A very good morning to you all, brethren, and my prayer is that the Lord will bless us in this year and give us a happy year indeed. May I invite you to turn to Psalm 19 in the Bible, Psalm 19. The song that we have just been singing is a testimony of what we find from what God has revealed to us, His Word. Jesus Christ has come to the world and the Bible refers to Jesus Christ as the Word. that was with God in the beginning. And the Bible refers to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Word because he is the one who has revealed the mind of God. He is the one who has come among us and we are able to know God. And this is what he said to the disciples, I have revealed you to these people. They now know you. And a word is that which reveals the mind of someone. You will not know my thoughts except by my words. And that is the sense in which the Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate word. And here we see the word of God in some 19, brought forth as a beautiful thing, as a place where we may dwell. Allow me to read from verse 1. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge there is no speech nor are there words whose voice is not heard their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world in them he has set a tent for the sun which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber and like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them. And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. Our Father, we are thankful that you have revealed yourself. We are thankful that you have given us direction. We are thankful that you have come to us and you care to minister to our lives, even our daily lives. So our Father, as we Consider your word this morning. We are privileged having been brought to the end of last year and now the beginning of this new year. We want to look back with gratitude that you have been merciful. But our father, we also want to look forward with hope trusting our God that you will be with us to direct us in all circumstances. You know what we have gone through. You know what the future holds. And so, our Father, the thing that we desire is to dwell in your word, to hear you speak, and to submit to you. So help us, our Father, as we look at this for Jesus' sake. Amen. Brethren, the year has come to a close, 2025, and now we have come into another. And every year brings a mixture of emotions with it. We are different, and God takes us through different paths. As is clear, in the way this year has gone, there are some in our midst and some who are not here, who are carrying grief. They have lost loved ones. Not long ago, just last week, we heard about some tragic loss one of our sisters suffered. of a nephew. There has been a challenge to many in their health. Their health has weakened. For some among us, we are feeling we are getting weaker and weaker. And that is what was happening last year. For some, Dreams were interrupted. But yet there are others that come with regrets. And many of us come like that because when 2025 dawned, we had set out to achieve a lot of things. And we found at the end of the year that we had failed in many of those. Some of us had wanted to become purer in the eyes of God, that we may become more faithful to Him, and we found ourselves indulging in sin. Some wanted to become more disciplined as Christians, be more active in the life of the Church, minister to the brethren using my spiritual gifts, and what did we find? Spiritual disciplines were neglected. But there are others that arrive in the new year worn out, weary, tired by long struggles. Some of these struggles they would not have shared with you, with any among us. They may be among us and they are always with us and smiling and they are making an effort not to weigh you down by their troubles, but they are tired. They feel they have been praying for something to change and their prayers are not answered. Some have gone through difficulties, as we have said before, in their workplaces, the pressure of work. There is strain in homes with children, with in-laws, with wives, with husbands. But yet there are also others that come thankful, aware that God has preserved them, that he has provided for them, that he has sustained them, he carried them. Because they see the things that they have gone through, undeserving but yet favored of God. But among us, we also find those that are still searching. They are not certain of God. They are unsure about direction in life. There are some that are restless, and some that are aimless. And the question before us is, Where shall we anchor our lives as we step into a new year? This psalm that we have just read gives us a clear and gracious answer, powerful answer, that the word of the Lord is a safe place for tired souls. The Word of God is a safe place for those who are confused, those who are tempted, those who are unclear on how they are to move forward. And David, the writer of this psalm, does not speak of the Word of God as though it were just theories. He, in fact, is testifying that this is something that he has experienced. He is speaking as a servant, as a slave of Christ, who has lived under the Word of God, who has been warned by it, and who has experienced its rewards. That is how he speaks. And as we stand At the beginning of this year, this passage invites us not merely to read the Word of God, but to return to it, to dwell in it, and to submit ourselves to the Word of God. How many people can recite a lot of verses in the Bible? How many people have memorized the scriptures, and yet it does not affect them in their lives? It is possible also to be present in the house of the Lord, hear the word of God, and be like the soil that is reported in the scriptures where the seed fell on the pathway and the devil has snatched the word so that you are as good as having not come to the house of the Lord you are there where the word of God is preached but you do not benefit from it or you memorize you read the Bible When someone is reciting a scripture, you can even finish for them before they finish. And yet, it does not touch you. Here, the psalmist is saying, return, come back to the Word of God. Live in the Word of God and submit. Let it affect you. Then you will benefit. Then you will have great reward. Brethren, I would like to focus particularly on verses 7 to 11, but we notice here the psalmist begins by talking about The glory of God being proclaimed, declared by creation. That the things that have been created, they speak of the glory of God. The heavens declare the glory of God. And the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Every day, every minute, every hour, it pours out speech. It is vomiting and vomiting speech. Night after night, it reveals the knowledge of God. And it comes so powerfully, so forceful, like the sun. The way the sun comes out, you have no choice but to feel its effect. That is how creation proclaims and forces the knowledge of the glory of God upon us so that we can now agree with Paul when he says we are without excuse because it is plain and that is what he is saying here but then he moves from this general revelation which he says is speaking of God and goes to the specifics so that we may be connected to God. We may know about God, we may wonder that there is a great being out there and not know who he is and just ask questions. One of my sons brought a documentary about creation and the cosmos and the universe and the things that scientists have found with technology being able to peer into the far recesses of the heavens. And the person that was narrating concluded with uncertainty. He kept on asking questions. With all these things, we are so small. As if. And this is where life is. And then he's asking, were these things brought about by some being out there? And then he was asking, are we alone? Maybe there are other beings out there. Then he comes back and says to himself again, says, no, there cannot be, because there is no life possible elsewhere. Life cannot be sustained anywhere else apart from earth. And unfortunately, he ended only with those questions and somehow comforted himself that we will keep searching. There is no way of knowing. The Lord has sent his son, Jesus Christ, so that we can know God specifically. We can know him. We can know how to get back to him. We can know how to find our purpose. We can know how to be connected. to him. And so brethren, verse 7 here, from verse 7 and verse 8a we see the first lesson that here David is bringing to us, that the word restores the soul. The word revives the soul. You know the honey badger? I don't know if you have seen how it fights against snakes. It actually attacks a snake and it doesn't run away. It doesn't matter what kind of snake it is, even the most vicious of snakes, and it will be there, persistent. It will try to strike, maybe it misses, it is stricken itself. and it collapses as though it is dead. And after a while, you see it checks itself back to life. Its life is revived. Its life is brought back. This is what the Bible does for us. The Word of God restores the tired soul. Let us see what the Bible has to say. Verse 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. And the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes God here addresses the thing that he considers the most important first of all and he addresses the inner life first of all that is what David is doing here this is where he begins he does not start with external success Remember, as we are looking into this year, we are looking at our fortunes getting better. We possibly want to get a better job. We want to get a better life. We want to get a wife to marry. We want to get a husband. We want to pass our exams. All those things are noble and they are good. and desire them. But that is not where David begins. He says the priorities Not external success or victory or prosperity, but he begins with the soul and the heart. And I would like you to pay attention to what he is saying here. He is using various expressions to refer to the Word of God, to the life-changing Word of God. And I would like you to just bear with me and follow through as we consider this. This is vital. God knows that if life can be lived rightly, the inner person must be restored. That's the only way life is going to be meaningful. And that is how you are going to live life rightly. Your inner person must be in the right place. A lot of people that want changed circumstances. Things around me are not working out. And there are some that even want to shift. They want to transplant themselves out of Lusaka and maybe go and hide themselves in Mwinilunga and start a new life. But yet, They are transplanting themselves with their heart, and their heart is following them. They will be the same where they go. Many people want better finances. They want improved relationships. They want relief from pressure, but neglect the condition of their soul. David here, comes and helps us see. He says, renewal begins inwardly and it begins with the Word of God. And therefore, we must look at it. If it begins with the Word of God, we must love it. We must go there. And look what he says, he introduces and says, the law of the Lord is perfect. Many people see the law when they hear the law of God, the law of the Lord, they think of the courtroom, they think of parliament, they think of legalism. That is not in the sense in which the Bible uses and presents the law, the Torah. The Torah is instructions. It is guidance to the Jews, to the Israelites on how they are to distinguish themselves as the people of God and to live with a holy God, being sinners. That is what the law here is. And David is saying, God has not left his people to guess how they may live. He has lovingly, graciously instructed us how we are to live And this instruction he is saying is perfect It is perfect, meaning it is whole There is nothing missing Like a human being, no limbs are missing No pieces are missing. It is complete. And it lacks nothing. And therefore, the Word of God becomes useful for every aspect of our lives. Why does this matter? Because there are many people who are beaten in this life that they think that The Word of God is not sufficient to attend to their unique circumstances That the Word of God is not sufficient for modern problems That the Word of God is outdated for contemporary life Many people think that the Word of God is too simplistic Life is complex. We are faced with sophisticated situations and the Word of God is too simple. No, the Word of God is complete. It is perfect. That is what David teaches us here. He disagrees with that kind of thinking. He says the Word of God is, in fact, powerful to revive To bring back to life the soul. To restore what has been drained. You have been overwhelmed. You are overcome. You are tired. The Word of God is able to restore what is broken. The Word of God is able to restore what is lost. So friends, Even the years that are lost can be restored. The Lord says He is able to restore the years that the locusts have devoured. If you start now, if you dedicate yourself now, you come back now to God and to listen to Him and to submit to Him, to fall under His will, you will be revived. You may have been so beaten up and that you are spiritually tired. The problems of this life are so many, so much and so complex and sometimes they just come unexpected and when you are trying to solve one and then another comes and you just feel like you are tired, exhausted. Even you who is burdened by guilt, the word of God can revive your soul. God's word is able to bring you back. It does not just inform, it is not just information. The word of God restores. It restores. But then he goes on to talk about the same word, but he expresses it differently and says, the testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise the simple. Here, the people that is referring to as the simple, they are not fools. These are the vulnerable. Those that are easily influenced. Those who are pulled by many voices. You might actually be a very sophisticated person. But you have no position of your own. Every view that comes, you turn around and, oh yeah, maybe that is the way we should go. Oh yeah, maybe that is the way we should go. You are simple. You are not settled. And the Bible here is saying, it makes wise such as those who are simple. Because we live in an age of endless opinions, and there are many people that are expressing their opinions, influencing us on social media, for the young especially. There is also just cultural confusion with, you know, being connected to the rest of the world. There's so much going on. There is spiritual noise. And David says God's Word is sure God's Word is stable It is settled God's Word does not change according to circumstances It does not change according to how important the person you have met is It does not change according to how dangerous your circumstances are. It is settled. The Word of God is trustworthy and it is unchanging. Therefore, it does not confuse the simple because it does not keep changing. When they get back to it, they read, they find it is consistent. It makes them wise. Oh brethren, this is deeply hopeful. All of us are simple in a sense, because we do not know everything. We are ignorant of many things. And as the Lord teaches us, as we get to know what God says about the different aspects of our lives, some areas which we have never known, we become wiser. We know how to go about life. And you do not need to be brilliant, dear friend. You do not need to be powerful. You do not need to be an elite for you to live wisely. All we need is to be submitted to God's word. But he also moves on in verse eight, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. is still dealing with the inward. And look at this, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. Most of us think that the word of God is actually too restrictive and it is like a wet blanket. We cannot enjoy our lives, so it is better to ignore it so that we can enjoy life. No, the Bible says, It goes counter-cultural. It is going against the grain. Whereas the world says, rules restrict, rules steal joy. The Bible says, God's instructions produce joy. How does that happen? You know why? Because joy flows out of alignment with God. When you are aligned with God, then you will be joyful. Because there is no conflict. You are as God designed you to be. You are as God wants you to be. He makes His dwelling with you. That's what He says. God is not fighting you. God is not opposing you. When life is lived crookedly, the heart will fracture and you will be in pain and disappointment and frustration. But when life is lived rightly, the heart rejoices. Why is it that some Christians are mostly miserable? but they are saved the reason is you have adopted sinful habits which you have persisted in and now you are inundated with guilt and the devil is pointing out these things and you cannot argue and so you are ashamed you do not want to come out to be seen when you arrive here you sit at the back When the service ends quickly, you disappear. You don't want to greet anyone lest they ask about my life and I might be exposed. You do not want to be offered to preach. You do not want to song lead. You do not want to be a leader in anything because you are guilty. You are feeling terrible. And so, you run away from meetings. You run away from believers. You make yourself busy with other things. That is a sad reality with many believers. But yet, in living in obedience with God, in seeking to honor Him, we are taught here There is rejoicing of the heart. The precepts of the Lord will rejoice your heart. True joy is not found in ignoring God's word, but walking under it. And that's the only way we are going to have joy in this year. Whatever we do in submission to what God has to say. And as we saw, God has said something about every aspect of our lives. Are you going to be involved in science and experimentation and complex experiments and research? God has said something about that and how you are to go about that. Are you going to be in court arguing cases? God has said something about that. He is the source of justice. Dear brethren, if the past year has left you battered, do not begin this year with mere resolutions. Begin with restoration of your inner man through the Word of God. Because the Word restores your soul, the Word stabilizes the heart, and the word gives wisdom to the vulnerable. Make the wet your place of renewal before you make any plans for change. Dear brethren, here, apart from dealing with the inward, he also moves on to what directs our lives. You know, like some people say, what is your inspiration? David says the word directs and enlightens our path. So now this is direction. He is now showing us how we are to move. Verse 8b, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous. And there he deals with direction for life. He deals with how we are to move forward. And he says, the commandment of the Lord enlightens the eyes. You know, it's like someone who has been in ignorance and then You have been trying to know this section of mathematics. Maybe it is trigonometry. And you've been struggling to get on, to get your equations sorted out. And then someone comes and just solves a few examples for you. And suddenly, it's like a light bulb. You are no longer in the dark. You now know how to move on on your own, how to deal with the rest of the problems. That is what the Bible does for us. Here the eyes are presented as that which represents perception or discernment or understanding. And David is saying the word of God helps us to see reality as it is. One of the things that I was shocked by when I got saved was coming to know how life ought to be. And I was testifying, you know, now I know how life ought to be. Because a light had been shown. Many believers struggle. Maybe you struggle not because you lack sincerity. You struggle because you lack clarity. You are so fuzzy. You are not clear. And so you struggle. Because when you make decisions, you must be clear. You must know which direction you ought to go. And the Word of God gives us that clarity. A lot of people are confused. You may be this person that is confused about moral choices. Whether that relationship we have been hammering on, you should continue with it. But somehow, when you leave church, you go to some other people, they tell you, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no or the priorities or in relationships. You are not clear on what is true and what is error. The Word of God helps us to cut through this deception. It exposes the lies and shows us the path that we ought to take. And brethren, dear friend, the new year will bring new decisions. Do you have clarity on how to go? The safest preparation is not foresight. No, it is illumination from the scriptures. But the Bible here goes on to talk about the fear of the Lord is clear. And I know For some years, I'd been looking at this and somehow it never bothered me to say, look, go and check. I mean, it is there. I'd been seeing the fear of the Lord and I took it for granted. I knew the fear of the Lord is clean. But in the context of the word, how does he say he's talking about the law of the Lord? The testimony of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the commands of the Lord. Then he says, the fear of the Lord. And then he says, is clean, enduring forever. What is he talking about here? He comes to talk about the fear of God. Reverent fear. So respecting God, revering God, that you want to behave yourself. You do not want to disappoint Him. You do not want to dishonor Him. And he brings it here, brings as though the Word of God is the fear of God. And he says the fear of God produces reverent fear. The word of God produces reverent fear. It humbles us and leads us to obedience. And then he says, this word is clean because the fear of God that it creates makes us align with God, makes us love God, makes us hate evil, and makes us like Job, shunning evil. It purifies rather than polluting. And then he says, it endures forever, meaning it never becomes outdated. The Word of God makes us love God to the extent that we begin to realize this is a holy God. This is a good God. This is a gracious God. This is a God who has done so much good to me. Why will I live in sin? Why will I dishonor Him? Why will I be careless? And so, it is clean. Beloved, many spiritual collapses happen when this fear fades. And the fear of God will fade when we depart from the Word of God. The fear of God will depart, will fade when we neglect the Word of God. And then he concludes there and says, the rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. The world here, where we are, tells us that the word of God is for you, Christians. That is your truth. I have my own truth. And some of us maybe have fallen into that trap where I say, no, no, that is your truth. This is my truth. And many of you are involved in, you know, in these places where you interact with people from all over the world. the NGO world, you know, the IMF, the world banks, you are exposed to these things and in great danger. And you ought to watch out. Truth is not relative. There is truth. And that is what has been revealed by God. The rules of the Lord are true. The judgments of God are reliable, they are just, they are flawless morality. So this means that God's word can be trusted even when it confronts us. It is challenging us concerning something that we do not want, we can still trust it. It means that obedience is always right. It may look like, you know, people are, no, but you and I will be cautious. So on. So obedience is always right. Even if it costs us everything. If you want moral clarity, you want spiritual discernment. You want to have a steady conscience. You want to know joy in the Lord, the joy of the Lord. Be in the word of God. Not only read it, but obey it and live according to it. Do not let culture shape your thinking, dear friend. However privileged you come to be, you know, we may be struggling now and then suddenly God blesses us by the standards of this world and we become so privileged, we become very powerful. Do not let culture take you away. The Word of God is where we must be. And lastly, the Word of God warns us and it rewards us. The word of God warns us and it rewards us. That is what David says here. Verse 10, more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them, there is great reward. Oh dear brethren, friend, you are not a Christian? Look at this. The guide that God has given us is bypassing you. Why will you continue in misery? Why will you continue in frustrations and disappointments with no future? Why will you continue simple? As someone who can just be influenced by anyone and anything. You are not stable in anything. You do not have clarity in anything. There is great rewards in the Word of God. David here speaks personally. And he talks of himself as a servant of God or a slave of God as one who has put aside his personal priorities, his personal rules, his personal preferences for the preferences of his master. And he has committed himself saying, I love you, my master. I do not want to be free. I want to be a slave of you. And he says, by them your slave is warned. You know, the word of God warns us before destruction comes. It points us to the danger before it actually happens. But it also exposes the danger while escape is possible okay this is in other words what the Bible says seek the Lord while he may be found while there is opportunity while it is possible while there is chance for you to escape that is what the Bible does that is what the Word of God does and when you become familiar with it we read it you pray over it and make it a part of you, your life will be helped because you will be shown what lies ahead. Many regrets come from warnings that are ignored. The signs are there, and the Word of God is telling you, uh-uh, that relationship, that friendship, no, no, that business deal, The thing that you want to enter, that is the broad road, and many go on to it. Come back to the narrow way. Many regrets come from consciences that are silenced. God is speaking and you are shush, shush, shush, shush. The conscience. And you say, my conscience is clear. And when the word of God is set aside, you will live a life of regret. The word is not restrictive, it is protective. That is so much about warning. But then he also talks about reward, in keeping them. in conforming to the Word of God, in submitting to the Word of God, is in making the Word of God our delight. You know, like the man in Samoan who delights in the law of God day and night? There is great reward. And David is here not teaching salvation by works. He's not saying that, oh, you are not a Christian, just start going to church, start participating, start doing this and that, then you will become, you are going to have a reward. God will save you. No, no, no. He is talking about the fruit of obedience. The fruit of obedience. In obedience, there is great reward. And the reward includes peace of conscience, there's no war. You are resting in your God. You have no accusations. Preserved integrity. You know, the Lord says, because he has made me his refuge, I will honor him. Sorry about that. I will honor him. And God will give you integrity. And your integrity will be preserved. Remember what Job's wife was challenging him about? Are you going to continue trusting God Keeping your integrity, curse him so that you may die. In obedience, the obedience of job, there is integrity. Dear friends, the fruit of obedience is spiritual stability. There's a brother that has been such an encouragement over many, many years. And I look at him, I've known him when I was a youngster. He was a Christian. He was ahead of me. I lived with him. This man is different. I've interacted with him and I see throughout this man is a Christian. At Benakristu. Stable. He's not a perfect man, he's not sinless, but he's been such an encouragement. When I see the longevity of his spiritual stability, and this is it. And when I look, this is a man who loves the Word of God, who dwells in the Word of God, and who encourages the obedience of it. Brethren, there is great reward There is deep joy in fellowship with God. Deep joy in fellowship with God. And it is great because, you know, though there is a cost to obedience, the rewards far outweigh that cost. Friendship with God, peace with God, is much better than being tripped at work being accused falsely, humbling yourself. Some of us find it very, very difficult to apologize. But when we have done something wrong, to go back. Our pride puffs us. And we do not want to say sorry. It is divine. It is a miracle. to repent, to apologize, or to forgive. It is a miracle. How can they, how can he say that to me? Though the cost be so great, still continue honoring God. That is still your neighbor. The Bible says, go to him, go and resolve the issue. The Bible says that you are not to have bitterness in your heart. Because you might say, I didn't fill up a coffee, but you have kept bitterness in your heart. The Bible is saying, there is great joy. Even if it costs you so much, the joy is greater. And this joy is not only greater, but it outlasts all pleasures. that we can ever enjoy in this life. Because those are fleeting, they are passing. And there is great reward in the word of God in obedience because it preserves their soul. So beloved, a year lived under God's word is not a restricted year. Your life is not restricted when we submit to God, but it is a protected and enriched year. That's a life that is protected and enriched. That life which is lived under God. So, let the scriptures warn you early, and let the scriptures bless you deeply. If you are tired, go back to it. Are you confused? Submit, even if you don't know. Are you tempted? Listen to God. Are you grateful? Remain in the Word. You are not a Christian? Go to the Word. Faith comes by hearing. You will not become a Christian if you do not hear the Word. Accept it and the Lord will show you mercy and you will enjoy great reward in this year. May the Lord be gracious to us as we think about these things. Amen.