2024 Dutch Festival Sermon: Better Than Gold

Discover the priceless worth, transformative power, and perfect sufficiency of God's Word in this message from the 2024 Dutch Festival Combined Evening Service. Drawing from Psalm 119, Psalm 19, and 2 Timothy 3, this message challenges us to hold fast to Scripture, finding direction, comfort, and strength in its truths. Watch and be encouraged to deepen your engagement with God's eternal Word.

Contemplate these questions as you listen to this message:

1. How does the metaphor of the lifeline in "The Long Winter" illustrate the importance of God's Word in our daily lives?

2. In what ways can we prioritize the study and meditation of God's Word to ensure it transforms our thoughts, attitudes, and actions?

3. Reflect on a time when holding fast to Scripture provided direction or comfort in a challenging situation. How did this experience deepen your conviction of the Bible's sufficiency and authority?

Transcript:

I always credit my third and fourth grade teacher, Laura Schmidt, as being one of the reasons that I love to read. Every day after lunch break and recess, Laura would read to us from one of the Little House on the Prairie books. Now, not being content, not knowing how the stories were going to end up going in this book series, I decided to get the books myself and read ahead. I was not content with Laura's pace. I obtained those books for myself, and I read through them all multiple times. And there are so many great stories in those books, but growing up in South Dakota, and the fact that we endured many, many snowstorms, the most vivid memory I have from those books is when during one of the many snowstorms in the book, The Long Winter, Pa attached a lifeline between their house and the barn. Now, as a child, I couldn't believe that such a short walk would require following a rope so closely. I really didn't understand why he was doing this. How could this be? It was so bad that he needed to follow a rope because, you know, I went out in the snow all the time. I played in the snow all the time. Now, mind you, I never got probably more than 30 yards from the house, but I didn't understand how this was necessary. But now, I deeply understand. There was so much writing on what was in the barn for that family, and also there was so much writing on the family that was behind in the house. He needed a connection between those two. He needed to make sure that he would not get lost in between those two places in the midst of a snowstorm. Now, also, my understanding of this comes from the fact that I have now, as an adult, been in situations involving snow other than digging tunnels for fun and sledding. Snow is disorienting, right? You know, we all have been driving miles from home to find and there's that moment of white out, and it is, it is a short period of time, but in that short period of time you have no idea east, west, north, south, you might even struggle with up and down, right? You know what I'm talking about. We're Minnesotans after all, and I can't imagine being out in those snow storms like they were talking about in that book and losing my bearings, and starting to walk and and wondering if I was walking to my demise and I was going to freeze to death because I couldn't tell where the house was, where the barn was, where anything was. I would have no idea. I can't imagine that, not having any idea where safety could be found. Well, just as a blizzard with whiteout conditions is very disorienting for us, the same can be said about what we experience as we navigate a lost and dying world. We are the covenant people of God. And we follow Jesus. But the world is a disorienting place. There are so many distractions that will get us off course. The noise around us can make us wonder which direction we should go.

The chaos is undeniable, right? But we have God's Word to show us the way to salvation and to show us how we are to live in response to that salvation we have because of the work of God. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ for us. So as we come to these passages that we have read from this evening, we're going to be considering truths that we know and hold to. I am fully aware that I'm preaching to the choir tonight. What we're going to be talking about is not me making an argument for the position that we hold regarding the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. That's not my goal. I think we know what we believe and confess about Scripture. My hope this evening is that from our considerations of these passages, we would leave here with a renewed conviction for the value of God's Word and that the Holy Spirit would work in us to move us to hold even more firmly to Scripture, that it might be reflected in our lives in holy living, that we might hold fast to that lifeline of God's Word in a world of chaos and darkness. Now, before we dig in, I want to say something. Before we dig into this topic this evening, let's consider the three points that I'm going to use to frame it for us. So the first thing that we're going to consider is the preciousness of God's Word. God's Word, as we have read, is better than gold. Its worth is priceless. And it is a gift for us as the people of God. Second, we're going to consider the power of God's Word. God's Word is transformative. And it brings light. It brings light in a dark world. And finally, we're going to look at the perfection of God's Word. God's Word is sufficient and is authoritative. So as we start off with our first point on the preciousness of the Word of God, we're going to drop into this passage that we've read from Psalm 119. So, as you know, this chapter of the Psalter is the longest chapter in the Bible. And it contains many memorable statements about the Word of God. So as we look at these seven verses, we see that the psalmist has a very high view of the law of God. And that position is not merely a theoretical idea or concept. We see in this passage that we've read it, it comes from lived experience of the psalmist. And from what we see here, there was a time when the psalmist did not follow the law, the law of God. But now we see that they deeply know the value of keeping the commands of God. And we see this here in verse 67. We see that the psalmist was afflicted and went astray. And I think all of us can deeply relate to what is being expressed here. I think all of us can understand what is being said because many of the negative things that happen in our lives, are self-inflicted, aren't they? We decided that we were going to go against the commands of God, that we would do things our own way. And what followed was misery, guilt, brokenness, add your own words. We know how that's gone. And we realize that, you know, maybe God does know what's best for me. Maybe he does know. And from that experience, we realize it's best, that we desire to keep the word of God. Now, like I said, we can relate to learning this lesson that we see here in this verse.

But it's also a lesson that we have to learn over and over and over and over and over again. We find ourselves in this all the time. But while we get frustrated with ourselves and about our struggles with sin, we also experience, the work of the Holy Spirit in us through this. These struggles that we have shape our lives, and they shape our belief in the value of God's word. Because we're persistently shown over the course of our lives that God's way is the best way. We struggle to do that, but the Spirit works in us, convicts us of sin, and helps us to more deeply rely on the word of God. And so this journey that I'm talking about here is expressed for us in this section of Psalm 119, and we see it expressed in other parts of Scripture as well. We think we're wise, but we're fools. We think that there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. As I've been preaching through different psalms this summer, I've made a statement several times, and, I want to say it again here tonight. These words that we read, these prayers in the psalms, are not just the words of the one who wrote them. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit to be the songs and the prayers of the people of God throughout the ages. They are just as much your words and your prayers as they are the one who wrote them. And we should pray them in a personal way because of this. When we come up against that struggle that I've been talking about, you have words here to pray. In fact, verses 66 through 68 wouldn't be a bad prayer to start the day with, would they? Because we need to grow daily in keeping God's word and seeking after His statutes because God is good and He does good. His ways are what is best. We know that we need less of us and more of Him. We know that we need less of my words, and more of His. And so, we see that all of this, His words, are better than gold and silver pieces, better than stacks of cash, better than real estate that you own on an island beach, better than a stock portfolio that is well diversified. You can have all that stuff. You can have more. You can have whatever you could possibly imagine that the world would call success, and it doesn't do you any good if you have not come to faith in Christ alone for your salvation. And the description of the value of the word of God is a powerful one because we know how people seek after wealth and after prosperity. And really, that's what this is, gold and silver pieces. That's prosperity. We get this. You know, I recall very well history lessons from when I was young, in school, about the California gold rush. I'm not sure when I learned about it. I'm guessing somewhere around the fifth grade. When they went to teach us about the California gold rush, we didn't spend a few days discussing why it was that people went out west in droves to try and find gold. They didn't have to explain that to us in fifth grade. We understood it. They weren't hoping to just find one small piece that they could polish up and put as a decoration on their fireplace. They weren't looking for a little tiny bit of gold because they had some dental work to be done and they wanted a gold tooth. They were hoping to strike it rich. Because they knew that finding gold would transform their lives. And that brings us to our second point for today. The power of God's word. It isn't just valuable because the Christian worldview is the most logically sound way to understand the world. The word of God isn't only valuable because it provides for us a way to live a good life. And scripture's redeeming qualities aren't limited to the idea that it shows me how to be a good person and love my neighbor. Scripture is better than gold because it brings the word of salvation to the people of God and it transforms our lives. You and I came to faith because the word of the gospel was proclaimed to us. And the Holy Spirit quickened faith in us to believe in Christ alone for salvation. And I would hope that there isn't a one of us in this room who would say that the gift from God that we have in salvation in Christ isn't more valuable than gold or silver. The transforming power of the word of God. To bring us to faith, to bring us to salvation is evident. It takes us from having hearts of stone and it gives us hearts of flesh. It takes us from death to life. And this is the greatest transformation that we can experience. But, we also know that the word of God continues its good work in us as well. The transformation is not just from death to life. There's a process through which we are sanctified, we are made holy, we are conformed to the image of Christ. And so I want to go back to the Westminster Larger Catechism question and answer 155 that we received earlier to make this point the transformative power of the word of God even further. And I want us to focus specifically on these words. The Spirit drives sinners out of themselves and draws them to Christ. Brothers and sisters, this is what I need more than anything, I think. I need to be driven out of myself. What I need is the word and the Spirit to get rid of me and transform me. This is what the word and the Spirit does in the lives of believers. This is how God works in us, through His word and Spirit. And often we have the idea that what we need, the solution to our problem, is that something from deep within ourselves needs to come up. It's deep down there in us. And it needs to come up and then our situation would improve. I need to be self-actualized.

Scripture gives us a different idea. We're the problem. We are sinners in rebellion against a holy God. I need to be driven out of myself and drawn to Christ. And this is why the word of God is infinitely valuable to us. The Holy Spirit does not do His good work in us apart from means. The word comes to us. The Spirit convicts us of sin and unbelief. The Spirit brings us to repentance and works in us to conform us to the image of Christ. And He establishes our hearts in holiness. Sisters and brothers, you and I are not going to be transformed and grow in holiness

You will not magically be poofed into a state of sanctification. That's not how it works. It's not a snap of the fingers and, my goodness, I have grown in holiness. We need the word. It is the means by which God has ordained for the growth of His people in holiness. We will not come to delight in the law of God if we are not engaged with the word of God. And so far, we've taken a quick look at the preciousness of the word and the power of the word and now I want us to consider the perfection of the word of God. Several times I've alluded to the fact that the word of God provides us with a correct way of understanding the world. The Bible speaks to so many areas of our lives and in addition to transforming us it guides us it's easy for us to look at the world around us as a case for standing firmly on God's word in a world filled with sin and unbelief. The noise and the chaos in the world is alarming. It causes us anxiety. It gives us worry for the future of our children and our grandchildren. We fear for those who are harmed by the immoral actions of a world that pursues the things of the flesh instead of the things of God. And God's word is a perfect way of life not only for salvation but brings life giving instruction for us. It keeps us safe from the harm that sin brings to the world. It does exactly what the psalmist says that it will do. It revives the soul. It makes wise the simple. It brings joy to our hearts. It enlightens our eyes. And it's important then that we know the word of God, to know the path in the midst of the noise and chaos we see in the world. But it's also important that we engage the word of God so that we are prepared for what we face within the church. The path is not only blurred by what we see in the world. The world is not the only disorienting things that we will face. We can be disoriented just as easily by false doctrine.

In fact, as we look at the New Testament church, we find so many errors being addressed within the church. The letters of Paul talk very little about the secular world around them. The issues are issues of doctrine within the church. And think about the addresses to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. Yes, there is external pressure coming at them from the Roman Empire. But John tells most of these churches to hold fast against the errors that have sprung up within their churches. If we are going to stand firm against the world and against the dangers of false doctrine, we need to do more than just give lip service to the perfection of God's word. Holding to the authority and sufficiency of God's word is more than checking a box or telling people that we intellectually hold that position. We need to let the word of God

We need to immerse ourselves in God's word that we might be equipped for every good work. So I want to go back to that story that I referenced at the beginning concerning the lifeline connecting the barn and the house in the Laura Ingalls Wilder book The Long Winter. Paul putting that rope up, connecting the two buildings was a great and necessary idea. But imagine if he never laid hold of that rope. If he patted himself on the back for doing it, but he never used it. Even if a white out condition happened, he trusted in his own ability to navigate the journey between the house and the barn. Without laying hold of that rope and truly trusting in it, he would eventually find himself off course and lost in the storm. Sisters and brothers, the condition of the world is far worse than a disorienting blizzard. As believers we need to continually be holding on to the lifeline of God's precious word. It is necessary for our survival. We must daily lay hold of it and trust in it to guide us home. So as we reflect on the preciousness, the power and the perfection of God's word, let us take this to heart and consider how we can deepen our engagement with scripture. We must recognize that our interaction with the word of God is essential for our spiritual health and our growth. The word of God is our lifeline. Just as Pa's rope ensured his safe return back to their house during a blizzard, scripture ensures our spiritual safety amidst the disorienting storms of life. We need to hold firmly to this lifeline, relying on it for direction, comfort, and strength. This means making the study and meditation of God's word a priority. It means reading it with an open heart to be transformed and applying the truths to our daily walk. Imagine if we approached our Bibles with the same eagerness and determination as those who sought after gold during the gold rush. What if we truly believed within the pages of scripture lay treasures far greater than any earthly wealth? How would our lives change if we let the word of God guide our every decision, shape our attitude, and mold our actions? Our lives, our marriages, our families, our communities would be transformed. We would find peace in chaos, clarity in confusion, and hope in despair. Our witness to the world would be powerful. Not because of our eloquence, but because of the undeniable evidence of God's transformative work going on in our lives. So may we commit to holding fast to God's word. Let us immerse ourselves in its truth, allowing it to penetrate our hearts and minds. May we be a people who not only affirm the sufficiency and authority of scripture, but live it out daily. A people who lets the word of God dwell in us richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and may it be reflected in Holy Living. So as we step out into the world this week, let us grasp the lifeline of God's word with renewed conviction, knowing that it is our sure and steady guide. In a world filled with uncertainty, let us stand firm on the unchanging, eternal word of God, finding our security and our hope in its precious, powerful, and unchanging perfect truth. As we do, may the light of Christ shine brightly through us, drawing others to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's pray. Almighty and everlasting God, we praise you for the gift of your word. It is truly better than gold, for it is the way in which we know you. It's the way in which you work in us not only to bring us salvation, but to guide us in holiness. We pray, O Lord, that in the coming week, the word that we have heard, the scripture that we know, would be used by your Spirit, and in each and every moment we would be mindful of your work in us, that we might live holy lives. May we grasp the lifeline of your word, not that we might be glorified, but that Christ might receive all honor, glory, and praise for who he is and what he has done to redeem his covenant people. It's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen.