EP 346 – Psalm 119
- Psalm 119 is a special psalm with 22 sections and 176 verses.
- God’s Word is our possession—how rich we are. He Himself is our portion, and we can drink from Him.
- His Word is our treasure (Psalm 19:10, ESV). It is more precious than gold.
- When God’s Word is explained, it enlightens us. It lights up our life and our eternity.
- Even when we are no longer a youth, we still need His Word to purify us (Psalm 119:4–9).
- We must treasure His Word and store it in our hearts (Psalm 119:10–11). His Word keeps and protects our hearts.
- To overcome the world and resist temptation, we need His Word. To remain in good condition and have a stable spirit, we need His Word.
- Let His Word shape our thoughts. As in Colossians 3:2, we set our minds on things above. When we think of His Word, we are thinking of the things above.
- God’s Word always points to the Lord—He is the center of the Bible.
- We need to rely on Him and His Word to strengthen our faith.
- If we drift away from Him and do not hear Him speaking, we become dry and weak.
- If the Lord does not speak, we are like those who go down to the pit (Psalm 28:1).
- We live not by bread alone but by every word of God (Luke 4:4).
- We need Him to speak to our hearts.
- When we draw near to God, He speaks to us; He renews, affects, and strengthens us.
- His Word transforms our thinking (Romans 12:2). We can live by truth and not be distracted by wrong concepts.
- It becomes easy to overcome wrong thinking when we are guided by His Word. Examples of the preciousness of His Word:
- the commandments to trust and love (1 John 3),
- giving thanks always (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18).
- The enemy does not want us to focus on God’s Word.
EP 347 – Psalm 119 – Meditation
- Psalm 119:15 — it is important to meditate. It is not only you considering, but the Lord helping. He opens our eyes and gives us inspiration.
- When He opens the words, you will have more understanding and a stronger impact.
- 119:16 — we enjoy His words and they make our hearts glad, like Psalm 19:8.
- 119:17 — God is gracious to us and He saves our life so that we may observe His commandments.
- 119:18 — in the past we might have felt the Bible was boring, but now our eyes are opened and we can see the wonders in His words. His words are holy and full of strength. They are different from man’s words.
- 119:20 — the psalmist even feels his longing is so deep that it consumes him.
- 119:24 — His words give us wisdom and are better than man’s counsel and advice. His word is our counsellor.
- Brother Fish shared that he lost his dad when he was young. It was good that he believed in the Lord early. He felt so good to have God and His words to guide him in life; otherwise he would have wasted time. Even if you have parents, if they are not believers, they also do not know how to give advice.
- With all the wrong concepts and the devil’s work, it is so important to have God’s words as our light. Without Him we are like sheep without a shepherd.
- We treasure that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter who guides our way.
- His words are golden lessons.
EP 348 – Psalm 119:45
- We receive true freedom and do not feel trapped.
- John 8:31 — one characteristic of a disciple is abiding in His words.
- John 8:32 — the truth will set us free.
- Many today are influenced by wrong concepts and knowledge and are trapped. They become emotional; they cannot control their anger, temper, or various fleshly reactions. They suffer as though they are bound and trapped.
- God’s words are the key that can open the lock and set us free. We can walk freely.
- Some are preoccupied with negative things and have no good thoughts to replace them. They have no way to escape.
- God and His words free us from wrong traditions, knowledge, or concepts that afflict us. Thank God, step by step He has set us free through His word.
- 119:45b — we should study the truth and be assured. We need to see the truth clearly so we will not be deceived.
- It is good to listen to messages that contain many precious truths.
- We need to know the fundamental truths and how they connect. When you are clear about one, it will help you understand others.
- Brother Fish was consumed with learning and seeking the truth. He studied carefully and intensively.
- Nowadays many simply follow traditions and may not truly seek the truth. If one’s foundation is wrongly built, the development will also be wrong.
- The most precious gift Brother Fish can give you is the truth. They are in Brother Fish’s messages and hymns.
- Before the cross, the Lord mentioned the truth. He received it from the Father and declared it to us.
- When the Lord ascended to heaven, what He left to the world were disciples who learned and observed His words. This is the blessing to the world. They were the team that started the Church.
- For Paul, his precious gifts to us are his letters to the churches.
- Brother Fish spent more than 60 years learning and seeking the truth. He spent much time and energy to remove mistakes and recover the truth. He can only thank God for saving him from wrong things. It is God’s grace that he’s given the spirit of discernment.
- Otherwise, we would still be living in wrong traditions.
- I hope that every day you can listen to the messages. It is easy for you to listen, but it took so much time and effort for him to make them clear.
- If you truly treasure the truth and treasure deeply experiencing Him, you will treasure these messages. You will also treasure the meaning of life and seek the truth.
EP 349 – Psalm 119:49–50
- 119:49 — “Remember Your word to Your servant,” because You gave hope. Without hope, the heart is dead.
- A good characteristic of the Church, in the family of God, is that we overflow with hope.
- God is the God who gives hope.
- 119:50 — “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has saved me.”
- When we remember His words, we have hope.
- Some people lose hope in afflictions, but we have His words.
- He makes sure all He has promised will come to pass. He guarantees it.
- He will be responsible for what He has promised.
- Others put their hope in man, who is unreliable and weak.
- God can cause all things to work together for our good.
- Though the Bible did not directly mention God commissioning Fish, in 1964 when he was drawing near to God, he had a great experience.
- When Fish returned to Hong Kong, God’s promise and His presence gave him faith and confidence.
- The Lord’s commission affected him so much that he became full of faith and hope.
- Every day Fish looks at the world and trusts that the Lord will be responsible to the end.
- It is not just by man’s message, but it is confirmed by God’s presence.
- In affliction and persecution, His words comfort and confirm our faith.
- In affliction, though it is hard and difficult, His words give us hope. We believe He will turn things around.
- In the Bible there are many lists of His promises — for example, to the elderly, so we should not be afraid of aging.
- The Lord will be responsible for our whole life. Even in old age we can still bear fruit and be full of sap.
- God knows our needs and gives us cheques (promises) in advance.
- It is so important to have hope. His words comfort and save us.
- If we are not encouraged or confirmed by His words, we will lose heart, become depressed, and not exercise our faith, and we will waste our time.
- His words comfort our hearts and help us stand up again.
- Truly His word is our property.
EP 350 – Psalm 119:52
- God’s word was written long ago, yet now when we read it, it still gives us great encouragement.
- When we think about the story of Joseph and his brothers, we can still receive help — like when we experienced slandering and persecution, yet we could still be strong and stand firm. Without God telling us, we are willing to forgive (applied personally to Brother Fish).
- Joseph had his dream, and today the Lord gives us light and spiritual food so that we can be nourished. We also can bless others.
- Joseph’s dream about the moon and stars, the sheaves — in the end it came to pass even though he was once in jail. Likewise, our dream, which is also the Lord’s dream, that we will affect the world, will come true.
- Not only Brother Fish, but he hopes all of us can have “stars,” “sheaves,” and “light” to influence the world.
- As recorded in Amos, many are hungry for the truth. Amos 8:11 — people starve because they do not listen to God. They do not know God’s love and the Lord’s love.
- The Lord has also opened many prophecies, which give us comfort and hope to continue and endure.
- We can still have hope in pain and suffering.
- God has written so many passages for us. His words are perfect.
- The Bible was specially written for everyone of us. The content was specially chosen.
- Though the Books of Job and Genesis were written long ago, they are still fresh today to comfort us.
- Those stories happened in the past, God knows us and He can use what is written to fit our needs. He knows what needs to be written. He chose what to be taken down for us.
- God’s word is the most fresh and fitting for you now. All His words can help us today.
- All the relationships between God and man in the past are real; it can bless our relationship with God.
- God’s word is the best map and compass to lead us on the right path.
- Other ways are dead ends.
- When we consider our own ways, we know they do not work and we return to God.
- God’s word is the light on our path and the lamp to our feet, leading us on the right path.
- Fish had read different books, which, when they went astray from the Bible, did not really work or help.
- Every way opposed to God’s word is not a possible way.
- Thank God for opening our eyes and giving us discernment. When we walk in His truth, we can continue forward.
- When we follow His words, again and again we will turn from our concepts to follow His perception.
- When we listen to Him, we will have greater and greater peace.
EP 351 – Psalm 119:67, 71–72
The relationship of His words and our afflictions
- It is our experience that all sufferings and afflictions help us to understand God’s words.
- When we were slandered by others, Brother Fish understood more of what David wrote about his enemies and their attacks. Before that he might not have felt nourished reading about David’s enemies.
- Some experiences are similar to ours and give great comfort.
- We treasure God’s words even more. We know He is in control and uses all things to bless us.
- Sometimes we are ignorant and need reminders.
- When we get cancer, we adjust our diet. We start to exercise.
- Some believe when they get sick.
- Before encountering big troubles, we may lack strength or motivation to change.
- Hope that we do not need to suffer more before returning to the right path.
- Thank God He will not give up on us, and He welcomes the prodigal home.
- If God allows suffering to come to us, there must be good reasons. He is not willing for us to suffer.
- Through pain, we learn to understand others. We feel more of their difficulties.
- In trials, we see His words more clearly in our hearts. God can teach us great lessons.
EP 352 – Psalm 119:89–93
- 119:89–90 — God is most faithful.
- Our life and eternity are most secure. We set our trust in God and His words. God uses the heavens and the earth to establish His words.
- 119:91–93 — all things serve God. Try to relate this to Romans 8:28.
- It is God Himself and His words that have supported us till now (supporting Fish). This is his personal testimony.
- In many trials and difficulties, it is precious that we can still have joy and overcome, because we have His words.
- He uses His words to save us.
- His words give us hope and help us go forward again.
- Thank God for His protection and for preserving us to stand till today.
- I hope that parents can guide their children with God’s words. Help them to be clear about salvation. Help them gain wisdom from God’s words. Help them walk God’s path their whole life.
- I hope that you can always listen to messages.
- I hope that the words can give life to you to understand God’s love.
- I hope that His words can keep you alive.
- When we listen to messages, God will speak to us.
- When we treasure the truth and seek understanding, He will give us understanding.
- If we feel down, He will uplift us.
- Sing hymns that are rich in truth. These truths will give you joy and fresh enjoyment.
- Sixty years ago, the Lord’s words saved him.
- He was young, but God’s words saved him and changed him again and again.
- His words saved him from different environments.
- His words always give light and hope.
- The more we experience in life, the more we can understand the truth.
EP 353 – Psalm 119:103–104, 133
- 119:103 — the words of God are sweet in our mouth.
- As in Song of Songs, His words bring sweetness, happiness, and warmth to us.
- Through His words we can see clearly and have discernment. We can be secure and saved from many wrong concepts.
- His words are our enjoyment.
- His words give us sweetness and help us enjoy love.
- We have His words to detoxify us from poisonous ideas and concepts.
- If we do not want to stumble, we need His words to confirm our every step.
- His words help us to be stable and firm.