On Sunday morning Pastor Devon Ortiz preached from Psalm 119, "Confronting The Word Of God." He opened by urging the church to come not as consumers but as participants, then introduced the psalm: the longest in the Bible at 176 verses, built as twenty-two stanzas of eight verses each, one for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and every verse references the word of God using one of eight Hebrew terms (Torah, the spoken word, the promises, the judgments, the commandments, the engraved statutes, the precepts, and the testimonies). The design points to the one thing that should move a Christian: God's Word. He warned, taking inventory, that a Christian who has no desire for the Word, who must be forced or coerced to read it, may not truly be converted, the way an infant never has to be asked if it wants to be fed.

Pastor Ortiz first established what Scripture is. Second Timothy 3:16 says all Scripture is "given by inspiration of God," literally God-breathed, the same breath that gave Adam life. Second Peter 1:21 explains the mechanism: holy men "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," like a sail moved by the wind, so the Bible, though written by men, is fully divine and stands in a category above every other book. He said we hold the very breath of God in our hands and asked what we did with it this week.

He then showed what the Word does when we yield to it. It brings life, because it is "quick," alive, and still works today (Isaiah 55:11, it will not return void). It judges us, discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart, so when we read it should confront and challenge us. It transforms us, by the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2); if you are the same as before you were saved, you are not transformed. It sanctifies and cleanses us (John 17:17, "sanctify them through thy truth"), making us more like the Father. He warned against reading it wrongly: not eisegesis (importing our own meaning) and especially not making every passage about ourselves, but drawing out what God actually meant.

Come with your whole heart, not your leftover time. The psalmist sought God with his whole heart (verses 2, 10). Pastor Ortiz said most believers give God the change they have left and then claim to be walking with Him; instead, guard your first and clearest attention for Scripture, come with real questions, and read long enough for the Word to push on you.

Hide it, not just read it. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (verse 11). The word means to treasure up, to store in a secret place as something valuable. Anyone can memorize a verse; the goal is to hide it so it moves us to do what it says.

Talk about it, do not just consume it. The psalmist declared the judgments of God with his lips and meditated on His precepts (verses 13, 15-16). Pastor Ortiz pressed the point with the gospel: those who are sure of heaven have been given the gospel, so when did they last give it to someone else? We will line up for a free chicken sandwich and text everyone about it; is the Word of God not more important?

Let the Word correct your direction, do not use it to confirm your position. "O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes" (verses 5-6). Many try to make Scripture cement what they already believe; instead let it show the right direction. He grounded the blessing in the opening verses: the blessed are the undefiled, not the perfect but the blameless (using Achan as the warning of one who knew the command, wanted, took, and hid, and lost everything). Obeying from the heart (verse 1-2) brings length of days and favor with God and man. The bottom line he left: how much do you truly value the Word of God, and what are you doing with it on a regular basis, reading long enough that it transforms, cleanses, and directs you?