Steering Ahead | Steering Ahead in Your Faith Journey | Psalm 119

Introduction

As we delve into God’s Word together, I want to begin by posing a question: Where are you headed?

• Where is your spiritual journey leading you?
• Are you moving forward?
• Are you growing in your faith?
• Or perhaps you’ve found yourself drifting backward?

Steering Ahead!

This sermon explores the themes of straying from God and the need for restoration in the life of a believer. It emphasizes the recognition that even faithful followers may at times wander but then long for the Shepherd’s restoration.

Illustration

In India, roads can be quite an adventure. Thank God for the new expressways that are coming up but there are some muddy roads, especially during the monsoon season, the roads can get incredibly slippery and waterlogged.

Let me ask you: How many of you have had the experience of your tires getting stuck on a slushy, waterlogged muddy road? You press the accelerator, and your wheels spin, but you don’t move. So, you press harder, but you’re still stuck in the same spot.

I once found myself in a situation where my wheels got stuck in the slush. I was pressing the accelerator, but instead of moving forward, I was going nowhere.

You see, you were going forward one moment, and the next, you’re stuck in the same place, struggling to make progress.

Sometimes life takes on some of those same characteristics. When there are challenging circumstances, it seems as if we have hit some rough patch of life, some stretch that has caught us unawares, and life seems to spin out of control.

Our Bibles are open right now to the book of Psalm chapter 119. This is the longest chapter in the Bible.

1. H. Spurgeon wrote of this Psalm. “The more one studies it, the fresher it becomes. This Psalm becomes the more full and fascinating the often you turn to it. It contains no idle words. The grapes of the cluster are almost bursting full with the new wine of the kingdom. The more you look into this mirror of a gracious heart, the more you will see in it.”[1]

Authorship: The Psalm does not state its author.

This Psalm is composed of 22 stanzas and they are in sections of 8 different verses. Each of the 22 stanzas is built on one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. C. S. Lewis compared it to a piece of embroidery, done stitch-by-stitch in the quiet hours for the love of the subject and for the delight in leisurely, disciplined craftsmanship.[2]

Today, we are going to look at the first sentence and then we will spend the majority of time on the last sentence of this Psalm. We are going to look at the bookends of Psalm 119.

Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.

This Psalm opens like a beatitude for our comfort and encouragement. The Psalmist speaks about the blessedness, good fortune, or prosperity that accompanies individuals of integrity. This section (vv. 1–8) highlights the general statements and personal identification in Psalm 119. It emphasizes that a relationship with God involves both internal and external integrity. Following paths away from God may seem happy temporarily but leads to ruin. It underscores the importance of staying in the right way.[3]

This Psalm talks about finding happiness by staying away from sin. It praises those with sincere hearts who follow God’s law. They receive blessings like forgiveness, protection, and peace. But we should always check if we’re truly walking with God and seek His guidance when we stumble.[4]

Now let me ask you about your personal experience:

• How many of you have had this uninterrupted forward march throughout the course of your Christian experience?
• How many of you have never had a moment where you felt like you did in some way lose control of the vehicle? And now, instead of driving forward, in a sense, you’re going backward. It’s like, what in the world just happened?

Blessed. The word carries the idea of oh the happiness many times over. There’s some overflow of joy that comes from my walk and relationship with God. And he simply says, “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.”

It’s true. Has that been your exclusive experience in your Christian walk?

Transition

Fast forward, I know we do some disservice to the Psalm, but fast forward to the last verse of Psalm 119. After the author gives us one of the most beautiful pictures of the commandments of God and the blessing that comes to those who walk in the light of those commandments, we find at the very end of Psalm 119, the last verse.

Psalm 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

In a sense, it is presenting the definition of a backslider. One who has gone astray.

The Psalmist had prayed that he would not stray because he knew the consequences of staying from God (v10; 21; 67; 110; 118). Abandoning Yhwh’s command is staying away from God.[5]

I’m speaking to those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is, they’re saved from the consequence of sin because of a relationship with Jesus Christ, allowing Christ to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. You know you are purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. He bought you and then birthed you into His family. I am speaking to this group.

We know that I am walking with God, but at times, we seem to go in the other direction.

The Psalmist here begins by detailing ‘the straying of the sheep.’

The Straying Of The Sheep.

Illustration

A man named, Mike Yaconelli wrote the following, regarding backsliding. “He said I live in a small rural community, there are lots of cattle ranches around here and every once in a while a cow wanders off and gets lost. Ask a rancher how a cow gets lost and the chances are he will reply, well, the cow starts nibbling on a tuft of green grass and when it finishes, it looks ahead at the next tuft of green grass and starts nibbling on that one. And then it nibbles on a tuft of grass right next to a hole in the fence. It sees another tuft of green grass on the other side of the fence, so it nibbles on that one and then goes off to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow’s nibbled itself in to being lost. And then, Yaconelli wrote, “Most people don’t deliberately set out to backslide but following their appetites or desires from one tuft to the next, they nibble themselves through the fence.”[6]

You know, the little tufts of green grass on the other side of the fence, begin to captivate our attention and before you know it you are on the other tuft. This is the continual battle that ‘every believer’ faces.

Psalm 19:13 Keep (hold back) your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

The wilful sins, presumptuous sins. These are the little tufts of grass that are so close to the fence. They’re the ones that we think we can handle. Then they lead us from one no big deal to the next and to the next, and so on. They’re the easy sins. They really take no effort and no thought at all.

Illustration

I understand all of us have played the slide at children’s park as a child. How much effort does it take to go down the slide? You know it just takes a little movement and then you are carried along by gravity that you don’t have to work to do. All I did is in a sense, I opened the door for gravity to actually do its thing and I have slid from one point, that takes effort to get to, to another point that takes literally no effort to get to.

Did you ever climb up the slide? You know climbing up the slide took effort that coming down the slide never demands. To go up the slide, you’re going to have to climb your way up, and some of us use the slide portion to climb but it is a difficult task.

When we are attracted to the gravity of the world, it is easy to slide down from Christlikeness. We have to recognize that no person has ever slid into Christlikeness. It is like climbing up the slide, it takes effort. God would work in me and continually have to submit myself to that work, saying no to something that is easy and yes to something that is transformative.

That’s the background for the last verse of this Psalm. A confession that in spite of all that’s gone on before, he has now gone astray.

He says it very directly. “I have gone astray like a lost sheep.”

By the way, I might note that backsliding is not possible for a lost person. It is that which occurs to the child of God.

Illustration

In India, we often witness the aftermath of cyclones along our coastal areas. These natural disasters bring with them devastating consequences. In Bangalore, we experience sudden rainstorms, and amidst the chaos, some trees remain upright while others topple. But what’s truly fascinating is when you examine a fallen tree, you may notice it’s not just broken over; it’s broken open. This tells us that something was happening within the core of the tree, something hidden from view, that slowly compromised its strength over time. It’s only when the fierce winds and pressures of the storm arrive that this internal weakness reveals itself. There was a hidden decay or hole in the heart of the tree that ultimately led to its downfall.

God’s children have a constant battle that is an internal fight. It is a war that rages between what we refer to as the flesh and the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God.

Galatians 5:16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

The phrase, “desires” means the flesh has desires that are against the Spirit. What my flesh desires has nothing to do with what the Spirit of God wants. These two are incompatible and constantly at war.

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

In other words, this is a constant battle that rages within. They are battling one against the other, as Paul put it, they’re contrary, and not until we get a completely new body will this battle with sin come to its conclusion. Talking about the resurrection Apostle Paul said:

1 Corinthians 15:53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

So, because this is a battle until Christ’s return and in the meantime, Christians do sometimes stray.

Paul said: Ephesians 5:8-10 ⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

What he’s saying is stop living like the person you are no longer. Live like who you are.

Do Christians backslide? Well only Christians backslide. And do at times Christians live like, well they’ve gone astray? Yes, they do. So the Psalmist confesses, “I have strayed like a lost sheep.”

But he doesn’t stop there. The Psalmist details:

1. The Straying Of The Sheep.

2. The Prayer Of The Servant.

Psalm 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant,

Now he goes to the praying of the servant. “ I have strayed like a lost sheep. (Look at his prayer) Seek your servant.”

Do you know what he’s saying, “God please come after me. God, I know I’ve gone astray like a lost sheep. God, Shepherd, would You come after me?”

Illustration

Have you ever watched a little child when they want to play, and they want you to chase them? So, they start to run and then they look at you like hey, are you going to come after me?  They want you to chase them. They act like they’re trying to get away from you but they really want you to come after them.

It’s no game, but for the one who said, I’m like a sheep that has gone astray, God.” Sheep don’t know how to find their way back home. Sheep need a shepherd to bring them back into the fold and I’m asking You, would You come after me?”

Application

I think there are many people around us who are actually hoping that someone will come after them. They’re actually hoping, desiring that someone would pursue them. That God would send someone to say, “Alright I’m here, c’mon let’s walk back into the fold.”

• Do you know someone who has stayed away from God?
• Is it possible that they are hoping for the attention of someone to come after them?
• How many parents are there that have been hoping, longing, and praying that someone would go after their wayward child?
• Or how many children have been praying that someone would come after their parents?
• How many have prayed for friends and loved ones that have strayed?
• Have you ever found yourself wandering from God and deep within there is some faint desire, some inner longing, some hoping that someone would come after you?
• Are you today listening to me as someone who does not know Jesus? Jesus is inviting you.

Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

I know that the passage is speaking first and foremost to the lost, but believers also go astray and the Psalm before us today is the prayer of a follower of God.

The Psalmist was a believer.

The Psalmist in Psalm 119

You study this Psalm, look, you see his love for the law.

Loved The Law.

Psalm 119:97-98 ⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. ⁹⁸ Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.

Psalm 119:103 ¹⁰³How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! ¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

Life Of Prayer.

Look at his life of prayer.

Psalm 119:145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord, and I will obey your decrees. ¹⁴⁶ I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. ¹⁴⁷ I rise before dawn and cry for help; (I am up before the sun rises) I have put my hope in your word.

Lips Of Praise.

Psalm 119:164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.

Living obedience.

Psalm 119:22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes.

Psalm 119:102 I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me.

Who is this Psalmist? We see his love for the law, life of prayer, lips of praise, and living obedience. The author of this Psalm knew what it meant to walk with God but he went astray. The battle of going backward will not end until this life, this journey ends. Perhaps this is why the verse comes last. After all his success, the battle for holiness goes on. He went astray like a lost sheep and was asking the Shepherd to find him.

Seek your servant.

Who doesn’t love a story of reunion and restoration? We love those stories, they compel us, and they engage us. We resonate with these stories of reunions. Sometimes we hear about a lost cat a lost dog, or some pet that has been near and dear to the family.

Illustration

The Print; Jan. 13, 2022.

Split by Partition, met in 2022: Story of brothers’ reunion that’s making India-Pakistan cry.[7]

In an astonishing turn of events, two brothers who were torn apart during the tumultuous Partition of India in 1947 have been joyfully reunited after an agonizing 74-year separation. Saddiq Khan, now residing in Bogran village, Pakistan, and Sheeka Khan, who currently lives in Phulewala village, Bathinda, Punjab, had resigned themselves to the belief that they would never see each other again. However, a video featured on the Pakistan-based YouTube channel, Punjabi Lehar, brought them together, thanks to the Kartarpur corridor connecting India and Pakistan. Saddiq Khan, the elder brother, was just eight or nine years old at the time of Partition, while Sheeka Khan, previously known as Habib Khan, was but a toddler. The heart-rending reunion was recorded on video, capturing the emotional moment when the elderly brothers embraced, their tears of joy reflecting the profound impact of 74 years of separation. What makes this reunion even more extraordinary is that, despite the geographical and political chasm that had kept them apart, the brothers communicated seamlessly in Punjabi, sharing the same dialect. Saddiq Khan introduced Sheeka to his family, including his children, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, offering them a glimpse into the enduring bond that had been lost but miraculously rediscovered.

But why is everyone so moved by this? Because we love stories of restoration. We like getting back home that I have been separated from.

In the life of a believer, who has gone astray, I’m the straying sheep, there is also something about this praying servant that says, I know home, and I desire it again. The unique thing about sheep is that they must be sought, found, and returned.

The Hebrew word for lost here, it’s an interesting word, it means, it carries the idea, the word for lost, ‘it means perish.’ I’m like a dying sheep. Lord, if you don’t do something for me, I can’t do this for myself. I have no ability. Listen, I can’t save me. I can’t fix me, but I know something is broken and I’m coming to the person who can.

Matthew Henry – “By going astray we lose the comfort of the green pastures and expose ourselves to a thousand mischiefs.”

I’ve lost something, Lord, and the Psalmist just acknowledges it. He’s not so bound by all that he has said, 175 verses of his walk with God. He now says, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant.” God, please, come after me.”

In Ezekiel, chapter 34 notice how the Lord as the shepherd is revealed.

Ezekiel 34:11-12 ¹¹“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

What was he pondering? I think he’s pondering the heart of a good shepherd. In Luke chapter 15 Jesus said this parable of the lost sheep and the seeking shepherd.

Luke 15:4-7 4“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Jesus is the good shepherd. He is seeking after us today.

“The Straying Of The Sheep.

The Praying Of The Servant.

The Pondering Of The Saint.”[8]

Psalm 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, (here is his pondering) for I have not forgotten your commands.

Finally, he confessed to wandering away from God but asked the Lord to seek him and bring him back to the fold since he had not abandoned God’s Word.[9]

Lord, there is something about Your Word that I do not forget. They are still present with me.

Proverbs 22:6 KJV Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

In other words, he can’t get away from those commandments. Those commandments follow hard after him and that’s what I believe the Psalmist here is saying. I do not forget your commandments. “Lord, they’re still present with me. I know what it’s like to walk with You. I know Your nature and Your character, and how You come after one like me.”

Do you find that there is still within you some longing after God?

Do you see a desire still to walk with Him, even though you may have wondered from the commandments that you still know?

Transition to summarize

The Psalmist recognized the need of God to remove him from the error of his ways. Should you come today and actually offer and utter the prayer of the Psalmist?

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.”

Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said:

John 10:27-28 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

I wonder, Church if at this very moment there are some who cannot hear the voice of the Good Shepherd that is calling your name with an understanding that even at this moment there is One who is seeking after you.

A man named F.W. Norwood wrote, “Life’s greatest tragedy, life’s greatest tragedy is to lose God and not miss Him.”

Do you miss God today? If you have wandered away, I promise you, He misses you.

In Psalm 119, we have journeyed through the heart of the Psalmist, a believer deeply in love with God’s Word, living a life of prayer, offering lips of praise, and demonstrating living obedience. Yet, even in this profound devotion, the Psalmist acknowledges the human struggle of straying from the path of righteousness.

He vividly describes the experience of going astray, comparing himself to a lost sheep. It’s a moment of realization that even the most faithful can sometimes find themselves wandering in the muck and mire of life, feeling stuck and unable to make progress.

However, in humility, the Psalmist’s heart turns to prayer. He pleads with the Good Shepherd to seek after him, to come to his rescue, recognizing his own inability to find the way back on his own. This prayer reflects the deep longing for restoration, a reunion with the Shepherd, and a return to the path of righteousness.

In our own lives, we may find moments when we too have strayed, when the allure of worldly temptations or the challenges of life lead us away from God’s commands. But like the Psalmist, we can turn to God in prayer, acknowledging our need for His guidance and grace.

Life Application Points:

Assess Your Spiritual Journey

Ask yourself if you are moving forward in your faith, growing in your relationship with God, or if you have started to drift backward. It’s essential to be honest with yourself about the state of your spiritual life.

Prayer for Restoration

When you recognize that you’ve strayed or grown distant from God, don’t hesitate to pray for restoration. Just as the Psalmist sought the Shepherd’s intervention, ask God to seek you out, to draw you back into His presence, and to renew your commitment to Him.

Remembering God’s Word

Despite moments of wandering, hold on to God’s Word. The Psalmist didn’t forget the commandments even when he went astray. Keep the Word of God close to your heart. It can serve as a guiding light even in the darkest of times.

Support and Outreach The Lost

Just as the lost sheep longed for someone to come after it, there are people around us hoping for someone to reach out and bring them back to God. Be sensitive to the needs of others who may have strayed and offer them the love, support, and encouragement they need to find their way back to the Shepherd’s fold.

In your spiritual journey, remember that even in moments of straying, God is always ready to seek and restore His lost sheep. Embrace the grace and guidance He offers and continue to walk in His light.

Father, thank You for simple passages of Scripture that are so straightforward. Lord, may we never come to the place where we have, in some way, shape, or form lost our walk with You and not missed You. May we listen today, block out the noise, and the distraction, and simply listen to the voice of a Good Shepherd who is calling us back to Himself. Lord, may we ask as did the Psalmist, acknowledge, “I’ve gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.” Help us to have that relationship with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Works Consulted

 ‘Backsliding | Precept Austin’. Accessed 29 September 2023. https://www.preceptaustin.org/backsliding.

‘Backwards’ Rejoice in the Lord with Pastor Jeff Redlin, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubl2rWoBFKk.

Blue Letter Bible. ‘Psalm 119 On the Whole Psalm by C. H. Spurgeon’. Accessed 29 September 2023. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/tod/ps119_00.cfm.

Bridges, Charles. ‘An Exposition of Psalm 119’, n.d.

Goldingay, John. Psalms Volume 3 Psalms 90-150. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Publishing Group, 213AD.

‘Psalms’. Accessed 29 September 2023. https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/psalms/psalms.htm.

Sethi, Chitleen K. ‘Split by Partition, Met in 2022: Story of Brothers’ Reunion That’s Making India-Pakistan Cry’. ThePrint (blog), 13 January 2022. https://theprint.in/india/split-by-partition-met-in-2022-story-of-brothers-reunion-thats-making-india-pakistan-cry/802737/.

[1] ‘Psalm 119 On the Whole Psalm by C. H. Spurgeon’, Blue Letter Bible, accessed 29 September 2023, https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/tod/ps119_00.cfm.

[2] ‘Psalms’, accessed 29 September 2023, https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/psalms/psalms.htm.

[3] John Goldingay, Psalms Volume 3 Psalms 90-150 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Publishing Group, 213AD), 268.

[4] Charles Bridges, ‘An Exposition of Psalm 119’, n.d., 14.

[5] Goldingay, Psalms Volume 3 Psalms 90-150, 318.

[6] ‘Backsliding | Precept Austin’, accessed 29 September 2023, https://www.preceptaustin.org/backsliding.

[7] Chitleen K. Sethi, ‘Split by Partition, Met in 2022: Story of Brothers’ Reunion That’s Making India-Pakistan Cry’, ThePrint (blog), 13 January 2022, https://theprint.in/india/split-by-partition-met-in-2022-story-of-brothers-reunion-thats-making-india-pakistan-cry/802737/.

[8] ‘Backwards’ Rejoice in the Lord with Pastor Jeff Redlin, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubl2rWoBFKk.

[9] ‘Psalms’.