride in their history of the average American is staggering for those of us who are, more commonly apparently, ashamed of our past. It did make for quite a story, but not quite enough to inspire me to want to live here, Andrée will be glad to know!

We’re sitting at Gatwick, having enjoyed what I fear may be our last healthy meal for a couple of weeks! We ate a fruit salad, a chicken, bacon and salad sandwich, and fresh fruit yogurt between us. I may be wrong, but my image of Orlando doesn’t include healthy salads being available. Tamasin is particularly worried that we may be forced to eat hot dogs all week. Henry and I just want to make sure we find a good steakhouse.

I was surprised at how I had a moment of sadness saying goodbye to the other half of my family. I have traveled so often, but this is the longest I will have been apart from Andrée since I met her in the spring of 1993! She is amazing, and got up early so I could drive to Gatwick, and then as we got out of the car, she took over for the trip around the M25 to church. She is a great wife, and I felt guilty leaving her as we headed for our holiday of a lifetime. We realized that by the time she gets home today, she will have done a complete circuit of London’s orbital motorway, sometimes called the world’s largest car park. There were no traffic issues today, and we were glad to hear she made it to Enfield in time to grab a McDonald’s before church. I’m just glad we’ve left them all healthy!

Henry wrote in his first diary entry:

“Well, here we are at the airport ready for our nine-hour flight to Disney in around two hours. I think things I’m looking forward to most are seeing the shuttle take off, the spaceship simulator and swimming with dolphins.”

Tamasin meanwhile was refreshingly honest:

“So here we are at the airport waiting for the plane. Me and Hen have to do a holiday diary—how boring. I’m sitting here in Gatwick airport writing in it ‘yawn yawn’. It’s 9-51 and the plane goes at 11-40, can’t wait. The things I’m most looking forward to are swimming with dolphins and all the water parks. We’re gonna get soaked.”

Yep—that’s right! This post marks the return of Warnie. I just can’t keep away any longer! Not only am I returning to reasonably regular fresh blogging, in less than 12 hours I’ll be jumping on a plane and living the “American dream” for two whole weeks! After much careful thought, I’ve also decided that you’re going to be allowed to share in this dream vacation.

We’re staying the first week at the Universal Resort and the second week at Disney. Internet access permitting, you’ll be able to read a day-by-day account right here. There are three of us going—me and two of my kids, Tamasin and Henry. We all figured this was as good a chance to enjoy ourselves together as we are likely to get this side of Tamasin becoming a teenager, which is not far off. I can’t believe that the baby I held in my arms only a short time ago is now doing her best to organize me for this trip, and has even put together some flat-pack furniture on her own!

We’ll share our personal thoughts and, hopefully, some photos and video. Blogs are intensely personal things, so you will forgive my indulgence. If nothing else, my wife and three younger kids will be able to follow along with what we’re getting up to. Incidentally, Andrée deserves a medal as big as a pancake for holding the fort at home. But she doesn’t really like all those rides and things anyhow, and says she will be quite happy.

If you’re looking for serious theology over the next few days, go visit challies.com, although, thanks to my editor, the last few of my “top 30 posts” will be making their appearance in-between the Florida epic travelogue.

If anybody has any last-minute travel tips for an Orlando vacation, now is the time to e-mail them to adrian.warnock@gmail.com. I may even share the best here!

The first tip is, I am told, choose the time of year carefully. February seems like a good month. The weather forecast suggests most days it will be upwards of 27C. (That’s 82F for you Yanks!) But the crowds should not be too big, and it should not get unbearably hot. Importantly, it’s also well outside hurricane season. So since Gordon Brown won’t be anywhere near Gatwick when I am taking off or landing, we should return in one piece.

The past twelve months have been relatively stable for us as a family. It is the first year for awhile that none of us have started a new job, or a new school (although Joel did move up from the school’s nursery class to reception). We have not moved, and we certainly haven’t moved church. We intend for this stability to continue, God willing, for years to come. Certainly we hope that our children will see out their schooling from our current home somewhere in North London.

Of course, the top story of the year from our perspective has surely been the birth of George Nathan Warnock, who was born just one day before the tenth birthday of the first of our five children, Tamasin Joy Warnock. He has been a wonderful addition to our family, and it has been a joy to watch his siblings play their part in caring for him.

Ours is a busy home, and mostly a very happy home as well. One person holds the household together more than any other, and that is, of course, my absolutely gorgeous wife, Andrée . We have had twelve years together, and I seem to pile more work in her direction with every year. With our seemingly ever-growing family, the people-carrier is now full, so I really do think that five constitutes a full quiver for us. This time, no one even seems to be asking us, “When is the next one due?” So don’t be expecting any more Warnock babies—we certainly aren’t!

One family event this year which we all have appreciated, being a technology-loving family, was of course, deserting the Microsoft operating system. We delight in being a little bit different in our family, and going against that particular grain has been a real joy! It is one way in which we are all allowed to apostatize! Time slots for our Macbook have to be ordered in triplicate a week in advance. (OK, so we aren’t really that organized, but probably should be!). Even Mrs W can get withdrawal symptoms, however!

I tried to express my gratitude to my better half in a post I wrote when recovering from my knee surgery earlier in the year entitled “Thanks to Those Who Keep My Life Going on as Normal”. She will never fully understand how much she means to me, nor just how much I rely on her. As a good friend of mine recently said when his own wife was away, “My life is just rubbish without her!” With my frequent business trips and all the drains on her time, none of it would really happen if it wasn’t for the sacrifices she has made to be an old-fashioned full-time Mum. It is no wonder many people stop at two children as it really is hard to imagine how both of us could manage to go out to work.

Next year we will see our eldest go to secondary school, which is shocking and makes me feel very old. Before that, however, we are looking forward to some uninterrupted time together, and also spending time with our extended family over the Christmas break. Much as I love blogging, you will no doubt excuse me if I don’t spend the holiday season with you! Not that I have finished yet, as there are several more days of “Review of the Year” posts to get through first, so keep coming back as you hopefully begin to wind down towards a rest on Christmas Day—unless, of course, you are the one cooking that Christmas dinner, which here in Britain often looks very much like a copy of the U.S. Thanksgiving dinner). Have a nice time with your family, but I hope you will enjoy reminiscing with me for a few more days about the year that was.

Hi! It’s Mrs.W here again! The stage of life I am in currently involves spending a lot of time caring for my lovely 7 month old baby, George. He is now clapping his hands, rolling over, and sitting up. He also has his first tooth! He is such a cute little boy, and we all love him to bits. But he is also very vulnerable. He needs to be watched and cared for all the time, for he has no idea at all how to look after himself and keep himself safe. In Jesus’ time I believe many children would die before reaching adulthood. Jesus made himself that vulnerable for us.

This past weekend I had the joy of having Mr. and Mrs. Fountain stay in our family home. We had a lovely time with them, and it was an encourgaing time for all of us. We chatted for hours about our shared theology and blogging geekiness whilst Andrée and Anne chatted about their shared interest in various crafts. We got to take them to Jubilee Church, and took Anne to some of the places her family came from.

Perhaps the greatest surprise to me was when Andrew said he wanted to turn the tables on me and interview me, and also Andrée (for the first few minutes at least, before she slipped away!)

Visit Andrew Fountain interviews Adrian Warnock to listen to the interview.

Andrew also took a few shots of Andrée and me:

I have long ago learnt that travelling on business is a mind game. Is that delay in the airport a ‘nightmare’ or is it simply more time for contemplation or reading that book you brought with you? Is travelling alone a risk, boring, or an opportunity for rare peace and quiet in our busy world?

I treat my business trips as though they were a spiritual retreat. That may sound crazy, but when else would I get a few days where aside from the time I am actually working I can switch off, think, read, pray or just relax and enjoy the sights?

Admittedly some trips are easier than others to approach in this way. I somehow suspect that the trip I am about to start on – to the beautiful Greek island of Rhodes may be one of the easiest so far in that regard. I will have work to do – sessions of a conference to attend. But, the environment should prove to be refreshing to my soul.

I feel like this years rest and recuperation is a bit front loaded. Having taken time off for my baby, for my knee, and having the rest of my annual leave booked for July, the second half of the year promises to be a lot more hectic than the first from a ‘real job’ perspective.

Often when I go away I either shut down the blog or possibly post travel-related posts. This time, I have a stack of posts already written and ready to go. Andrée my lovely wife is planning on being the one to hit publish once a day. If I feel so inclined, I may tell you about my trip a bit in between.

Almost twelve years ago we finished our wedding service with the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” It is probably the best hymn ever written in my humble opinion — not least because it calls us “wretches”!

We sang the hymn accompanied only by the same bagpipes that had welcomed Andrée in to the tune, “My Bonnie is a NutBrown Maiden.” I never found out whether it was deliberate or not, but the piper stopped playing at the end of the penultimate verse. As we sang “When we’ve been there … ” with no instruments, I can well remember my eyes brimming.

Anyway, I said all that to say that I can fully understand the emotional reaction Terry Virgo reports to singing the same hymn at his own son’s wedding recently. This post is, I think, the best one he has written so far. Luke Wood has pointed out that in the same post, Terry Virgo also commends marriage to singles.

[Incidentally, please pray for me as I am preaching tomorrow, and as always, these days do not feel adequate for the task. This post has been a great reminder to me of the fact that God's grace is there to equip and enable me — I need lots of it tomorrow, please God!]

The only problem with this latest post of Terry’s is that he apologises for it — saying it’s a bit too personal. I think we need to tell him that it’s just that kind of post that makes for a fantastic blog. I think I’ve slipped up a little over here on my own blog by not being personal enough lately, so I promise I will try and do so more often, if that’s what you want!

I will leave you with this quote from Terry’s post — please let me know in the comments section — do you WANT more personal posts from your favorite bloggers, or would you rather that we stick to pure theology? Actually for me, even my theology is theology that I personally care about and am interested in — I hope the real me peaks through from time to time! Here is the quote that I liked so much today:

“… we began to sing. Within seconds I was in trouble. I was fighting back the tears. ‘I once was lost, but now am found …’ I stood in the front row looking past Wendy along the line with three sons; Tim, the groom, Ben and Simon, his two best men, the stunning bride and Joel, our other son, facing them about to conduct the wedding.

Just behind, recently flown in from Cape Town, was our daughter, Anna, with our daughters-in-law, Rachel and Kate, caring for the next generation, eight grandchildren!

As we sang, I couldn’t get past ‘I once was lost …’ I stood there suddenly reflecting on my earlier life, aimless, having no idea what life was all about, hanging out at pubs and snooker halls or going to parties and jazz clubs, often drunk, not knowing that there was a gospel or any kind of purpose to life.

I have no idea where I would have finished up. I can’t imagine the life I would have lived. I cannot believe that I would ever have been loyal to one woman or found a job which brought any satisfaction. How would you raise a family when you have no map or compass? I once was blind!”

— Terry Virgo

INTRODUCTION
There is a series of adverts on TV that arrests me every time I see them. You see someone crying, hugging a loved one. Your heart goes out to them, even before you begin to hear the words of the commentary. But then the commentary starts, and if you are a big softie like me, you feel like you are about to cry — even if you have seen it before. The person says “when I was diagnosed with cancer . . .” For the first few seconds you hear about the terrible impact those words had on the individual. You can picture them in the doctor’s room. Then, the voice says, “Today I was told I have my life back.” You suddenly realize that the person is crying for joy, not anguish, and in their tears a smile appears. You see the impact that a single sentence from a doctor can have.

We sometimes talk about “MERE words,” and yet SOME words mean everything — they can literally bring life and death. Words are powerful. They can steal away hope, and they can give it back again.

Words affect us all the time. I remember when I asked Andrée to marry me. I had shocked her by turning up earlier than she expected with a bunch of roses and a ring that I had designed. As I was kneeling there for what seemed like an eternity, first she laughed, then she cried, then she said, “No . . .” Fortunately, she meant this in disbelief rather than as a rejection! I just wanted to hear one word. That was all, one word. And if that word had been “no” and not “yes” I would have been a very different man!

If our words can feel like they take away life and give it back again, is it any wonder that God’s Words can do the same? It’s no wonder that Ravi Zacharias made the astute observation: “In the beginning was the Word, not video.”

I love the following quote: “. . . in OT times the word was regarded as being alive, and so was portrayed as being sent out of the heart (mind/brain/mouth) of a living person, to leap to the goal at which it was directed. Then, when it arrived, it did the work of the speaker who had sent it forth, for it conveyed the power of the speaker to change the heart or the mind of the hearer of the word.” [1]

We as Christians are a people who value words, although we live in a world that values image. Last week,at our joint celebration,we heard about how the image of God is actually described as the Word of God. It is hard to think of a stronger way that God could express Hs high view of “words” than that. The Bible — so-called “mere words” written down on a page — is what God has left us by which to know Him. The Bible is not God — we don’t worship it. But, as we read it, as we listen to it, the God of the Bible leaps off the page at us. These words shape us. They can save us. They teach us how to live, but more than that, they give us life.

Today we are going to look at God’s reviving Word. In revivals, a hunger for God’s Word returns. Sermons often become longer — sometimes lasting all day! (As an example of this, see Nehemiah 8 and 9). People cannot hear enough of God’s Word. Amazing things happen to people as they hear and read God’s Word during revivals. I could tell you story after story — but I won’t.

If we have learnt anything as we have been studying how God revives us, it is this — what is true of the multitude in a revival can be true of you and I, even outside of a revival. I am convinced that God wants us as a people to become more and more aware of just how God’s Word can revive us and help us become the people of faith we are convinced He wants us to be.

What does the Bible say about words, and God’s Word in particular? Those of you who have been with us for awhile may remember that during the series we preached on Proverbs there was a message on Proverbs 18:21 which says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

It is no wonder that the Apostles declared, “We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4)

If there is one place in the Bible that honours God’s Word more than anywhere else, it is Psalm 119. It is the longest chapter in the Bible and it comes just two psalms after the shortest chapter in the Bible — Psalm 117 — which just so happens to be the middle chapter of the Bible. You will find it somewhere in the middle of your Bible.

BACKGROUND ON PSALM 119

• “of David” — a man who loved God “after God’s own heart.”

• He loved God’s law because it was God’s Word. He loved God’s Word because it showed him his God.

• For him, the Word of God was almost exclusively the law, and presumably Judges, Ruth, and maybe Job.

• If he can love these bits of the Bible that are only beginning to reveal God, we should love it all, since progressive revelation means that more comes later.

• An acrostic poem — “It consists of twenty-two strophes of eight lines each. Each strophe has the same Hebrew letter at the beginning of every one of its eight lines, going in succession, by strophes, from alef, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, as the first letter of each line in the first strophe, to taw, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, as the first letter of each line in the last strophe.” [2]

• Eight different Hebrew words are used to speak of the Law . . . The following Hebrew words are used: (1) torah (see “law” and comments, 1.2); (2) ‘eduth (see “testimony” and comments, 19.7c); (3) mishpat (see “judgment,” 7.6); (4) mitswah, always in the plural, except in verses 96, 98 (see “commandment,” 19.8c); (5) choq, always in the plural (see “decree” and comments, 2.7; “statutes,” 18.22); (6) piqudim, a plural form (see “precepts,” 19.8a); (7) dabar; (8) ’imrah (see “promises,” 12.6; 18.30). Torah is always singular and means the whole law of God, the Mosaic Law; dabar and ’imrah mean “word, saying,” and sometimes have the specific meaning of “promise.” The other words refer to rules or commands or instructions . . . All of these eight words are synonyms; they all refer to God’s Law as contained in the Mosaic legislation recorded in the first five books of the Scriptures. The Law is not seen as having a human origin, but always a divine origin; Yahweh is the author of the Torah. It should be noticed that in every one of the 176 verses in this psalm, God is either addressed or referred to.” [3]

• The Psalm in some way reminds me of the Proverbs, because it does not flow well — it is almost a collection of random words or sayings about God’s Word.

• WESLEY — “. . . the word of God is here called by the names of law, statutes, precepts or commandments, judgments, ordinances, righteousness, testimonies, way and word. By which variety, he designed to express the nature and perfection of God’s word. It is called his word, as revealed by him to us; his way, as prescribed by him for us to walk in; his law, as binding us to obedience; his statutes, as declaring his authority of giving us laws; his precepts as directing our duty; his ordinances, as ordained by him; his righteousness, as exactly agreeable to God’s righteous nature and will; his judgments, as proceeding from the great judge of the world, and being his judicial sentence to which all men must submit; and his testimonies, as it contains the witness of God’s will, and of man’s duty.” [4]

• SPURGEON – “I have been bewildered in the expanse of the One Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm . . . Its dimensions and its depth alike overcame me. It spread itself out before me like a vast, rolling prairie, to which I could see no bound, and this alone created a feeling of dismay. Its expanse was unbroken by a bluff or headland, and hence it threatened a monotonous task, although the fear has not been realized. This marvellous poem seemed to me a great sea of holy teaching, moving, in its many verses, wave upon wave; altogether without an island of special and remarkable statement to break it up. I confess I hesitated to launch upon it. Other psalms have been mere lakes, but this is the main ocean. It is a continent of sacred thought, every inch of which is fertile as the garden of the Lord: it is an amazing level of abundance, a mighty stretch of harvest fields. I have now crossed the great plain for myself, but not without persevering, and, I will add, pleasurable, toil. Several great authors have traversed this region and left their tracks behind them, and so far the journey has been all the easier for me; but yet to me and to my helpers it has been no mean feat of patient authorship and research. This great Psalm is a book in itself: instead of being one among many psalms, it is worthy to be set forth by itself as a poem of surpassing excellence. Those who have never studied it may pronounce it commonplace, and complain of its repetitions; but to the thoughtful student it is like the great deep, full, so as never to be measured; and varied, so as never to weary the eye. Its depth is as great as its length; it is mystery, not set forth as mystery, but concealed beneath the simplest statements; may I say that it is experience allowed to prattle, to preach, to praise, and to pray like a child prophet in his own father’s house? [5]

• EULOGIUM — “This Psalm is a prolonged meditation upon the excellence of the word of God, upon its effects, and the strength and happiness which it gives to a man in every position. These reflections are interspersed with petitions, in which the Psalmist, deeply feeling his natural infirmity, implores the help of God for assistance to walk in the way mapped out for him in the divine oracles. In order to be able to understand and to enjoy this remarkable Psalm, and that we may not be repelled by its length and by its repetitions, we must have had, in some measure at least, the same experiences as its author, and, like him, have learned to love and practise the sacred word. Moreover, this Psalm is in some sort a touchstone for the spiritual life of those who read it. [6]

• BARCLAY says of this word “Law”: “We must be clear, however, what the word law means in the original Hebrew. We have met it in earlier psalms where we found that it is the word Torah. We found that this word does not mean “law” in the classical Roman sense of lex which has formed the basis of our western legal system. Torah actually means “teaching”, so that it means teaching that has come out of the mouth of the Living God. When the disciple hears the words of his master’s teaching, he receives through it a revelation of what is in the mind of his teacher, and so here, of what is in the mind of God. Torah then means both teaching and revelation, in fact, both these at once—from God!” [7]

ON THE LAW
Although Psalm 119 is really about God’s Word in its widest sense, perhaps partly because so much of the Bible that David would have read would have been the law of Moses, he speaks many times about God’s law. David loves God’s law. This is a very different attitude to what we tend to have. So I cannot avoid giving a very brief introduction here to our view of the law. This is not a sermon about that — one day perhaps we will address this more fully — I did address some of this more in my talks on Galatians last year. But just to help us as we approach this psalm, let’s look at how we should view the law.

1. Our Attitude Toward the Law

   • We tend to rebel whenever we hear rules — e.g. “Don’t walk on the grass.” Law teaches us what sin is, and unless empowered by the Spirit, actually provokes us to sin more whilst making us feel condemned.

   • According to Paul, the law exists to lead us to Christ — to make us feel helpless so that we will seek Him for the free gift of salvation which is not dependent on what we have done, but what Christ has done.

   • Those who are Christians tend to say, “We are not under law, but under grace.”

   • Sadly many go one step further and do not want to read the law, nor do they value it as part of God’s Word for us today.
2. Jesus’ Attitude Toward the Law

• Is very different to the over-simplified view many of us have today. Listen to what He said:

• “Scripture cannot be broken.” (John 10:35)

• “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18)
3. The Solution

• God does want us to live righteously, and so the law does have a role for us.

• We are to see the law as revealing God’s character and making us fall in love with Him — actually much like David does in this psalm.

• As we fall in love with Jesus, our hearts change and we WANT to keep His commandments.

• Paul calls this the “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5)

• Tim Keller puts it this way: “Religion is — I obey so I can be accepted. The gospel is — I am accepted so I can obey.”

So, with that bit of introduction over, let’s get into our text — Psalm 119. I think that, on the basis of that introduction, for our purposes in our studies we can replace the word “law” for the word “word” whenever we want to. The psalmist speaks about the law and word interchangeably because that was all he knew of God’s Word at that point. If the law was all David knew and he could say all these things about it, how much more should we be able to say the same things of the whole counsel of God, including the law that David knew? So let’s turn to Psalm 119.

You will be pleased to know that I am not going to read the whole psalm today, but I would encourage you, in your own time, to read it over several times.

We are going to pick out a number of verses from this psalm today which speak of the effects of God’s reviving word. What exactly does God’s Word do for us when we read and listen to it?

1. THE WORD OF GOD BRINGS REVELATION

   “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (Psalm 119:18)

   The psalmist prays to God — and you will notice how much of this psalm is a prayer, if you like a prayer about God’s Word — he asks God to reveal Himself to him in His Word. He says something similar in verse 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

   The last time I spoke, I mentioned that the Bible is clear that we are blind and cannot even see God without His help. We need God to shine into our hearts. Like the writer of that great hymn, “Amazing Grace,” the Christian is aware that “I once was blind, but now I see.”

   “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

   We don’t see the face of Jesus today — how do we see Him? It’s in the Scriptures — that is the place for us to meet God! As we read and pray over the Words of this book, let the God of the Bible leap off the page at us!

   Notice that the revelation is about Jesus — Jesus makes this astonishing claim Himself.

   • “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (John 5:39)

   Through the Scriptures, we are meant to hear God’s voice. Jesus says this — “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27) He means both spiritual guidance and the Bible — we hear His voice in the Bible. As we read the law, even then we see Jesus. He is revealed. The whole book is about Him.

   This experience of looking to Jesus, of revelation, is not a once-for-all experience. I am sure we can all think of moments when either listening to a sermon or reading from the Bible, it is like a light gets switched on in our heads – “I see it now”

   But as we begin to see Jesus there is something else that happens. Remember that God is a reviving God, as we have been saying. So is it any wonder that as we read God’s Word, it revives us? Let’s see what our next verse has to say.

   QUOTES

   • Chicago Statement — “God who is himself truth and speaks only truth has inspired Holy Scripture (HS) in order thereby to reveal himself…”

   • “Insight into the meaning of God’s law depends not only on prolonged study and meditation; it depends also on God’s guidance. So the psalmist prays, Open my eyes; only in this way can he discover the wonderful truths, or teachings, in the Law. It is God who will enable him to appreciate and understand the Law.” [8]

   • “The word of God is central to the life of God’s people. Our God is a God who speaks and it is the possession of that verbal revelation which marks his people off from all others on earth”. [9]

   • Wesley — “Enlighten my mind by the light of thy Holy Spirit, and dispel all ignorance and error.” [10]

   • Boston:
     1. “That there can be no sufficient knowledge of the duty which we owe to God without the scriptures. Though the light of nature does in some measure show our duty to God, yet it is too dim to take up the will of God sufficiently in order to salvation.

     

     2. That there can be no right obedience yielded to God without them. Men that walk in the dark must needs stumble; and the works that are wrought in the dark will never abide the light; for there is no working rightly by guess in this matter. All proper obedience to God must be learned from the scriptures.

     3. That there is no point of duty that we are called to, but what the scripture teaches, Isaiah. 8:20; men must neither make duties to themselves, or others, but what God has made duty. The law of God is exceeding broad, and reaches the whole conversation of man, outward and inward, Psalms 19; and man is bound to conform himself to it alone as the rule of his duty.” [11]

   • Boston — “The scriptures teach but externally. It is the Spirit that teaches internally. The scriptures externally reveal what we are to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man; but the inward illumination of the Spirit of God is necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the scriptures.”[12]

   • William Cowper — “If it be asked, seeing David was a regenerate man, and so illumined already, how is it that he prays for the opening of his eyes? The answer is easy: that our regeneration is wrought by degrees. The beginnings of light in his mind made him long for more; for no man can account of sense, but he who hath it. The light which he had caused him to see his own darkness; and therefore, feeling his wants, he sought to have them supplied by the Lord.” [13]

   • Spurgeon — “The light which they beg is not anything besides the word. When God is said to enlighten us, it is not that we should expect new revelations, but that we may see the wonders in his word, or get a clear sight of what is already revealed.” [14]

   • “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

2. GOD’S WORD REVIVES US

   Verse 25 — “My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!”

   As we recognize our desperate state before a holy God, as we get to the end of ourselves, God in His grace comes to us by His Word and says “LIVE!” Again this is definitely referring to what happens when we become Christians — but it is also an ongoing experience of the Christian who immerses himself in the Word of God with prayer. There are a few other places in the Bible where this is also stated:

   • “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” (Psalm 19:7).

   • “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3)

   • “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

   We who are privileged to have a complete Bible in front of us should, like David, be always able to find a verse that will sustain us and give us that feeling of a life renewed when we are feeling low. If you are low in energy and life this morning, what do I have to offer you? I can give you a pat on the shoulder and some well-meaning words of support, or I can give you a lifeline from this Book. I know which I prefer!

   This life-giving force of the Bible is also described in a slightly different way in verse 28.

   QUOTES
   “Now we reach the key-word of the whole long psalm. It is the word live. Our biological life is a gift from God. We do not create it ourselves. The Torah, however, uses this word quite differently from Plato and the Greeks. For the Torah, God is the Living God. This Living God offers his children his life, and that is not mere biological life. “It is life in the Spirit, to which physical death has nothing to say.” [15]

   Spurgeon — “When there was so little Scripture written, yet David could find out a word for his support. Alas! in our troubles and afflictions, no promise comes to mind. As in outward things, many that have less live better than those that have abundance; so here, now Scripture is so large, we are less diligent, and therefore, though we have so many promises, we are apt to faint, we have not a word to bear us up.” [16]

3. GOD’S WORD STRENGTHENS US

   Verse 28 — “My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”

   God’s Word really is robust and strong enough for us to lean on it when we are feeling weak and depressed. I knew someone who suffered from depression who quite literally used to take God’s Word as though it were medicine three times a day. Over time she was strengthened and eventually did not require medication any more. Now, of course, depression can sometimes be biological, and that is not to say that antidepressants do not sometimes have their place. But, there is no doubt that God’s Word, if you let it shape you over years, will go a long way towards strengthening you and lifting you up.

   As I was preparing, I felt God drop into my heart that there were some here who have struggled with depression and feel that there is nothing you can do. You feel a failure. Well, I want to tell you that even great men of God like Elijah, and in modern history Spurgeon, suffered from depression, so you are not alone. But God would say to you today, there is something that you can do in addition to taking medication, if that is needed. You can feast yourself on God’s reviving and strengthening Word. It may take years — don’t expect a quick fix — but consistent exposure to God’s Word will help you — come and talk to us afterwards if this is you, and we would love to give you some ideas about which verses would be especially helpful for you to add to your daily medication list.

   There is another thought that came to me as I was studying these few words. For God’s Word to strengthen us reliably it has to be trustworthy and reliable — imagine, if you will, someone who says, “I will cover you” to Jack Bauer and then doesn’t — some today who believe the Bible has errors in it — we addressed this in our Bible study — but I want you to know this is God’s Word. If God doesn’t lie, then neither can His Word!

   • “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” (Psalm 119:160)

   • “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

   It is important that we fill our minds with God’s truth and not lies. That we focus on righteousness and not sin. That we — as Paul puts it — fill our minds with what is pure. In fact, as we read the Word, it begins to do something to us so that our appetites and desires change. The Word changes us, as we shall see in verse 37.

   QUOTES
   Berkouwer —”There can be no doubt that for a long time during church history certainty of faith was specifically linked to the trustworthiness of Holy Scripture as the Word of God … From its earliest days the church held that Scripture is not an imperfect, humanly untrustworthy book of various religious experiences, but one with a peculiar mystery” [17]

4. GOD’S WORD CHANGES US

   Verse 37 — “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”

   It is interesting that it is mentioned here that God changes our eyes from looking on and valuing things we shouldn’t, and that it is “according to his ways” or words. But, we cannot ask God to do something like this for us and then do nothing about it ourselves! Job puts it this way: “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1)

   Paul says: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8).

   This amazing change that happens on the inside of us — from desiring to look at sinful things and then commit sin, to desiring to do good — is called repentance in the New Testament. But it comes from the Word of God – it is God’s message that has the power to change us from sinners to saints.

   • “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

   Repentance is a gift from God — you may remember that verse in Elijah’s prayer that said it is God that turns us around. There are many others who say the same thing. And yet one of the paradoxes is that God also commands us to repent and “choose life.” The book of Acts, for example, is clear in its instructions to anyone listening who is not a Christian — you are COMMANDED to repent. Our problem is that we are commanded to do the impossible. This is why becoming a Christian is about coming to the end of yourself and asking God to help you. For those of us who are Christians, as we seek the face of God in prayer and in His word, there is a glorious promise for us.

   • “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 3:18)

   Seeking the face of God is a familiar theme in the Scriptures. We become what we eat. We become what we gaze on. Are you feasting on Jesus? As we think about seeing God’s very face, as we learn more about God’s holy character in the Bible, there is something else that should happen to us. Something that perhaps we don’t like to talk about so much, but it is something that is very much a hallmark of every revival I have read about. Let’s see what this is by reading verse 38:

   QUOTE
   Wolfgang Musculus — Notice that he does not say, I will turn away mine eyes; but, “Turn away mine eyes.” This shows that it is not possible for us sufficiently to keep our by our own caution and diligence; but there must be divine keeping.” [18]

5. GOD’S WORD PRODUCES A HEALTHY FEAR OF GOD
   Verse 38 — “Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.”

   We like the first half of this verse. We want God to fulfill His promises to us. There is great joy in seeing God’s promises fulfilled — in seeing God act. But it also has what may seem to us to be a surprising result. Like Peter, who fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “Away from me for I am a sinful man,” the activity of God reintroduces us to the very biblical concept of the fear of God.

   • ” … this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word …” (Isaiah 66:1)

   The thing that marks out historical revivals more than almost anything else is an outbreak of the fear of God. Even in my own experience of a mini-revival, there was something of a sense of the holiness of God which I have rarely experienced before or since.

   We see this in the Bible — last time I preached, I mentioned the case of Ananias and Sapphira. We pray “God, send us the experience of the book of Acts,” but do we include that experience? Not surprisingly, when they died it is said that great fear fell on the Church. There is a seriousness of God that is felt at those times. C.J. Mahaney once preached a whole series on everyone God killed in the Bible. Not surprisingly, perhaps it led to more salvation than they had seen up until that point, as well as Christians putting their lives straight.

   There is much joy in revivals experienced by the newly-saved and the long-time Christian, but there is also many tears experienced by those coming under conviction of sin who have not yet received salvation.

   Isaiah 6 is a good illustration of this. Isaiah comes face-to-face with God and says, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

   God is still the same God today and is definitely not to be messed with!

   God touches Isaiah’s lips to take away his guilt — only God can deal with guilt — and commissions him. Sadly for Isaiah, incidentally, he is commissioned into a period of time that was precisely the opposite of a generalized revival. He gets personally revived and is sent out to tell others who, he has been warned, will not listen. He must have really struggled with that. Somehow, though, even for Isaiah, God intended him to be full of hope.

   We see in verse 49 that hope is one of the outcomes of allowing God’s Word to come to us and joining it with our faith.

   QUOTES
   “The fear of God is distinct from the terror of him that is also a biblical motif (see FEAR). Encompassing and building on attitudes of awe and reverence, it is the proper and elemental response of a person to God. This religious fear of God is a major biblical image for the believer’s faith. In fact, there are well over a hundred references to the fear of God in the positive sense of faith and obedience. To “fear” God or be “God-fearing” is a stock biblical image for being a follower of God, sometimes in implied contrast to those who do not fear him. The very frequency of the references signals that the fear of God is central to biblical faith, and the relative absence of this ancient way of thinking in our culture should give us pause. It is important to note, however, that the preponderance of references occur in the OT, perhaps implying that a permanent change (though not an abrogation) occurred with the incarnation of Christ, who calls his disciples friends rather than servants (John 15:15).

   What images should we associate with this mysterious “fear of God?” The actions most frequently associated with fear of God are serving God (Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:20; 1 Samuel 12:24) and obedience to his commandments (Deuteronomy 31:13; 1 Samuel 12:14). The fear of God is linked to wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10, 15:33) and is part of the covenant between God and his people (Psalm 25:14, 103:17–18). To fear God is to be in awe and reverence of him (Ps 33:8; Malachi 2:5 RSV) and to trust him (Psalm 40:3, 115:11). Fearing God means hating and avoiding evil (Proverbs 8:13, 16:6). It is not too much to say that fearing God is virtually synonymous with having saving faith in him. Deuteronomy 10:12–13 is an apt summary of what is encompassed in the fear of God: “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees” (NIV).

   The fear of God is a fundamental quality of those who have an experiential knowledge of who he is.” [19]

6. GOD’S WORD GIVES US HOPE

   Verse 49 — “Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.”

   • See also verse 74 — “Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word.”

   • And verse 81 — “My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.”

   • So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

   Hope is infectious . . . as is despair. We should surround ourselves with those who will instill hope into us! But our hope must come from the Scriptures and not a false whipped-up hope.

   I can speak personally about how this works. As I was a bit tired out before Christmas, I asked Tope for a break from preaching for awhile. This was a good thing as everyone needs a break from time to time. But I lifted my foot off the accelerator a bit regarding my study of God’s Word, and was also not praying as much — obviously when you are preparing to preach you study more and pray more. But what I found was that as my break from the hard work of preaching lengthened, my level of hope was slowly being reduced. I found myself feeling even quite fearful. I remember even having the thought come into my mind, “Perhaps I’ve forgotten how to preach.” But there were also a couple of personal situations where I was beginning to allow fear to have a foothold.

   So, how did I deal with this? Well, two things seem to have lifted me. The first was that I received prayer on Saturday morning. The second was that as I went back to a more rigorous Bible study program and begun to pray more, I found that hope began to return and fear subsided.

   It is God’s Word, soaked in prayer, that gives us hope, that lifts us, that gives us life!

   God wants us increasingly to be almost aggressive in how much we place our hope in His Word. Many prayers in the Bible remind God of His promises and almost “sue” him to act. I believe God responds to that kind of prayer — prayer that is mixed with God’s own Word.

   So far we have seen that God’s Word brings revelation, it revives us, it strengthens us, it changes us, as the great hymn says “it teaches our heart to fear,” but it also relieves that fear. Is it any wonder that this Word is so precious to the psalmist? What else is there that can do all this to us when we are troubled? What else can comfort us in all our troubles as we see in verse 50?

   QUOTES
   Spurgeon — “The argument is that God, having given grace to hope in the promise, would surely never disappoint that hope. He cannot have caused us to hope without cause. If we hope upon his word we have a sure basis: our gracious Lord would never mock us by exciting false hopes. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, hence the petition for immediate remembrance of the cheering word.” [20]

   

   Richard Sibbes — “When we hear any promise in the word of God, let us turn it into a prayer. God’s promises are his bonds. Sue him on his bond. He loves that we should wrestle with him by his promises. Why, Lord, thou hast made this and that promise, thou canst not deny thyself, thou canst not deny thine own truth; thou canst not cease to be God, and thou canst as well cease to be God, as deny thy promise, that is thyself. ‘Lord, remember thy word’ ‘I put thee in mind of thy promise, whereon thou hast caused me to hope.’ If I be deceived, thou hast deceived me. Thou hast made these promises, and caused me to trust in thee, and ‘thou never fullest those that trust in thee, therefore keep thy word to me.’” [21]

7. GOD’S WORD COMFORTS US

   Verse 50 — “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.”

   What a wonderful verse that is! God comforts us when we are struggling because of His promises. When Mark Dever was trying to summarise the entire message of the Bible, he just said this — the Old Testament is “promises made” and the New Testament is “promises kept,” although, of course, we have plenty of promises kept in the Old Testament and made in the New Testament! We should get a hold of God’s promises and let them comfort us, revive us, strengthen us, and give us hope.

   God’s Word really is a comfort — not the latest gadget, nor the bottle, but His faithful Word. The more we see Him being faithful to His Word, the more we will find our faith rising within us. There are now only two more things that I want to address that the Word of God does for us. The first is, in a sense, a summary of all we have said so far. What does God’s Word do? It gives us grace. Verse 58.

   QUOTES
   Spurgeon — “The worldly man clutches his money bag and says, “this is my comfort”; the spendthrift points to his gaiety, and shouts, “this is my comfort”; the drunkard lifts his glass, and sings, “this is my comfort”; but the man whose hope comes from God feels the giving power of the Word of the Lord, and he testifies, “this is my comfort.” Paul said, “I know whom I have believed.” Comfort is desirable at all times; but comfort in affliction is like a lamp in a dark place. Some are unable to find comfort at such times; but it is not so with believers, their Savior has said to them, “I will not leave you comfortless.” [22]

   “What the Word has already done is to faith a pledge of what it shall yet do.” [23]

8. GOD’S WORD GIVES GRACE TO US

   Verse 58 — “I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.”

   GRACE is what we need to save us — so it is no wonder that Paul said to Timothy that the Scriptures are “… able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15)

   It is interesting to see the way that Paul links wisdom and salvation there, for the last thing that I want us to address today from Psalm 119 is, in fact, wisdom. Or as the psalmist says, “good judgment” or discernment (verse 66).

9. GOD’S WORD GIVES US WISDOM

   Verse 66 — “Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.”

   Is it any wonder that the Jubilee membership course says the following:

   The BIBLE is the WORD OF GOD
   • The sole basis of our belief is the BIBLE. We believe that all Scripture is inspired by God and that it was given through men chosen by God.

   • We believe that the Bible, all sixty-six books, contain God’s revelation to man, and that the Scriptures are infallible and inerrant.

   • We therefore take all our teaching and insight for living from the Bible.”

     — Jubilee Church Membership Course

   “We don’t stand above the Bible, we stand under it.”

   — Tope Koleoso

Next time I speak to you, God willing, I intend to speak about how practically we stand under the Bible. I will leave you today with one verse that summarises what our response to all this should be:

• “They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

Let’s receive this reviving Word with all eagerness, and in every way, allow ourselves to be moulded by this wonderful Book God has given us. It’s the only Book that can give life, can save us, can show us how to live. It really is God’s reviving Word. AMEN.
________________

END NOTES
OT=Old Testament
[1] George Angus Fulton Knight, Psalms: Volume 2 (The Daily Study Bible Series, Louisville: Westminster, John Knox Press, 2001, c1982), p.223.
[2] Robert G. Bratcher and William David Reyburn, A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms (Helps for Translators,New York: United Bible Societies, 1991), p.996.
[3] Ibid.
[4] John Wesley, John Wesley’s Notes One the Bible, Ps 119.
[5] C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Ps 119:1.
[6] Cited in C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Ps 119:1.
[7] George Angus Fulton Knight, Psalms: Volume 2 (The Daily Study Bible Series,Louisville: Westminster, John Knox Press, 2001, c1982), p.215.
[8] Robert G. Bratcher and William David Reyburn, A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms (Helps for Translators, New York: United Bible Societies, 1991), p.1002.
[9] D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (Revised edition of: The New Bible Commentary, 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer. 1970; 4th ed.; Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Illinois, USA: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), Ps 118:24.
[10] John Wesley, John Wesley’s Notes On the Bible, Ps 119:18.
[11] Thomas Boston, Thomas Boston Sermons (Joseph Kreifels).
[12] Ibid.
[13] Cited in C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Ps 119:18.
[14] C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Ps 119:18.
[15] George Angus Fulton Knight, Psalms: Volume 2 (The Daily Study Bible Series, Louisville: Westminster, John Knox Press, 2001, c1982), p.226.
[16] C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David (Joseph Kreifels), Ps 119:25.
[17] G. C. Berkouwer, Holy Scripture (Translation of De Heilige Schrift; ed. Jack Bartlett Rogers; Grand Rapids: W. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Co., 1975), p.11.
[18] Cited in C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Ps 119:37.
OT=Old Testament
RSV=Revised Standard Version
NIV=New International Version
[19] Leland Ryken et al., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Electronic edition; Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2000, c1998), p.277.
[20] C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Ps 119:49.
[21] Cited in C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Ps 119:49.
[22] C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, (Joseph Kreifels), Ps 119:50
[23] Robert Jamieson et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (On spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary; Oak Harbor, Washington: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), Ps 119:50.