HIDING GOD’S WORD by Pastor Scott Henry

by HARVEYOPP | Aug 2, 2016 | Scott Henry

“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!” (Psalm 119:11).

Scripture admonishes every believer to store up God’s Word in their heart.  Colossians 3:16: “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”  In Matthew 4:4, Jesus taught that we live “by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.”  John tells us in 1 John 2 “to let the Word of God abide in us.”  And Jesus said in John 8 that His disciples are those who have “the Word of God abiding in them.”  And so we read in Psalm 119:11: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!”

Our text teaches us the importance of storing God’s Word in our heart so that we will not sin against our God; and we do this by memorizing Scripture.  Through memorization the Holy Spirit writes the Word of God upon our heart and in this way the Holy Spirit guides our lives by His Word.  That’s why the psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  You see, without the Word of God dwelling in our heart we will never be able to live a life that pleases the Lord.  

It’s not the closed Bible at home that gives you strength when the doctor gives you the news that cancer has filled your body, or when you’re told of the death of a loved one.  Nor is it the unread Bible that gives you strength to avoid the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.  It’s the Word of God stored up in your heart that gives you strength to fight against the world, the flesh and the Devil.  In the same way, only Scripture can give you comfort and joy to persevere in the midst of any adversity. 

And so regarding the commandments of the Lord, Solomon wrote: “Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.  For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress” (Proverbs 6:21-24).  Do you practice hiding God’s Word in your heart?  If not, begin today, and if so, continue pressing on!

“THE CALL TO TRAIN OUR CHILDREN” By Pastor Scott Henry

by HARVEYOPP | Jul 12, 2016 | Scott Henry

1. Training children is one of the most difficult duties of Christian parents, and the Word of God has much instruction for us. But one of the first things we must remember when it comes to our children is Psalm 127:3: “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” In other words, our children, first of all, belong to God and are a wonderful gift given by Him.  Therefore, children must be loved and diligently trained for God’s glory! Proverbs 22:6 reads: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  This text not only commands us to train our children, but it also comforts us with the promise that when the child is old he shall not depart from the way he was taught.  Christian parents, who take their calling seriously to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, may find comfort in this text.
2. The chief principle in the training of our children is that of discipline. The word “train” in the Hebrew means “to narrow” not to broaden or let loose, but to discipline. It’s in the fallen nature of every child to walk the broad way of sin, because, like every parent, sin resides in the heart.  The ungodly philosophy of the world says let the children go their own way so they can explore the different avenues in this world and decide for themselves what they like or dislike.  But Scripture teaches us that our children, just like parents, must be governed by God’s Word so they do not walk the broad road of destruction.  God has given us children in order that we might raise godly offspring for the glory and praise of our God.  Malachi 2:15: “He seeks godly offspring.” And so fathers are exhorted in Ephesians 6:4: “Do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
3. The 5^th Commandment teaches parents that we must love our children, even as it exhorts children to honor their father and mother. Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 104 reads: “What does God require in the Fifth Commandment? That I show all honor, love and faithfulness to my father and mother, and to all in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to all their good instruction and correction, and also bear patiently with their infirmities, since it is God’s will to govern us by their hand.” According to the 5^th Commandment, Christian parents are responsible before God to raise their children with “good instruction and correction.”  The Lord primarily uses the means of good instruction and correction from Christian parents to teach covenant children the ways of God from infancy to adulthood.  And it’s normally these children that the Lord is pleased to save and therefore they do not depart from the faith.  The word “child” in Proverbs 22:6 is used in a broad sense and it refers to a child from infancy to adolescence.  And so the text is a call for Christian parents to love their children of all ages by exercising loving discipline, leading them in the narrow way, and applying good instruction and correction in teaching them to walk in the ways of the Lord.  This is exactly what we vowed when our children were baptized.  Notice the baptismal vow:
4. First: Do you acknowledge that, although our children are conceived and born in sin and therefore subject to condemnation, they are holy in Christ and, as members of His Church, ought to be baptized? Answer: I do. Second: Do you promise to instruct your child in the principles of our Christian faith as revealed in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and as summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism; and do you promise to pray with and for your child, to set an example of piety and godliness before him (her) and to endeavor by all the means of God’s appointment to bring him (her) up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Answer: I do. (Directory of Worship)
5. Parents, are you faithful to your Christian vows before God? Which way are you training your children? Are you training them in the way of Jesus Christ, the narrow way of life everlasting?  Do you teach them their need for a Savior because of their inborn and actual sin?  Do you teach them that they must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation?  “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39).  Do you teach them that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone? Do you teach them to take delight in living according to the commandments of God in all good works out of a heart of gratitude for such a wondrous salvation?  Do you teach them to forsake unrighteousness and follow God’s commandments?  Do you teach them the Scriptures, the Confessions, Worship, and Prayer?  Do you pray with and for them, and set a godly example of piety and godliness by obeying God’s commands?
6. We must teach our children that in all things, whether we eat or drink, we do all for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). We should not have a home where our children learn that it’s only in church on Sunday that we do things for the glory of God, but that every moment of every day in all of life we must do all things in the service of Christ from a grateful heart. Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

FEAR NOT! By Pastor Scott Henry

by HARVEYOPP | Jul 12, 2016 | Scott Henry

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

“Fear not” is a phrase found at least 63 times throughout the Scriptures.  God said to Abraham in Genesis 15:1, “Fear not.”  The Angel of God said to Sarah’s runaway handmaiden, Hagar, “Fear not!”  The Lord said to Joshua, “Fear not, neither be dismayed” (Joshua 8:1). “Fear not” was God’s command to Gideon in Judges 16:23.  “Fear not” was David’s godly counsel to his son Solomon (1 Chron. 28:20).  “Fear not” was the angel Gabriel’s words to Daniel (Dan. 10:12).  When announcing the birth of John the Baptizer, the angel Gabriel said to Zacharias, “Fear not!”  And Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 12:32, “Fear not little flock.”

But how can we learn to heed the words of our Lord to “Fear not”?  How can our heart be established in peace?  The key is found in the words of Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  How did the psalmist overcome fear when he went through the valley of the shadow of death?  Did you see the psalmist’s remedy against fear?  Five key words: “For You are with me.”  Dwell upon these words when fear grips your soul, and remember the promise of God: “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5-6).

Meditate on the truth that the Lord is always with His people, and in the midst of your troubling situation you will sing the words of Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”  After all, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).  Simply stated, keep your mind focused on the Lord, the Redeemer of your soul, and you will learn with the psalmist not to fear as you walk through the dark valleys in this life because you will have the confident assurance that the Lord of the universe dwells with you and has promised to never leave you.

JOYFUL WORSHIP By Pastor Scott Henry

by HARVEYOPP | Jun 14, 2016 | Scott Henry

“Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!  Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing.  Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100).

A mark of a true believer is that he delights in the worship of God.  What about you?  Do you wake up on Sunday morning rejoicing to gather with the church to praise your blessed Redeemer, or is it a burden to you?  Would you rather stay home and sleep or go to the ballgame on Sunday morning?  What about you young people?  What do you think when Mom or Dad wakes you up and says, “Get up and get ready for worship”?  Would you rather be at the shopping mall or home watching TV?  Do you rejoice or do you mumble and groan when you hear the word church?

You see, how we respond to worship on the Lord’s Day reveals what is truly going on in our soul.  And if we would rather be some other place when the church gathers together for public worship then we reveal, at worst, an unbelieving heart, and at best, a heart of a spiritual infant.  Every Sunday morning, we ought to sing these words: “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”  We ought to delight to “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

By God’s grace, Word, and Spirit, believers are those being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.  Was Jesus ever burdened by worship?  Was He ever burdened to hear the Word of God?  NEVER!  Therefore, as believers, we ought to delight in the worship of God by hearing the reading, teaching, and preaching of His Word on the Lord’s Day.  Parents, you must teach this to your children.  They must learn at an early age what a great joy and wonderful privilege it is to worship with a church that faithfully stands on the truth of Scripture.  However, if parents don’t rejoice to gather for God’s worship on the Lord’s Day then neither will their children.  Parents, you must teach your children to cultivate a spirit of worship for the true and living God because everything in our culture, and even in the child’s own heart, will fight against it.  Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”  “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deut. 6:6-7).  Fathers, this is your covenantal duty and therefore you must be sure the children of your household, whom the Lord has entrusted into your care, are properly nurtured in the straight ways of the Lord.

Today, however, there is such a famine for the preaching of God’s Word and a famine for the hearing of God’s Word.  Too many preachers don’t preach the Word of God, and too many church members don’t desire to hear the Word of God preached.  And yet they call themselves followers of Christ?  The duty of a follower of Christ is to obey God’s Word.  Jesus said in John 10: “My sheep hear my voice and they follow Me.”  And they hear Christ’s voice on Sunday morning when the preacher faithfully proclaims God’s Word. Therefore, every believer has a responsibility to be in a place of worship on the Lord’s Day where the Word of God is faithfully, diligently, accurately, plainly, and zealously preached and taught in order that the sheep of Christ’s pasture, the people of His hand, might bow their necks in faithful obedience to the God who has saved their soul from the Devil, darkness, death, and damnation.