공동체와 양육

Growing as a Fruitful Person (Psa 119:9~16)

2015.03.22Rev. Stephen Cha

A fruitful life begins with the heart. We guard our hearts and fill them with God's living word, which we treasure, share with others, and delight in.

Guard your heart, because it is the root of your life (9-11)

The heart is not only the center of emotion but the seed of our will, purpose, and direction. Anger, jealousy, and other visible problems are symptoms that grow from what is inside the heart. Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. When we let down our guard, our hearts show what matters most to us. Verse 9 asks how hard we must try to sin against God, and the honest answer is that we do not have to try very hard if we drift from his word.

Prepare your heart like good soil to receive God's word

Jesus taught in the parable of the sower that the same seed grows differently depending on the soil. Some hearers forget the word at once, and some respond with excitement but fall away when hardship comes. Others let worries about money, success, and the world choke the word out. A good heart is one that has been broken, cleared of stones and thorns, and softened to say yes to God. Our response to God's word depends on the condition of the heart we bring to him.

God's word is a treasure that we store in our hearts (10-14)

Psalm 119 uses many words for God's word, including commandments, statutes, precepts, and testimonies, and each one reveals something about God. His word is weighty and unchanging because it reflects his eternal character. It shows us God's rules for living, his testimony about who he is, and the path of righteousness. We are called to hide this word in our hearts so that it governs our lives, and to treasure it above all other things.

Sharing God's word deepens our own love for it (13-14)

When we declare God's word with our lips, it blesses others and also blesses us. The preacher recalls teaching Sunday school, where he was reminded of the truth each time he prepared and spoke it. He tells of a friend who came to faith after hearing the gospel and of another who found peace after being pointed to Jesus. As we see God's word at work in others, we begin to rejoice in it more than any other treasure.

Delight in God's word and do not neglect it (16)

Having many Bibles at home does not make God's word precious if we rarely open them. The pastor admits that he sometimes neglects his Bible even though he knows how precious it is. He compares this to a small house that grows in value when it is cared for, and God's word becomes less important to us when we stop valuing it. We should delight in God's word and keep returning to it so that it remains precious to us.

Apply to Life

  • Let us guard our hearts and examine what is most important to us.
  • Let us prepare our hearts like good soil so that God's word can take root and grow.
  • Let us store God's word in our hearts and treasure it above everything else.
  • Let us share God's word with others, through teaching or small groups, and rejoice in what God does through it.
  • Let us open our Bibles regularly and delight in God's word, not neglect it.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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