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Sermon Notes

God Keeps His Words

Sunday 12 September 2021 Pastor Craig Ledbetter Psalm 12:6,7
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I. Introduction (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16)

A. Last week, the Inspiration of the Bible

  1. It matters whether these are only the words of men, or of God
  2. “When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
  3. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God

B. This morning - The PRESERVATION of those words

C. What it means to preserve something

  1. To keep something from being lost, ruined, soiled, broken
  2. To keep something fresh, good, and pure
  3. We still use this word today - jam preserves, forest preserve, preserve the peace

D. We are reading ancient words from long ago

  1. Job lived 4,000 years ago
  2. Moses wrote 1,450 years before Christ
  3. David wrote 1,000 years before Christ
  4. The New Testament was written nearly 2,000 years ago
  5. Are they still the same today?

E. Can you imagine someone saying:

“The good news is that God wanted to talk to us and give us answers, and hope, and faith, and so He caused a book to be miraculously written called THE BIBLE.”

“The bad news is that God didn’t have the power to PRESERVE that Book, and therefore we don’t know what it said!”

II. God’s Promise to Preserve (Psalm 12:6,7)

“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

A. His Words Are Pure

  1. Like refined silver
  2. Without corruption
  3. Completely trustworthy

B. He Will Keep Them

  1. It’s His responsibility
  2. He has the power
  3. He has promised

C. He Will Preserve Them Forever

  1. From generation to generation
  2. Never lost
  3. Always available

III. Other Promises of Preservation

A. Isaiah 40:8

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”

B. Matthew 24:35

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

C. 1 Peter 1:25

“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

IV. How God Has Preserved His Word

A. Through Careful Copying

  1. Jewish scribes were meticulous
  2. Counting letters and words
  3. Destroying imperfect copies

B. Through Multiple Manuscripts

  1. Thousands of copies
  2. Spread across the world
  3. Able to be compared

C. Through His Providence

  1. Protecting through persecution
  2. Multiplying through printing
  3. Spreading through translation

V. Why This Matters

A. We Can Trust Our Bible

  1. It’s not corrupted
  2. It’s what God said
  3. It’s reliable

B. We Can Build Our Lives on It

  1. Stable foundation
  2. Certain truth
  3. Eternal promises

Conclusion

God didn’t just give us His words - He kept them. The Bible you hold is the preserved Word of God. Trust it. Read it. Live by it.

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